Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

27 July 2018

Mr Paisley - Mrs Maheswaran - Mr Gammanpila

 

In management we look for,  or at least talk about looking for,  ‘Root Causes’. To my mind, root causes are those that stem from our own Truth. An objectively measurable outcome, once it is produced for public consumption, could be used by any member of the public towards their own purposes and at their own risk. One would be empowered by not those who produce identical outcomes but those who have, as per their own conscience and/or Truth followed the parallel path and/or discovered the that Truth/Energy in a different form.  

Recently, Mr Harsha Gunasena highlighted as follows: [Robert Knox has written a book, ‘An Historical Relation of Ceylon,’ published in 1681 in London describing his experience in captivity in Ceylon from 1660 to 1679 during the time of King Rajasinghe II in Kandyan kingdom]

Wikipedia which to my mind, publishes more reliable information than any other medium accessible to the general public – provides the following information about Robert Knox’s experience in Ceylon as follows:

[During the voyage Knox wrote the manuscript of An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon, an account of his experiences on Ceylon, which was published in 1681. Recently, this book was translated to Sinhala as "Knox Dutu Lakdiva" by Premachandra Alwis. The book was accompanied by engravings showing the inhabitants, their customs and agricultural techniques. It attracted widespread interest at the time and made Knox internationally famous, influencing Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe as well as sparking a friendship with Robert Hooke of the Royal Society. It is one of the earliest and most detailed European accounts of life on Ceylon and is today seen as an invaluable record of the island in the 17th century.

Knox became a close friend and collaborator of Robert Hooke, for whom he frequently brought back gifts from his travels. In return, Hooke took Knox to the local coffeehouses for chocolate and tobacco, then considered luxuries. On one occasion, Knox presented Hooke with samples of "a strange intoxicating herb like hemp" which he dubbed "Indian hemp" or "Bangue"; it is better known today as cannabis indica, a plant which was unknown at the time in Europe. Hooke gave an address to the Society in December 1689 in which he provided what was the first detailed description of cannabis in English, commending its possible curative properties and noting that Knox "has so often experimented it himself, that there is no Cause of Fear, tho' possibly there may be of Laughter."] 

As in the case of sexual pleasures – Kandyan Sri Lanka was more ‘free’ in terms of cannabis back then than it is today. Even if cannabis had been consumed at high level – it may not seem wrong to a community which sees that as a source of laughter. It’s when we recognize its ‘other’ side – through intellectual study and/or through someone who ‘shows’ the other side and thereby generates ‘fear’ – that there is relativity and therefore rights and wrongs. To my mind, the role of Opposition in Democracy is to ‘show’ this other side at current times. If the Opposition gets as complacent as the government – then it is highly likely that the excesses would continue due to them being sources of pleasure/laughter.

De facto governance which is ‘free’ governance needs to be driven by Truth for such groups to be People’s Advocates . Producing more outcomes than the Government at the same level - leads to disorder. Raising one’s work to ownership level – energises such Advocacy services.

As per BBC report headed Election results 2017  ‘Who are the DUP's 10 MPs?’:

[The son of long-time party leader, its founder and former Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley, Mr Paisley succeeded his father as North Antrim MP in 2010. Following the resignation of the late Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness earlier this year, Mr Paisley paid tribute to the Sinn Féin leader and former IRA member.

He said Mr McGuinness' "remarkable journey not only saved lives, but made the lives of countless people better".

…….. In a 2007 interview, Mr Paisley expressed his views on same sex marriages. He told Hot Press magazine he was "pretty repulsed" by gay people and lesbianism.

Mr Paisley later went on to defend his comments on BBC Newsnight saying he was "repulsed by many things".]

Is this not the British parallel of Mrs Maheswaran’s statement invoking the LTTE in the folks of Jaffna at a time when the Jaffna mind is low in self-esteem?

