Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 08 April   2016

Where is The Common Opposition?

During my battles with the Central Administration of the University of NSW, a professor who appreciated my work shared with me his insight into the system. One of the conclusions he had arrived at through his own battles - was that Union leaders who fought against the Management became like that very management when they had the management job!  Likewise  the Opposition in parliament. This to my mind confirms that those positions themselves are the problem. They carry negative Energy /sins. Those looking for quick benefits would become blind to such negatives and end up as debtors to the ‘system’.

When the personalities now occupying leadership positions in Government formed the ‘Common Opposition’ shortly before the 2015 Presidential Elections, they represented the People – especially victims of the old system - the corruption of which began well before Mr. Rajapaksa.  In my development and training work – I have identified with many who would do an excellent job once the position comes down to their level. But once the position is restructured and elevated - they are not able to deliver as expected by the same people. Developing the position through which one would  deliver the best outcome is the key to harmonious progress. Only those who pay their respects to the architects of the position would comfortably perform and deliver any time anywhere. By paying their respects they elevate themselves to experiencing the Issue.

In Sri Lankan Parliament – the leadership position since it was taken over by Sinhalese leaders – has been relying heavily on pre-Colonial times. This naturally was hierarchical in structure where majority voters were in the lower ranks. Now that they have the position of king-makers – they can see how well they performed as citizens. Blaming others for their failures would take them back to the hierarchical system in reverse. In Democracy one shows the other side independently and does not blame the government for their woes. The idle citizen keeps looking for someone to blame.

One who lives off her/his past is claiming s/he is not a democratic leader. ‘Sinhala only’ rule took the government’s mind to pre-Colonial times. The problem with that is that due to time – that structure would have deteriorated naturally and would not have the strength to support the younger generation. The value of heritage is the connection to the spirit/energy. When it is brought into the ‘merit’ pool – the party giving it life  is deteriorating itself. It’s like using obsolete laws for the purpose of blind authority – a good example is the Inclosed Lands Protection Act 1901 (NSW) here in Australia – being used by the University of New South Wales under the leadership of an American CEO.

When a government which takes current benefits  for being democratic, lives off the past, the real position of that government goes down – due to the net value being negative. The mind order is lowered and one ‘escapes’ into the easy past from the difficult present. With LTTE in place to represent Tamil opposition at the lower level  – this government position made itself the Equal Opposition of the LTTE. This level was comfortable for Mr. Rajapaksa. The People who elected him developed that structure through their natural conduct.

That was the natural maximum level that Mr. Rajapaksa had – to share his values with his people. To those who were his People – that maximum was enough. This is true also of the LTTE but by not electing LTTE only - at any time – the Tamil Community as a whole confirmed its investment in higher governance. The challenge was to wait until this opportunity was clear in the mind of the Tamil Community. This happened when we have the pain of losing our own.  So long as the Tamil Community ‘left’ the armed rebels to their own pathway – Tamils as a Community did not have the mind to elevate their minority status to Equal status through the Common pathway facilitated by the system of Democratic Administration. They wanted it both ways. Majority Tamil families known to me continue to be hierarchical in their structure. So long as these families do not claim benefits – beyond their contribution - for practicing democracy,  such systems would help preserve our heritage.

As per my discovery – we are driven by two minds – (1) the conscious mind which is driven by the seen – including majority power and the known; and (2) the  subconscious mind that operates as per our true nature. Where the subconscious mind is stronger than the conscious mind – we are driven by the Spirit of the issue – be it positive or negative. When we hold official positions in a Democratic system – we have the Duty to show our actions as per the conscious mind. Those actions that cannot be explained through the official mind structure – need to be done quietly and confidentially – as per our conscience. Where the subconscious is based on the ‘benefits’ of the past – the mind deteriorates to the hearsay level.

Where one is at the end of the official road and continues to seek – one is taken naturally to the higher system of Truth.  Sri Lankan Tamils being strong practitioners of their culture would have become relatives of Hindus & Christians all over the world. Those nations where Hinduism is officially recognized as a higher pathway – become natural relatives of Sri Lankan Hindus. Likewise Sri Lankan Buddhists who are Sinhalese.

