Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

25 January 2019

Tamil Class Action against Wartime Killings

Until recently, not many Sri Lankans demonstrated interest in the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Majority would not know the provisions of the Constitution in their lifetime.  Most of us know about the constitution from the effects produced at a level that the ordinary citizen has the capacity to comprehend. The energies that underpin the values that we develop at our respective local levels – are then raised to the national level through identity with such outcomes. That to me is the network of  ‘souls’ and hence Gandhi’s message:

[You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.]

Last night I read the Sri Lanka Guardian article ‘Sri Lanka: On Draft Constitution placed before the Assembly’ by H.M. G.B.. M. Kotakadeniya  and  Lt Col Anil Amarasekera (Rtd). This couple were in effect opposing any change to Unitary State & Buddhism foremost articles in the Constitution. I felt a little upset and went to bed thinking about it and more importantly praying to Lord Buddha. I prayed to Lord Buddha in 2009, when my application to serve the needy in the Chettikulam camps where my brother in law died was being processed. The delegated officer said to me ‘Don’t go there and ask for separate state’. I felt upset but stronger was my need to be there with the needy. So I waited silently under the  large Buddha statue in that officer’s room. I looked up and prayed to Lord Buddha to facilitate my ‘visa’. I was blessed with the approval that very day. Yesterday, I drew on that direct experience and contemplated on the ‘Buddhism foremost’ issue. Then during this morning’s meditation – the solution was clear in my mind. – Class action.

Yes, class action against those responsible for killing - which is prohibited by Buddhism. Whoever ‘killed’ acted in breach of  Article 9 of the Constitution. Then later this morning I opened the email which directed me to the report at https://youtu.be/JSgb8g4qww0

As per that report a Buddhist shrine has been erected at the site of Semmalai Neeraviaddi Pillayar temple in Mullaitheevu District. Mullaitheevu is the area where the final stages of the war in 2009 happened. I was reminded of the large Buddha statue on  Kathirgamam Hill top in front of Hindu shrine. To me Kathirgamam  structure confirms the difference between Federal structure at ground level and unitary structure on the hilltop. Buddha is foremost at Hilltop now – blocking the original Hindu shrine. Likewise at Mullaitheevu.

At ground level – the shrines are separated. At Hill top – a new Buddha  shrine was erected in front of the Hindu shrine. I wrote about this as follows when Mr Sampanthan protested against the Buddha statue in Trincomalee: at http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2005/7/2737.html

Sampanthan accuses law enforcers of bias against Tamils

Gaja

23 Jul 2005 03:20:53 GMT

Thank you Pera for using my experiences to help fellow Sri Lankans. I worked with Mr. Sampathan`s brother and he would therefore better relate to this through his brother who would know of my credibility.

Mr. Sampanthan needs to point objectively to a Sinhalese who is as guilty as an arrested Tamil but who has not been arrested. …………..

As for the Buddha statue I did find a similar temple in front of the Hindu temple on the sacred Hill at Kataragama, an act of violence. If the Buddha statue was placed to obstruct a physical identity of another religion, it is wrong. Otherwise, the government has the right to place the statue. Lord Buddha would answer only to those who pray sincerely, with or without a statue. If through this statue, the government violates the rights of sincere devotees of other religions those who invest in this place of worship would have their merits reduced to that extent. God balances where we fail.

…….

Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam from Australia

After 2009 – my cousin Visvanathan Kathiravelu who inherited his father’s farmland in Kilinochchi shared his difficulty when he found a Buddha statue in front of the Vairavar shrine adjoining the farmhouse where his brother was killed by militants. My cousin said he did not mind Buddha statue being added but rejected Buddha blocking the Hindu Deity.

When I read the news that came to me today – I received it on the basis of my own pain as per the above. But this time – I identified with the solution:

Wikipedia presents the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism as follows:

[The truths are: dukkha, "incapable of satisfying," painful; samudaya, the "arising" of dukkha together with tanha ("thirst," desire, craving); nirodha, "cessation" of dukkha by "confinement" of tanha; and marga, the path leading to confinement of tanha and cessation of dukkha. They provide a summary of the basic orientation of Buddhism, namely dukkha and its ending, and are traditionally identified as the first teaching given by the Buddha]

In the case of Pleasure Drugs that the President of Sri Lanka is allegedly committed to addressing -  the above are :

·       Pain that automatically comes with pleasure drugs (Dukkha)

·       The craving for more drugs (Tanha)

·       The arresting of the craving by meditation/confinement (Nirodha)

·       The cessation of such craving by filling the mind with the confined problem which gives the insight that we are capable of doing without such pleasure (Marga to Nirvana)

The Sri Lankan President has expressly promised to activate the death penalty against drug traffickers. The users are part of these traffickers. Hence killing the drug traffickers is killing the drug users. In any case if the President’s pain – Dukkha is drug trafficking – then imprisoning them confirms Nirodha/confinement.  But killing them is to release them from the problem. Has the President not acted in breach of Article 9 of the Constitution?

Let us take Terrorism and the Government of Sri Lanka which killed not the problem but the bodies. Let us accept that their pain was from the killings by the LTTE. The four noble truths in this matter are:

·       Pain due to exercise of armed pleasure (as in civil riots) and/or pleasure of doing one’s job

·       Craving for more such exercises which resulted in the 2009 war and killings

·       Confinement of the unarmed in camps and prisons and meditating with the imprisoned and civilian victims as part of them – filling the mind with the imprisoned and victims and nothing else.

·       Identifying with that part of  the problem as having been caused by us and therefore curable by us through our goodness.  

Again, as in the case of death penalty for drug traffickers, killing armed combatants and civilians is not part of the above four noble truths. Imprisoning – yes. Killing no.  The President does not want an external inquiry into alleged war-crimes. Neither has the President followed the Buddhist pathway of meditation to finding the Truth as if he were a victim.

As per Buddha’s teachings – the victims who meditated with the government – found the – marga / pathway to redemption – and that is to remove advantage to any ethnic group that desires authority above any other ethnic group. For myself, I have been recommending the repeal of article 9 from the constitution. But if this is not acceptable to the wandering minds of rulers – then Lord Buddha says to me –  that my community with whom I meditated must take legal action against the President and those responsible for killing  - including my brother in law.

That is the class action needed to test the Independence of the Judiciary. Given that Mr  Anil Amarasekera worked in the armed forces – his heirs would be found guilty of acting in breach of the very Article 9 that he seeks to keep in the constitution.

Tamil citizens have to not waste any more time ‘hoping’ for the Constitutional amendment. They need to act – by filing appropriate action in Court. Towards this we now have Mr C V Wigneswaran and Dr Suren Raghavan with high level intelligence in Judicial process and Buddhist philosophy respectively.  That is the pathway / marga Lord Buddha has shown me.