Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

15 October 2018

When Truth is the Basis of Law

The leader of the Opposition in Sri Lankan Parliament, the Hon Rajavarothiam Sampanthan is reported to have stated in Parliament that ‘confessions would no longer be admissible at the trial of a person charged with an offence under the new Counter Terrorism law and that the same position should be applied to those already charged based on confessions.’

I received also an email from the UK, under the Subject matter ‘DISGRACEFUL FEW OF POST WAR TAMIL DIASPORA’ (https://youtu.be/NBG1qkX2FsM) highlighting the frustration faced by two sections of the Tamils community:

1.     Those who are used to the pathway of Law

2.     Those who are used to the pathway of outcomes

The true leadership of the two  is with the group that identifies with its Truth and therefore influences others Naturally through its Truth.

The interesting part for me is the Truth that I identify with in the above mentioned statement by Mr Sampanthan, embedded in the New Law. The Truth that I identify with is that the Judiciary no longer trusts the Executive driven by Armed Forces. This includes the law-abiding citizen and the politician who judges as per the law. Any law that is born out of our Truth would work naturally and through the process kill rebellious emotions. As I explained recently to a student of Northern Sri Lanka, Due Processes born out of our own structures – are outer forms of those who developed those structures, on the basis of their own Truth. When we change the form of that process we leave the influence of that Energy and replace it with our own. We then become outcome driven from that point onwards.

In his  Policy Paper ‘Counter Terrorism Legislation in Sri Lanka: Evaluating Efficacy’ N. Manoharan of East-West Center, Washington, recognizes:

‘Unlike  the JVP, the LTTE controlled territory of its own where the writ of the Sri Lankan state was not in existence and because of which the LTTE could strengthen itself. The LTTE was also a much stronger entity in terms of  organization, leadership, motivation and fighting capabilities. It was and  remains far superior to the JVP’

I identify with the above as per my own experience with the LTTE. This is also the reason why those who have invested more in their generation leaders than in ancestral leaders  and/or common law which often includes ‘foreign’ elements, continue to recognize those leaders even though officially they may claim to be committed to Tradition and/or common law. Mrs Vijayakala Maheswaran is a recent example of this. The lady represents also majority in communities where the youth were attracted to Armed combat when their communities  became ‘sovereign’ due to disenfranchisement. The more educated Tamils emigrated to Colombo and beyond, the greater the risk of natural separation.

This natural separation has happened here in Australia also with the indigenous community. The new law according to  which ‘confessions’ are inadmissible, confirms the high level of subjective power within the armed forces which would lead to Eustress through abuse of power over those ‘outside’ their circle of belief. The more we recognize multiculturalism the greater the need for ‘external-evidence’ to uphold justice. Part of that judgment is not likely to be the Truth – but contribution to maintaining the pathway of law especially with externals.

The LTTE advantage over JVP was due to Tamils who did invest in Common Law adding their energies with them. This advantage was lost when they enforced their own rules on civilians – including those who invested in common education. Tamil investment in common pathways through education extended beyond the shores of Sri Lanka. Those who continue to respect education above all other avenues – would continue to send their Energies back to their heirs in Sri Lanka.

The true conflict created by the visit  of Mr Reginald Cooray – the Governor of Northern Province was between those who respected the educated pathway and therefore Peaceful Assembly to protest and those who sought to maintain their heritage through current contributions.

Likewise, in the case of LTTE prisoners in Sri Lanka and the Law abiding Tamils following the common path including through educational activities.

Those who inherit militant genes, need to invest more in Truth by being true to themselves and also be Transparent. The representative of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam who participated in the above mentioned debate by IBC – made the accusation that one member of his opposition had been appointed by Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe. When asked to state the name of the person so appointed he failed. The strength of De Facto relationships and Governance is Transparency. One who fears to be marked wrong – confirms that her/his side is junior to the other which requires evidence with ‘outsiders’.

The TELO representative confirmed that the Governor was the President’s representative and therefore did not have the authority of the Tamils of Northern Province to approach Tamil Diaspora committed to the Tamil Community. I identify with this. But then what he failed to highlight – is that the current CM lacked the ability to work the system in North because he failed to harness the heritage of educated Tamils with such skills. I believe I am one of them and yet there was no engagement to share true energies by mutual respect. The current CM made it worse by ‘using’ the structure that I had developed in Thunaivi-Vaddukkoddai – to gain a political point. But the Truth is that the ceremony over which he presided was centred around cultural hall built by one on someone else’s property by LAW. THAT is how Truth exposes Itself.

The more educated the people of Northern Province become the less interested they would be in Eelam Only. The true sacrifices made by combatants would remain as their heritage – so long as there are folks who believe in them. The places where rape and sexual abuse is high – is lacking in such heritage. They need the official forces which are common and not Sinhala foremost. Towards this educational requirements of armed forces deployed in Minority  areas  need to be higher than those deployed in Majority areas. Likewise officers nominated directly by the Government. A non-Tamil Governor of Northern Province who is actually an Administrator as per the powers he has – needs to be educationally more qualified than the highest qualified Governor in Sinhalese dominated provinces.  The reason is lack of belief through sense of belonging. Belief generates common Order. Where belief is lacking, one needs to use active thinking and knowledge – to think common.