Now that Sri Lankan Government is trying to be harmonious with India and at the same time is engaging actively with China – all these non-visible forces become important until the war-issues are settled and the experience is treated as heritage and not suppressed as Terrorism.

 As per the  Hindu article ‘India’s fear of encirclement groundless says Chinese daily, as Ranil arrives for talks’:

“Within hours of Mr. Wickremasinghe’s arrival, the state-run Global Times newspaper ran an op-ed that focused on India as a factor in Beijing-Colombo ties. Analysts say that the 1.4-billion dollar Port City Project in Colombo, which has been cleared by the Sri Lankan government, but where protests are being staged, has become a litmus test of Colombo’s ability to balance ties between its two Asian powerhouses: China and India.’

Global Times report ‘Prime minister’s visit expected to iron out Sino-Sri Lankan divergences’ highlighted as follows:

[Apart from partisan politics in Sri Lanka, pressure from India has also been playing a crucial role in suspending the project. New Delhi is often biased when viewing Chinese investment in South Asia. New Delhi's anxiety stems from its suspicion that China is making an attempt to contain India. Despite the fact that neither Beijing's investment to Sri Lanka, nor the latter's economic development will do any harm to India, New Delhi is still obsessed with the idea that China might create a military encirclement around India.
For example, in late 2014, Sri Lanka allowed a Chinese submarine and a warship to dock at its port in Colombo, and India strongly opposed it. After Sri Lanka's new cabinet assumed the office, it claimed that similar incident would not happen again.]

If the Prime Minister were able to rise above the push to ‘show’ quick economic progress – he would be able to identify with India’s need to protect its investment in Sri Lanka. A Sri Lankan leader looking to prevent war in Sri Lanka would seriously give form to India’s real status relative to China – as allocated by Sri Lankan People. The more pro-China Sri Lankan Government becomes – the stronger the possibility of war due to loss of confidence by the Hindus. If the problem with China is the debt owed – then that must be clearly stated and the status shown as a Liability and not as Shares in Sri Lanka.

Just yesterday, someone from Thunaivi-Vaddukoddai in Northern Sri Lanka -  who was faced with similar dilemma as the Sri Lankan Government sought my guidance. The problem is pictured as follows: ‘A member of the Diaspora living in Norway sent money to build a cultural hall for the community. The land was acquired by the Thunaivi community through a Deed of Declaration.  Now – the donor wants the message that it was a memorial for his father – engraved on the foundation stone. Community leaders who were not part of the project are opposed to this. In the meantime, the donor has ‘gifted’ a sum of money to the young project leader – claiming it was because he was family.’

If I were India, this donor from Norway would be China. We also donated Land to the Community for Development work. Whenever the above project leader had community and/or family problems – he sought my advice whereas in the case of the Norwegian donor – the transactions were at monetary level. I had initially asked including through a meeting at the Local Council - that records be maintained of all voluntary workers in the project – and that the names of those volunteers be registered in the ledgers of the village. This was not done. Yesterday, I urged the project leader to treat the ‘gift’ as payment for work done – and to register the names of all volunteers on the foundation stone. The donor’s name would come AFTER that. The basis for this is that Human Resource is higher than money Resource. This way the project-leader brings himself out of the leadership picture and also the blame that he took ‘bribe’ in the name of donation.

The parallel of that for China is to clearly identify its position as a Lender / Liability and register the name of the People of Sri Lanka as the owners of the Port City project. As part of the  Common Opposition – that is what Mr. Wickremesinghe would have done. That is also what TNA ought to do. Since TNA has not – it comes from this Common Tamil Opposition of Global standards.

As per the Sri Lankan news report ‘Task Force invites submissions from public in truth and justice process’ : [The Consultations Task force on Reconciliation Mechanisms has invited submissions from the public on the design of structures, processes and measures to seek truth and justice, ensure accountability and offer redress to the victims of the war.]

