Gajalakshmi
Paramasivam
14
October 2019
BEWARE
OF THE ANNIVERSARIES MR RAJAPAKSA!
In the Northern Sri Lankan town of Vaddukoddai,
where the first Tamil Political Declaration of Independence was made in 1976,
there is hardly any criticism of militants or the armed forces. From time to
time one hears words of praise for the militants and often when one is willing
to listen – one hears about the pain and loss during war. That is more or less
the political face of Tamil militancy. Jaffna is of similar make up right now.
There are areas in North where people are openly agitating and demanding
answers from the government. Then there is
active condemnation of the Sri Lankan Government within the Tamil Diaspora
which includes a good proportion of former militants. The way each nation positions
them would vary and one would be able to work out the respective government’s
intent from their action or inaction.
Last year, here in Australia, we learnt about the
arrest of UNSW student Mr Kamer Nizamdeen from Sri Lanka, on terrorism charges. I was not surprised
because of my own experience at the University of NSW where weak Administrators
naturally infected the NSW Police. By
allowing myself to go through that experience as per the position allocated to
me by the above partners – I learnt the true position of Sri Lanka in the minds
of the Australian who identifies her/himself with the government elected by
majority. That is our reality. As per the migrants who left Sri Lanka to make a
life here in Australia – on the basis of the war in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is a
country that carries high risk of war. In an open environment, unsettled conflicts
get carried as positive or negative genes as per our truth.
The arrest of alleged supporters of LTTE recently in Malaysia was reported by Strait
Times of Singapore also as follows:
[Malaysia
nabs 5 more Tamil Tigers 'followers'; says don't confuse with plight of Sri
Lanka Tamils
Malaysian
counter-terrorism chief Datuk Ayob Khan said there was nothing wrong in
sympathising with the Tamils in Sri Lanka, but it is an offence to support the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as they are a terror group
He said this on Sunday (Oct 13) as Malaysian police came under
criticism after it detained five more Malaysians in a swoop against what
it said were followers and symphathisers of the defunct LTTE, bringing the
total arrested to 12.
Two of the seven men
arrested in the first swoop last week were ethnic-Indian assemblymen from the
Democratic Action Party (DAP), part of the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH)
coalition]
That distinction is necessary for an officer
responsible to uphold order as per the law. If Dharma were to prevail, the same
law must apply to the other side – which is the government of Sri Lanka –
especially in the case of politicians who are promising ‘freedom’ from law to
their side in the war.
Star
Online reported as follows about how Tamil leaders in
Malaysia interpreted the Police action:
[The
seven people arrested for their alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) militant group should be charged under the Penal Code, says Penang
Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy .
He said they should not be detained
under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012 for 28 days.
“The police should show evidence
and bring them to court.
“Use the Penal Code on them, where
they would have a chance to defend themselves.
“Sosma and the Sedition Act are
draconian laws which have yet to be repealed by the Pakatan Harapan government,
” Ramasamy said when met at his office at Komtar.]
When it comes to Political arrests – the parallel
action at government level ought to be to expressly disassociate with the political
group that promises
to release those who have been found guilty of parallel
offence by the Judiciary. The following Sunday Observer cartoon says it all –
on behalf of Sri Lankans who are committed to upholding the law:
One of the reasons for the arrest was interpreted to be for attending the
war-memorial service
[Ramasamy
said he was not aware of the activities of Saminathan and Gunasegaran prior to
their arrests.
“All
I know is they attended a war memorial for war victims in Melaka last year, which
is not tantamount to a crime.
“Is
it a crime to attend a war memorial for war victims or be sympathetic to the
Rohingya, Tamilians and Hamas?” he said.] Star Online
Memorials when they are for the purpose of ‘showing’
– activate the past. The Rajapaksas are activating
the past after claiming that they
eliminated the LTTE. To the extent LTTE were part of the Tamil community –
every civilian Tamil has the right to mourn and inherit their courage and
motivational Energy. Genuine Memorials are healthy because they help us to
raise the good of the dead to the higher level and/or clean the bad in the dead
by our good and thus inherit their good. That which is healthy for the civilian
is healthy for the nation. Time Anniversaries
and Place activate or settle such past. University of NSW and NSW Police carries
that unsettled karma that caused pain and loss to me – an Australian committed
to the lawful path – followed by Truth that the law led me to. In the case of
Rajapaksa group – one can observe the pattern through Time anniversaries.
To my mind the Rajapaksas are activating the
past for current advantage. Their opposition would also then react to it and
invoke their (opposition’s) side. The sixth amendment to the Sri Lankan
Constitution came about due to the Vaddukoddai Resolution and the July ‘83 massacre
of Tamils. It restricted minorities as follows:
[No political party or
other association or organization shall have one of its objectives or aims in
the establishment of a separate state within the territories of Sri Lanka]
The
13th Amendment to the constitution provided for devolution of power
to the Provinces in addition to recognizing Tamil also as the official language and English as the link
language. This happened in 1987 due to India’s influence – which effectively
nullified the sixth amendment.
The
interesting Déjà vu happened around the anniversary of the 6th
Amendment. The 6th Amendment became effective in August 1983. As per
Wikipedia:
[On 11 August 2019, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa announced
that Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be their candidate for the 2019 Presidential election]
The 13th Amendment became effective on 14
November 1987. The 2015 elections were called in November 2014. The current President
proclaimed the dissolution of the Parliament, followed by Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa
leaving SLFP the ancestral party to join SLPP followed by the staying of the Presidential
proclamation – all happened in November 2013. During this – Tamil Politicians
were active as Equals and the victory of the UNP was the victory of Tamils
also.
As per my feelings – the outcome of the 2015
elections as well as the above Constitutional crisis are the parallels of the 1977 elections preceded by the
Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976, have had a net positive effect for the Tamil
community including through the appointment of a Tamil Governor – Dr Ragavan,
by the current President. This gives Tamil civilians the hope to continue along
the political pathway to confirm our Equal status as a Sovereign community.
Unless therefore members of the Tamil community also
‘activate’ the LTTE towards current benefits – instead of genuinely mourning
the death of the civilians including within the LTTE – we would become entitled
to further confirmation of our Equality through the November 2019 Presidential
elections.
Time and Place carry the Truth of ancestral powers.
When we respect them they become positive spirits that protect us. When we make
them current benefits – they become ghosts. This is the way the ordinary folks
of Tamil culture would project their own future – provided they are not
distracted by false promises.
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