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)  is a minority party and needs Truth to be an effective Opposition in Parliament. As per DUP’s Truth, the closest parallel to itself in Sri Lankan Parliament is the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Accepting the hospitality of majority party confirms lack of ownership in the struggle for independence. That is the parallel of LTTE leadership accepting the ‘bribe’ paid by Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa to suppress the voting rights of Tamils in the 2005 Presidential elections. Bribe paid by Mr Rajapaksa as Presidential candidate is bribe paid by Sinhalese Community to suppress the Tamil community and is effectively  a form of ‘Paid Advocacy’. Monies/Benefits  that do not pass through our conscience become harmful to us when they come due to a position we have taken – than a position as per our Truth in that society. Laws are effective when they are expressions of the common conscience.

As per the recent Ceylon Today news report:

[OCPD officials who had questioned Vijayakala on Tuesday (24) had also questioned TNA Parliamentarian at his residence in Jaffna and recorded his statement because he was also present at the event where Maheswaran made remarks regarding the now defunct LTTE.

Senathiraja had pointed out that Vijayakala didn’t say anything with the intention of reviving the LTTE but had only expressed her anguish over the deteriorating state of the law and order situation in the Peninsula.]

The Organised Crimes Prevention Division (OCPD) has the responsibility to be bound by Article 9 of the Sri Lankan Constitution and therefore ensure that Dharma is upheld in applying the law. As a Tamil Politician Mr Senathiraja is more likely to know the mind of Mrs Maheswaran, than would OCPD. If his interpretation of the purpose is not accepted – then the law of Dharma says to take identical action against Mr Udaya Gammanpila and retired Navy official Lieutenant Commander B.P.S. Hemachandra, for the following outbusts/outcomes:

Gammanpila : ‘I will take action to issue a writ against the Attorney General to immediately arrest Vijayakala over her controversial statement.’

As per Ada Derana report ‘Vijayakala will never be arrested – Gammanpila’:

The ‘MP says that this will never be resolved seeing as the current government isn’t investigating on this matter and this has made taking legal action against it difficult.’

It was at the launch of the book ‘Nandikadal Dhakwa Para Kapuwe Kawuda?’ (Who made the way to Nandikadal?)  on 25 July that  MP Gammanpila is reported to have made these comments.

As per that book :

[For three decades, the Sri Lanka Army battled against the most ruthless terrorist organization known to man in modern times, the "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam" (LTTE). Even though the culture of "suicide missions" and "human bombs" has become the hallmark of terrorism around the world today, it was Velupillai Prabhakaran who first masterminded and used this most ruthless tactic in targeting both civilian and Government Forces. Commencing as a small terrorist outfit, Prabhakaran transformed the LTTE into an extremely powerful and conventional military entity, replete with a Land Force, Sea Tiger Wing (Naval) and an Air Tiger Wing (Air Force). The members of LTTE were brainwashed and indoctrinated to follow its leadership unquestioningly. They ardently believed their leader and were dedicated to their cause. Thousands of LTTE cadres were highly trained, skilled, experienced and ready to fight unto death. The 30-year long reign of terror finally ended victoriously in May 2009, when Sri Lanka Army defeated them militarily. On 19th May 2009, the valiant soldiers of 53 Division led by Major General Kamal Gunaratne, killed the Leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran and many of his senior leadership, on the battlefield at Nandikadal Lagoon. This marked the end of terrorism in Sri Lanka and brought with it, a great sense of relief to each and every peace loving citizen of this island nation. The author, Major General Kamal Gunaratne was a soldier and an infantryman who led the war from the forefront and was actively engaged in battles from its inception to the very end. Based on first hand experiences and insights gained through the multitude of roles and responsibilities held over the years from tactical to strategic level, the author shares his journey from Thirunaveli in 1983 to Nandikadal in 2009. It is the true story of defeating terrorism and bringing eternal peace to Sri Lanka.]

Mrs Maheswaran’s outburst is mosquito bite relative to the above king-cobra sting. If LTTE is dead – then anyone who calls them Terrorists is as guilty as Mrs Maheswaran referring to them as heroes as per her own conscience. The above book has the potential to arouse war-emotions in Tamils as well as Sinhalese ‘waiting for a fight’. Once invoked – the Sinhalese are more likely to find supporting energies in their government than would Tamils.

Mr Gunaratne got paid for his services in the Armed forces. When he takes more credit than that – especially through avenues external to his position in the Armed Forces, he is profiting from that position. That is cruel.

Let Dharma prevail.