The above mandate recognizes Truth as the goal. One needs to be open to bottom-up contributions from the Public who have completed their duty to the existing system which makes them eligible to contribute to future policy by sharing their discoveries. That is also the duty of Governors in any system. That is how we connect the past to the future through ourselves. Even if no one reads such contribution – the system of Truth would record it as an Opposition to the Government’s work and influence minds accordingly.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 07 April   2016

Sri Lanka indebted to Australia?

A Hindu Diaspora leader forwarded to me the media release by Friday Forum to ‘ Halt Prefab Steel Houses Project for war-affected’. I thought back about my own ‘protest’ published on 27 March under the heading ‘Lifestyle Choices by Jaffna – their Sovereign right?’ – in which I state as follows:

[In an area that has been strongly damaged by war – such modern amenities would tend to cover up the Truth. When I first went to reside in Thunaivi – there was no electricity or running water facilities in most parts of Thunaivi which as per my observations was treated by the Sri Lankan armed forces as a high risk area. I myself took it step by step – as if I was native of Thunaivi – known as Toddy Tapper village. Most of them accepted their caste and practiced a similar hierarchy within their village. We in turn are developing an institutional system that would gradually override the caste system but without damaging the investment in its core values. ]

Hence when I read the  above email  this morning – I felt that my message had reached the ears of  the Cow with the Bell – the Friday Forum. They may or may not have read my article. But to the extent we are genuine in relation to the issue of prevention of war – the system of Truth connects our minds. The Friday Forum explains its role as follows:

‘The Friday Forum is an informal and self-financed group dedicated to democracy, good governance, human rights and the rule of law. It has for over five years sought to alert the public on issues concerning the rights of the citizen. We work on a non-partisan basis and have been critical of both the Government and Opposition. ‘

In my case – the words ‘ rule of law’ would be replaced by rule of conscience. The ‘ rights of the citizen’ may not be always covered by law. That which is ‘right’ by law need not be ‘right’ in the system of Truth.

One who is ‘dedicated’ to the rule of law therefore would not be able to serve the vast majority of victims of war who have little knowledge of law as stated in ‘parliamentary ledgers’. Majority victims of war would have lived by their Customary pathways and the law applied theoretically would be Double Dutch to them. When was the last time the Friday Forum explained to a citizen in Nainatheevu – that as per Article 14 (1) (e ) s/he was entitled to reject the name ‘Nagadeepa’? Or to the Government that to have two different names for the same place is in breach of the principles underpinning the law of majority rule? A right needs to be activated to deserve recognition at Common level.

The Friday Forum seems to be limited to Government circles. To become a People’s Forum – one must have the courage to bring out the Truth about a system at the end of Due Process as per the law as practiced in that environment by the members of the Institution. One could therefore practice the law at a level above the government – and then criticize the government if the government opposes it or tries to suppress the value of it. I endured punishment for presenting my Truth  here in Australia.  Many Tamil Leaders did that in Sri Lanka and to the extent rebels respected them and they included the rebels as part of the community – the rebels became the armed forces of the Tamil community. This is likely to have happened in South also. Those who come to Colombo driven by its money and status, tend to take the place of Colonial rulers to whom rural Sri Lankans/ Ceylonese  were largely ‘working class’ who needed to be ‘told’. To the extent that group accepted being told – they were relatives. It is the inalienable right of the citizen to choose her/his leader / higher relative or distance her/himself from another and produce independent outcomes.

As explained through my yesterday’s article ‘Governor or CEO?’ – if one is not to be limited to  the Administrative system, a governor driven by Truth needs to be the head above the CEO in a hierarchical system. In a flat system of Democracy – this is the Citizen without portfolio. When such a citizen follows Due Process as per the structure – and then declares the Truth – the Governor has the Responsibility to uphold that Truth until proven by the Administration - that the citizen was wrong as per the law. Both Chancellors of my time at the University of NSW – Sir Anthony Mason and Dr. John Yu – did confirm value for my complaint against Central Administration. Dr. Yu had the courage to go a step further and write as follows:

[Dear Gaja, Thank you for your note about the Dean of Science.  You would appreciate that it would not be proper for me to discuss any details of this with you but I hope you might have some reassurance in the fact that the Vice Chancellor discussed the matter with me at every stage….You and I are always concerned about people and I know that these factors were also given every consideration.]

