Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

27 November 2018

Maaveerar Naal / Great Heroes Day

Today is celebrated as the Great Heroes Day by a good proportion of Sri Lankan Tamils. To the extent it is in honour of those who fought and died for their belief in Separation all those who seek separation have a duty to honour those who died and suffered in the process. No law is above Truth. But if remembrance activities are towards current gain – then they are disrespectful of those who died for their belief. 27 November should really be a day of fasting so as to focus on the Truth. Tamil Guardian reports as follows in relation to how the Northern Judiciary have interpreted the issue:

[Responding to a Sri Lankan police petition, Jaffna Magistrate Court on Friday issued a ban on the use of what it described as the LTTE flags, symbols and maps at the planned Maaveerar Naal event in Koppay Thuyilum Illam. 

Earlier this week Koppay police applied for a ban of the remembrance event under section 120 of the penal code - inciting or seeking to incite hate - and Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) regulations. 

Magistrate Sinnaththurai Satheestharan's ban specified the use of LTTE symbols was prohibited. No prohibition was made against the holding of the event however. 

Private land by the thuyilum illam, which is currently being occupied by the Sri Lankan military, was cleared and decorated by locals in preparation of Maaveerar Naal on November 27. ]

In the meantime, the Tamil Diaspora has released a song which celebrates the downfall of the Sirisena-Rajapaksa side due to Minority Tamil power in National Parliament and welcoming Wickremesinghe-Premadasa governance and claiming that UNP is being celebrated all over Sri Lanka. In essence, the whole of Tamil Community is celebrating in various forms. To my mind, this confirms also that pro-militant Tamils feel they are now even with the Rajapaksa-Sirisena group. They do not need a Judicial ruling on this. Those who follow the path of law – and are in the official system – need it. They are in the minority not only within the Tamil community but also within the Sinhalese community. The law helps educated civilians discuss the issue from various angles. The diversity is as per the ‘facts’ . The law is Common.

Also circulating within the Tamil Diaspora are recordings of the White-Flag incident in which dual citizen (Australian-Sri Lankan) Palitha Kohona was actively involved. Earlier this month SBS reported about a deportation as follows:

 ‘Adopted by a Queensland family at the age of six and later granted an Australian passport, Edward McHugh never thought he was anything but Australian.

But the 50-year-old, who was born in the Cook Islands, now faces deportation and being torn apart from his seven children, after the Australian government revoked his passport and told him he was in fact never a citizen……

But McHugh discovered that was not the case when he was informed earlier this year he was to be deported on character grounds under section 501 of the Immigration Act due to a criminal conviction.’

As per my understanding the above decision to deport was on the basis of character. This includes also the following criterion:

MIGRATION ACT 1958 - SECT 501

(6) Character Test - For the purposes of this section, a person does not pass the character test if

(ba)  the Minister reasonably suspects that the person has been or is involved in conduct constituting

(iii) [the crime of genocide, a crime against humanity, a war crime, a crime involving torture or slavery or a crime that is otherwise of serious international concern;]

Now that the war crimes issue has been recognized at UN level, it is the duty to the current minister during whose Administration Mr Edward McHugh was given deportation orders, to terminate the Australian citizenship of  Mr Palitha Kohona – especially considering that our Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s latest proposal to cancel the citizenship of those found guilty of Terrorism.

Decisions through Discretionary powers  – like in de facto relationships – need to be based on Truth of the decision maker. The same person who made the decision to deport Mr Edward McHugh would cancel the Australian citizenship of Mr Kohona on a more serious charge of war-crimes allegations. This is even more important now that the group from whom Mr Kohona took orders in 2009 during white-flag massacre has influenced the ouster of the lawfully appointed Prime Minister & Cabinet -  to occupy government positions.  

Truth never dies.  We need common laws to find the Truth as a common minded group. The law is therefore important to those who value Education. This obviously is the group opposed to the unlawful occupation by the above Sri Lankan group. All those who value education would value the law abiding group. In addition – those who value Truth and live within that Truth including through de facto relationships – add exponential value to have, to hold and to own the issue until they and the issue are One. Tat tvam Asi/Thou art that.