Tuesday 19 October 2021

 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam


19 October 2021

 

 

The New Constitution & the War

“Work on Sri Lanka’s proposed new constitution has been finalised and what is to be the country’s new supreme law will be ready for parliamentary perusal come January 2022, according to Foreign Minister G L Peiris.

“The constitution is the country’s supreme law. [However], it’s not set in stone. As the nature and the needs of society change, so too must the constitution,” Peiris told reporters on Monday (18).

“It is a convoluted (vyhaakoola) process. To do this, the president appointed a committee comprising some of the best known lawyers and intellectuals in the country,” he added.” – Economy Next

 

As per my knowledge, the word ‘vyhaakoolam’ in Tamil means sorrow. That is close enough to indicate common meaning. But despite such commonness why are we facing the difficulty of ethnic divide?

Today, we discussed the same issue within a Tamil Diaspora group during which one participant stated:

[…Now China is in place, the Tamil diaspora should ask for Recognizing Tamil Genocide and legitimize the Tamil struggle to reclaim their rightful land (Tamil Eelam). …]

My response was The above confirms hindsight. It is not based on insight. Hence we ‘see’ and we want that which is given to others. One who becomes blind to the external develops insight. This is close to the destination of the following  pathway outlined by Dr XXX:

[The common principles that you strongly  advocate need discussion with all the stakeholders if they are to endorse the same.]

The person stated also:

[As always, each Tamil orgs. should discuss and either endorse or enhance and create a second version of it and place it in public. That's the democratic process. ]

My response was: ‘In democracy Opposition is essential – as in the other side of the coin. Vaddukoddai Resolution was born to Oppose Sinhala-Buddhism foremost policy. It was however read as a ticket to separation at physical level. This would continue if we keep copying smarter players to impress Sinhala leaders.

 

Then there was reference to the Resolution by the American government:

[H.Res.413 - Recognizing 12 years since the end of the war in Sri Lanka on May 18, 2009, honoring the lives lost, and expressing support for justice, accountability, reconciliation, reconstruction, reparation, and reform in Sri Lanka to ensure a lasting peaceful political solution and a prosperous future for all people of Sri Lanka.117th Congress (2021-2022)]

 

My response was: ‘That is part of the reasons ‘whereas’ it is not a resolution. The resolution acknowledges the pain and suffering of Tamils and the rights of all Sri Lankans to develop a solution. The status of USA should not be added to Tamil side. Please note that there is a ‘whereas’ regarding Easter Bombings also.

These pathways have been developed by Americans who are advanced global participants. If we take it to our advantage as if it were a matter  - we would be contributing to another war – including through USA v China’

 

The first step we Sri Lankans have to do is to ensure that we begin with what happened to us and travel in reverse gear until we can go no more. This is the causal point for us. But many of us recognise new support on the way and this includes the UN, USA and China who are/were largely external to our experiences. It is when we stick to those who were within us including as enemies – that we would travel through our truth.

Once we reach that point along our path only we are ready to merge with Universal powers. These include our ancestors as well as new participants such as the USA and the UN. We thus start developing truer measures to know why we had the painful experience. Then the other side of our facts – using these new measures would be our intuitive measures which would go towards protection.

The Dual Citizenship policy is in favour of victims of war right now. The President and his brother Mr Basil Rajapaksa are both American citizens also. As per the published report in this regard:

 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) acknowledges the 12th anniversary of the end of the war in Sri Lanka and offers its deepest condolences to all those affected by the conflict;

(2) honors the memory of those who died and reaffirms its solidarity with the people of all communities in Sri Lanka in their search for reconciliation, reconstruction, reparation, and reform;

(3) commends the United Nations Human Rights Council for prioritizing the collection and preservation of evidence related to human rights violations, a process that must not be interfered with by the Government of Sri Lanka;

(4) recognizes the bravery and commitment of advocates for justice across all communities in Sri Lanka, including the Tamil families of the disappeared, whose protests and demands for answers have at times been met with threats, intimidation, and harassment by government security forces;

(5) urges the international community to advocate for and protect the political rights and representation of the historically oppressed northeastern region of Sri Lanka and work towards a permanent political solution to address the underlying issues that led to ethnic conflict;

(6) recommends the United States explore investigations and prosecutions pursuant to the recommendations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; and

(7) urges the United States to work with the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, and the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish a credible and effective international mechanism for accountability for the grave crimes committed during the war in Sri Lanka.

If the USA was part of the problem that caused us hardship then the American measures that we invested in before the manifestations mentioned under ‘whereas’ would be useful in finding a global cause. Not otherwise. The current President was American at the time of manifestations of some of the above. Likewise his brother. It is up to American Tamils to bring action against them in appropriate courts of law. Without such determination if we keep idly protesting – it amounts to gossip. One communication stated as follows:

Protests are not for a Sinhala Girl's ( Yohani ) singing the song

'manike mage hithe'. But for her previous songs portraying the

Sri Lankan army(her father Prasanna de Silva was one of them)

as war heroes and trying to hide their criminal images.; Describing

Tamil freedom fighters as terrorists. Protests are also for the

Tamilnadu filmmakers employed her to sing in one of their films.

 

To my mind this was the essence of the analysis by Indian Tamil commentator - Paari Saalan under the topic

‘Yohani | Daughter of a war Criminal ?’ at https://youtu.be/ydWXKeJVMlU

Yohini’s father was part of the government forces. If he did not take the word of the Government that the LTTE were Terrorists, he and his troops would easily have been killed by the LTTE. It is the duty of a daughter who is provided for by a parent – to support that parent. That is Dharma. Paari Saalan refers to the killing and degrading of Isai Priya who was a non-combatant within the LTTE.  When Premawathi Manamperi – a Sinhalese – was brutally degraded by the Sinhalese armed forces in 1977 – did Sri Lankan Tamils as a Community protest against it? If yes, that is the measure we are entitled to use. Likewise did Indian Hindus express concern that this happened in Kathirgamam which is a Hindu shrine?

We are Sri Lankans or Eelam Tamils. Not both. Likewise the opposition has to be Sri Lankans. If they are Sinhalese nationals – then they are foreigners to Sri Lankans. Likewise only Sri Lankan Tamils have the right to oppose democratically in Sri Lanka. Neither Sinhala Nationalists nor Tamil Nationalists.

By using the wrong measures – we may become popular. But that is what led to both side nationalists declaring war.

 

 

 

 

 

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