Yet, as per the Administrative records – I am a criminal to the University of NSW – because of the gap between the applicable laws and the pathway of Truth traveled by that University.  Had the Chancellor’s position been structured laterally with the power to uphold the Truth about the institution – as presented by the employee/citizen  -  the judgment would effectively have been that I am a Guardian Angel of the University. There are many Sri Lankans of this category – especially amongst minority communities.

Where an institution has this independent and Equal position as the CEO – a genuine victim would be able to complete the cycle of her/his experience within the institution. Once it leaves the boundaries of the institution – it goes into the system of Truth which cannot be influenced directly by either side. After my experience, I have become that Governor to many in my areas of activity – including in Sri Lanka. Along this path – I realize/d that the more I used Article 9 of the Sri Lankan Constitution – through which to present my criticism – the stronger my identity with the Hindu value.

Buddha renounced the throne to become a man without portfolio. Jesus did not have any official portfolio in the then administration and yet He provided solace to the needy. Krishna took the position of Chariot driver to Prince Arjuna to lead the good side to victory. Once we contribute to the Common pool – we are entitled to Equal rights. But towards this one needs to contribute whole-heartedly – and where one has little that little must be submitted fully. A citizen who so renounces – is a Governor and when such a governor is overruled, the return happens through the system of Truth and the manifestations are known often as  ‘Acts of God.’

The Friday Forum’s criticism of the Housing project is taken as follows:

[The Cabinet Decision in September 2015 that 65,000 houses be built by the government for war- affected people was commendable. However both the manner and the consequences of the awarding of the contract to Arcelor Mittal, a multinational company building prefabricated steel houses, have rightly attracted public concern and serious criticism.

Rising local and national opposition to this housing project has raised the following issues: transparency and haste in tendering process; manipulation by vested interests in decision-making; significantly greater cost of steel housing over conventional alternatives; colossal 1 billion USD national debt to be incurred; denial of  the secondary benefits to local construction industry and local labour that would accompany a more customary scheme; culturally and practically inappropriate design that does not match community lifestyle and preferences; unknown durability of steel housing under Sri Lankan conditions, challenges for locally-sourced maintenance by residents, and over-hasty and confusing applications processes for this scheme being implemented at district level.  ]

As per the news reports about the visit to Australia by   the Sri Lankan minister for foreign affairs – the Hon Mangala Samaraweera :

[He pointed out that in recent years Australia has become the home of over 120,000 persons of Sri Lankan origin – with an eclectic mix of Burghers, Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese. Australia is also a favoured destination for Sri Lanka students: over 5500 Sri Lankans are studying at Australian universities. SriLankan Airlines opened its first office in Australia, here in Melbourne, in 2013 and airlines are exploring the possibility of re-commencing the direct flights between the two countries. Samaraweera also assured support from his Government for any investors]

The Minister did not highlight the Aid from Australia to Sri Lanka – published as follows by our Government:

[The Australian Government is providing an estimated $28.9 million of total ODA (Official Development Assistance)  to Sri Lanka in 2015-16. That includes an estimated $19.9 million in bilateral funding managed by DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade).]

Australians of Lankan origin, to whom Australia is now ‘home’ need to be global minded in terms of their principles and values. Until they have demonstrated this value in action – their investments are private and should not be ‘counted’ by the Government, as its own. Likewise Australians to whom ‘Sri Lanka’ is good for Charity.

