Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

19 November  2019

TRIPLE GEM OF SRI LANKA

I learnt from our uncle Sanmugarajah (who was General Manager Ceylon Electricity Board) - the quote ‘To catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job.’ Later I learnt that  the author was French Philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. I thought of this many times since the learning the outcomes of current Sri Lankan Presidential Elections. Then came the following news about the newly elected President:

[His landslide win split the island nation of 21.6 million on religious and ethnic lines as never before, seven months after deadly terror attacks.

Unusually, his inauguration was held at a revered Buddhist shrine with an imposing stupa -- reputedly built by a Sinhalese king who vanquished invading Tamils over 2,000 years ago.

At the ceremony, Rajapaksa put his success down to the "extraordinary blessings of the Buddhist monks".] NDTV article ‘Gotabaya Rajapaksa Sworn In As Sri Lanka President At Buddhist Shrine’

The first step itself was in breach of the Constitution – the protection of which is the primary duty of the President. Article 32 (1) of the Sri Lankan Constitution states as follows:

[32. (1) The person elected or succeeding to the office of President shall assume office upon taking and subscribing the oath or making and subscribing the affirmation, set out in the Fourth Schedule, in Sri Lanka before the Chief Justice or any other Judge of the Supreme Court.]

The Fourth Schedule:

["I……………………………………………………………… do solemnly declare and affirm –––––––––––––––––––––––– that I will faithfully perform the duties swear the duties and discharge the functions of the office of ………………………………………………… in accordance with the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the law, and that I will be faithful to the Republic of Sri Lanka and that I will to the best of my ability uphold and defend the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.”]

Given that the inauguration was before  Buddhist monks as elders then the Government is a Buddhist government elected by Buddhists. It is in clear breach of article 32(1)of the Sri Lankan Constitution.

As per the above article  Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated :

["The main message of the election is that it was the Sinhala majority vote that allowed me to win the presidency," the 70-year-old retired lieutenant colonel said.

"I knew that I could win with only the votes of the Sinhala majority. But I asked Tamils and Muslims to be a part of my success. Their response was not what I expected. However, I urge them to join me to build one Sri Lanka," he said.]

This confirms that the President-elect – is paying allegiance to Sinhalese and does not consider Tamils to be equal in the power to elect president.

As per the True structure  confirmed by the above declaration - Tamils and Muslims are NOT part of Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s nation. Every Sri Lankan who believes in the Constitution – written and/or true – as per her/his existential experience is senior to Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa and has to be treated as equal to the head of state for structural reasons. Hence the separation of powers that confirm equality.  The above indicates strongly – breaches of the 6^th Amendment to the Constitution – according to my understanding of which it is unlawful to declare separate state within Sri Lanka.

As per the Constitution of Sri Lanka the Triple Gem of Sri Lanka are:

The Legislature; the Executive and the Judiciary.

In Christianity the Holy Trinity are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

In Hinduism the Holy Trinity are Brahma the Creator; Vishnu the Maintainer and Shiva the Destroyer

In Buddhism the Triple Gem are : Buddha; Dhamma and Sangha

In all three religions -  the last one is the invisible power – the Uniting Soul. In secular governance – it is the Judiciary. Hence the oath is taken before the head of judiciary.

As per Daily Mirror article headed ‘Complaint lodged against Mangala’ :

[Executive Director of Buddhist Information Center Ven. Athulugalle Sri Jinananda Thera has lodged a complaint with the Police Headquarters against MP Mangala Samaraweera over a message posted in his twitter.

Police Spokesman SSP Ruwan Gunasekera said the Thera had lodged a complaint with the police claiming that Mr. Samaraweera had insulted the Sanga in his massage.

He said the complaint has been forwarded to the Legal Division DIG to seek legal advice.

MP Samaraweera had tweeted that “I weep for my beloved country. May the blessings of the double gem, Buddha and Dharma, be with Sri Lanka,”]

The Police have no authority to act on such a complaint – because Mr Samaraweera has acted as Buddhist and  disciplining him is the job of Buddhist institution that he is officially part of. Missing was the Sangha.

As per Wikipedia:

[According to the Theravada school, the term "sangha" does not refer to the community of sāvakas (lay followers) nor the community of Buddhists as a whole]

To my mind Sanga is the Soul of Buddhist community while Buddha is the form;  and Dharma is the mind – the pathway . All that Mr Samaraweera is saying is that the soul of  Theravada Buddhism is missing in the leadership of Sri Lanka which includes himself.. I do not know of any law against such expression of belief. One must appreciate the freedom of every Sri Lankan to Express her/his Truth. Good on you Mr Samaraweera.

Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ‘caught’ the position of Presidency through the art of elections. Keeping it is a job in which he is showing early indicators of negative performance.