17 May 2022

 

DID MS SATKUNANANTHAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROTESTS?

 

It is voting time here in Australia. As per my discovery, most voters vote for the individual or Party. Only a few vote on issues. Those who  vote on issues are part of the government.

My attention was today drawn to in this regard, to the report by Sri Lanka Brief which included the following in the Sri Lanka Brief  report headed - Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry statement on Ambika Sathkunanthan is “unwarranted, mischievous and chilling” – Joint Civil Society statement.’

[Rather than engage substantively with the issues raised, the Sri Lankan Government instead chose to cast aspersions on an individual with an unimpeachable record of principled research, advocacy and public service for the improvement of human rights in Sri Lanka.]

The Island report headed ‘Foreign Ministry refutes claims made by Ambika Satkunanathan to the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights’ published the following day included the following day included the following:

[The Foreign Ministry on Friday noted with concern the numerous misleading statements contained in the testimony of the Chairperson of the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust Ambika Satkunanathan, during an exchange of views on the situation of human and labour rights in Sri Lanka at the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights on 27 January, 2022.]

The question here is whether the Human Rights of Sri Lankans and the Human Rights of Europeans are identical.  They are like different religions merging as God. As a subdivision, human rights of armed forces are defined differently to those of civilians.

The rights of every being are known through their sovereignty.  As per Article 1 of the UN Declaration:

[All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.]

As per religions that recognize the ‘Soul’ – when we act as per our conscience – we bind ourselves by the Soul power of our Home Group which is the Sovereign group that we are part of. As per the law, Ms  Ambika Satkunanathan’s home group is Sri Lanka. Of her own choice, the lady is the Chairperson of the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust. Hence the lady ought to have had knowledge of the killing of Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam. As per Sri Lankan knowledge – the killers were the LTTE. The army is accused of violations of Human Rights by wider world including the UNHRC. As a Tamil, what measures did Ms  Ambika Satkunanathan take to ‘report’ about the LTTE’s Human Rights violations?

To the extent the side that represents the government used ‘Natural ways’ to defend itself against  a group that was NOT accountable to the same government – the former is NOT accountable to anyone other than itself. Anyone seeking to use a particular measure – needs to first measure the side that one is related to. In the case of Ms  Ambika Satkunanathan – this is the Tamil community that the LTTE was part of.

As per the Island report:

[The Ministry is disappointed that among the recommendations made by Ms. Satkunanathan is that the EU uses its leverage on GSP plus facility to exert pressure on the government on human rights. If Sri Lanka loses the EU GSP plus facility, particularly at a time when livelihoods of millions of Sri Lankans belonging to all communities are already affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting losses would exacerbate poverty and income inequality. Some of the worst affected sectors will be fisheries and agriculture which are among the key industries in the North and the Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.]

One needs to therefore ask whether Ms  Ambika Satkunanathan contributed to the economic problem that Sri Lankans are facing?

When one accuses another – one is taking a ‘senior’ position. In democracy – when one contributes more than the other to a position – in this instance – the government – one takes Equal and Opposite position. If this was done by Ms  Ambika Satkunanathan – on behalf of Tamils then the lady had the duty to first discipline the Tamil Community that produced the LTTE or remain silent as if their faults were hers.