In the Tamil system of Thesawalamai – Muthusum (inherited wealth) is clearly distinguished from Thediya Thettam (acquired wealth). The former represents Belief in tradition and the latter represents current merit. If war is of heritage value – it becomes untouchable for activists on both sides. When the merits of a project are measured purely through economic yardstick – it could easily be hijacked by foreigners including for their own wars. Any development activity in war damaged areas needs to be after  paying tribute to the  traditional owners of that land – not as per the law but as per belief.  A Sinhalese soldier from rural South is not likely to qualify as the receiver of such tribute. Nor does the government that employed him once that government is exposed of wrong doing at National level during the period covered by the war.

Within the Diaspora, the victims of war include those who were denied  their Sri Lankan heritage due to Sri Lanka’s low status in the eyes of the Common Australian who has the higher donor status. Officially that must be transparent at Government level. We private citizens may override it with our Truth – but officially – Sri Lanka is a junior to Australia in International structure. If forgotten – Sri Lanka is an orphan needing charity from Australia. Such charity comes with the blood of those Sri Lankans who were suppressed and punished in their attempts to uphold their Sovereignty here in Australia. Free money without conditions is poison to Muthusum / Heritage.

Jetwing Jaffna 

 Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 06 April   2016

Governor or CEO?

Last night, our son Pradeep forwarded to me the report about the opening of their Jaffna branch from Jetwing Hotels. To me part of the motivating power is his heritage from me and through me my investment in Travel Industry. When I worked at Air Lanka, the institution became part of our family –not just through my work but through the social events held at our home. Thus Air Lanka staff became our relatives. Later – through Air Lankan common values – as developed and shaped through that group – which included Singapore Airlines mangers also – we became higher relatives to each other. This is the value of higher institutions. They become part of the biological family – even if it is seen through only one person - myself. In terms of Air Lanka – we have many such persons including in my immediate family – starting with my children. When I therefore received the above email – I felt appreciated for my investment in Air Lanka – a place that I have not been physically part of since 1982 when I left Sri Lanka – to earn more money to build a home in Sri Lanka.

Later when I was invited by some of those Air Lanka relatives to be part of the 25^th Anniversary celebrations, the deepest contribution I made was to reject my gift of honor on the basis that the then managers failed to recognize the pioneers who groomed us but were no longer alive. I became a nobody like them – even though I was physically present there. I gave up my share of current benefits and thus became a heritage owner like our ancestors. Even though I did not do it for that purpose – I had the experience as if I was the whole of Air Lanka and not just a part allocated by the current custodians of power to me.

To my mind, the current problems faced by  Sri Lankan Airlines is due to their forgetfulness of this heritage – including at employee level. The current government in turn is promoting its own persons to write reports without any recognition of this ‘forgetfulness’ by current activists.

The above happened in 2004. By then I had completed my relativity with the University of NSW and become an owner – even though I myself did not fully recognize this higher status until much later. The indicators were there – with both Chancellors of my time – Sir Anthony Mason followed  Dr. John Yu – expressing  in action their support for me – even though I had not  physically met either of them. In turn the Vice Chancellors – starting with the one from America – sent me to prison. Strangely, Daily News became a relation through that visit – due to my response to Justice  Weeramantry’s article on Ahimsa and Gandhi. Daily News published the response on the day I was declared by the Mental Health Service of NSW – to be following in Gandhi’s path. To me it was no coincidence. It was as if Gandhi himself was clearing my name through the system of Truth. It would have been the end of the road for me as a migrant who did not deserve the time of the CEO – even after the Chancellor endorsed me. I see this pattern happening again in Jaffna.

Last December when my husband and I were in Jaffna – our son strongly recommended that we stayed a couple of nights at Jetwing Jaffna. I asked him ‘who will pay?’ He said ‘Daddy will’. Given that Daddy earns enough – he has the duty to pay and he would if I chose to stay there. But mentally, my little cottage in Thunaivi is my home-hotel in Jaffna. If I stayed at Jetwing I would not have enough for the development projects in Sri Lanka which contribute to prevention of war program - without which prevention  Jetwing will not have the business it needs to be economically viable. I said to our son -  that our staff whom we trained is already working there and that was good enough for me. It motivates me to train more staff – each as per their own inherited skills.

The staff – Ragavan who joined us as a trainee after the post-election restructure of the Jaffna public service unit he was with – got his first break on the day he accompanied the children of Thunaivi – to participate in the 50^th Anniversary ceremony of Saint Yoga Swami, held at Nallur. The call for the interview came from Jaffna Heritage Hotel and Ragavan sought and received my blessings.  I felt happy – when he announced that he was successful. Later when Ragavan sought my blessings to join Mackwoods and became Jetwing staff – I felt that the value of my training was further elevated.

In the eyes of  outsiders – this would not be visible. The article for example says:

[The project has also succeeded in providing employment for over 80 youths from Jaffna, who were provided with training in hospitality industry by Jetwing Hotels. Among the institutional investors is Leon Holdings, headed by a Sri Lankan expatriate hailing from Jaffna, who is a partner of a successful business venture in Europe.]

Like Truth - True Governors often become invisible and rightly so. But a real CEO would  never overrule the True Governor. At the University of NSW – I invoked the person in that Governor’s position by following Due Process. Even though I did not appreciate it back then – I was drawing up the pathway of my own Truth – as to what one should do when faced with a blank wall in the CEO position/Executive Government? Giving structure to my pathway naturally empowers all those who believe in me to do ‘right’ as per their position and when ultimately faced with that blank wall of indifference  – to submit to Truth. One who accepts reality after having tried her/his best – submits to Truth.

But I did not know back then that my Truth invokes the Truth in others to work the universal system naturally. This leads to enjoyment through others and not just by ourselves and those biologically close to us.  To me, every institution with cultural diversity due to physical separations – needs this Governor to be higher than CEO under a hierarchical structure but be an Equal alternate to the CEO in a democratic structure. I am still part of the University of NSW due to these Chancellors/Governors – but only because I accepted the reality that the University was not yet democratic. I myself often play that role within Jaffna groups and in the less democratic parts of  my family and community.

The current Sri Lankan Government formed the current structure due to desperation to get out of the problem of monarchy  that the old structure was promoting by combining the CEO and Governor positions. The Governor’s power comes from her/his experience of Truth. The CEO’s is limited to the lawful structure of the highest Administrative position. Where these are hierarchically arranged – a governor must ‘wait’ until the person seeking the services passes position boundaries. This is also the boundary of local ownership. In terms of religion – one who feels God without needing to ‘see’ or think – has come past that religious boundary. One who needs to ‘see’ and know through conscious thinking of principles – is still within the religious boundaries and that person’s highest authority is the Administrative leader. This would often include god-on-earth – for example as Jesus  or Krishna. Otherwise it is the priest.

Where the CEO’s powers are activated to override the true Governor and is done so within the law – it is confirmation of top-down control that has the effect of suppressing one’s sovereignty / freedom. Often in Universities and other institutions of high status – this happens due to blind copying of  others’ systems foreign to us. Continuing with old systems after majority are new-entrants – also promotes such copying.

Applying  the  above basis in Sri Lanka which is in the process of  giving new form to its Constitution I form the following picture: –

In a hierarchical system the Sri Lankan Prime Minister is the CEO and the President is the Governor. So the opening of Jetwing Jaffna confirmed that Jaffna is of heritage value due to the war – explained as follows:

[President Maithripala Sirisena who opened the facility said that the hotel project demonstrated the investor confidence on the Northern Province in general and Jaffna Peninsula in particular, as well as resilience of the people in the peninsula]

The problem with this is also that we invoke the spirits of war – as confirmed by Leon Holdings headed by a Sri Lankan expatriate hailing from Jaffna -  being the main ‘institutional investment’. Wikipedia reports about the founder as follows:

‘In Sri Lanka Rasiah R Leon founded Pentag Asia Group at the age of 21, growing it to a successful company with more than 500 employees. Upon arriving in Norway  and getting  political asylum he started  working as a cleaner and later as a sorter at the Norwegian Post. Starting first part-time as a seller for the calling card company Telesenter Scandinavia, he rapidly rose to the position of Sales Director for Norway.

In 2001, he made friends with two other Tamil colleagues, Ratheesan Yoganathan and Baskaran Kandiah, who eventually became his business partners creating Lebara Group.

In 2001, Rasiah Leon, Baskaran Kandiah and Ratheesan Yoganathan founded the Lebara Group, a company which they still own and operate successfully. The three partners have later ventured into other business areas with their mutually owned LBR Investments BV which again mainly invest in hotels and real estate.

Rasiah Leon's ownership in Lebara Group BV and LBR Investments BV is organised through the Norwegian investment company, Leon Holding AS.]

The worker / professional in the founder of Leon Holdings is Norwegian who gave up his origin as Sri Lankan when he claimed asylum. That worker/professional is NOT Sri Lankan. Those who claim asylum from their country of birth are overriding local territories and are claiming to be global citizens. They have the duty to act as global citizens.

If the CEO of Leon Group was being hailed on merit basis for global business – then such ought to have happened through the Prime Minister and/or the Minister for Tourism. If  Jetwings is to benefit from the heritage value of Jaffna created by the war – it needs to seek and find a true governor of Jaffna or ought to have facilitated the Elected Chief Minister to take that position in Jaffna, until it finds such a true governor. It is disrespectful to promote business to current generation on the grave of the older generations. Such happens often due to deterioration of heritage values.

The deterioration of the Governing position is visible even at UN level. I noted that our former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has put his hand up for the position of Secretary General of the UN. The UN website highlights the requirements as follows:

[As the symbolic head of the UN, the Secretary-General serves as both its top diplomat and its chief administrative officer. As the UN Charter postulates, s/he is responsible for performing various functions entrusted to him/her by UN bodies, and also for "bring[ing] to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."]

To my mind, there is no Australian who is better suited than I to meet the requirements of the above position – on the basis that I do not know of another Australian who has actually practiced the laws and principles of the UN at least as much as I have.  It was on this basis that I put my hand up in 2006 as Australia’s representative – to match Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala who was the candidate nominated by Sri Lanka. From a Governing aspect – I doubt that Dr. Dhanapala would have endured anywhere near my pain and loss to uphold his Sovereignty. If he did that ought to have been highlighted as  the best qualification he had for the job. The UN wrote to me that all nominations needed to be through the Government and there ended that project. But my investment in the UN became deeper due to the genuine effort made.

As per the Guardian:

[Much of the debate around the replacement of Ban is focused on the question: will it break the glass ceiling and see the appointment of the UN’s first female leader? Four out of the eight candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring so far are female, including the Bulgarian Irina Bokova, who heads Unesco and is seen as Moscow’s favorite for the job.

In December, both the president of the UN general assembly and the president of the security council – the US ambassador, Samantha Power – wrote an unprecedented joint letter to all member states urging them to nominate female candidates. An Equality Now online campaign calling for a woman to be appointed secretary general has also attracted more than 30,000 supporters.]

To my mind, both the above officers are promoting their own and hence diminishing the democratic value of the UN. They require a self-nominated Citizen without ‘attachment’ to leadership powers to become the UN President alternatively - which must rank Equal and Opposite to the Secretary General’s position. If the powers are vested in the Secretary General’s position – then the old position needs to be dissolved. Likewise, promotion of women as if they are minority powers – below the Common Citizen without special portfolio. That Common Citizen must nominate her/himself and demonstrate the opposition shown as an Equal to the  CEO of the country - through Due Processes. Such persons have the natural entitlement to lead the UN.

Today, I learnt for the first time that there was also the position of President of the UN. But like the Chancellors of the Australian Universities the president seems unknown to most of us. Sri Lankan Government and/or the Tamil Community ought to have had the opportunity to take their plight to the President of the UN for the verdict of Truth. In a flat democratic structure –the Governor  must be an Equal alternative to the CEO. I ought to have had the facility to go direct to the President when my actions through Australian processes failed to uphold my true investment in Equal Opportunity values.

Given that the incumbents of the position of Secretary General failed to make this discovery -  the title of Chief Diplomat needs to be taken away from the above portfolio.

In a Democracy - the Governor decides as per the ‘heritage’ value and CEO  on merit basis. It is difficult for one person to be the same at the one time. As per the current makeup – there is no recourse for minorities to access the real powers of the UN – until the UN Administration itself is questioned due to death and destruction – as happened in the case of Sri Lanka. Those who claim heritage powers – to confirm ownership – must have that position shown as an Equal parallel to the CEO who must be responsible for currently active structures needing merit based assessment and allocation of status and money benefits. 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 05 April   2016

Sri Lankan Army paying Bride Price to become House Husbands in Tamil areas?

I believe that all of us carry positive and/or negative energies. Likewise, every home, village, institution, nation and beyond that as Issue.  Those who believe in that institution/issue are owners. Those who discover Truth through that institution/issue add positive Energy which adds itself to the Sovereignty of the institution. Such owners work the institution/issue naturally.

As per Asian Mirror:

[Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa today challenged President Maithripala Sirisena to at least establish reconciliation within his party, the SLFP, before attempting to achieve reconciliation in the north and east]

If a political party requires internal Reconciliation – it confirms that it is NOT a true political party. Good Politics is based on Common Belief. Where there is belief there is no room for ‘proof’. Where there is no room for proof – there is no authority to produce independent outcomes. When there are no independent outcomes – there is no need for Reconciliation.

But when one reads more deeply as per the makeup/guna  of former President – one would read the above as a warning to not give in to Tamils who come with International influence which could prove to be negative in terms of Sovereignty. This is highlighted as follows:

‘Rajapaksa also said that the reconciliation should not be attempted according to the wishes of the terrorists.

He also pointed out that the government was taking the discovery of a suicide vest and other explosives from Chavakachcheri very lightly and that it was intimidating those who point out the facts to the people.’

A government that by law considers the Tamil Tigers – LTTE to be a Terrorist group – has the obligation to accept the advice and guidance of the person under whose leadership such group was defeated. If the government is of the same party as the leader who so defeated the group – then there is a moral duty to hear such a leader as per his intuition in the issue. Otherwise there is the grave risk of the current government taking credit without having earned it. As stated above – where Truth is discovered – the Sovereignty of the institution gets strengthened. In a group that is Sovereign or is working towards Sovereignty – one part often has to lose for another to gain. Hence the development of the Common Pool. Mr. Rajapaksa lost status at global level and the current government is getting the credit – including through Reconciliation promises.

It is however, doubtful that the current government knows much about Reconciliation. The Army website has published the following  at http://www.army.lk/details.php?type=article&id=924  :

‘Village of Reconciliation’ in Kokeliya Vested in Tri-services Personnel’

3rd April 2016

‘Sanhindiyawe Sathvirugama’ (Sathvirugama village of Reconciliation), the housing project with 51 new homes at Kokeliya, Vavuniya, built by the 56 Division troops of the Army of the Security Force Headquarters - Wanni (SFHQ-W) and 4 Corps of Engineer Services (4 CES) through funds of the ‘Api Wenuwen Api’ house construction project of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), was vested in serving Tamil woman soldiers and Army personnel married to Tamil ladies as a reconciliation project of the best exemplary nature on Sunday (3).’

Reconciliation is needed where two sides produce their independent outcomes. Changing those outcomes either confirms that there is no reconciliation needed or the shortcomings of the changer is being covered up. As an insider – within the victims group – to me the above is an attempt to cover up.

The Truth as it happened must be recognized by the Government which is bound by Buddha Sasana through Article 9 of the Sri Lankan Constitution. Recognizing this Truth is likely to demote the status of Sri Lanka to lower level than the current government is working for. But when Truth is the basis – development on that basis is blessed by the gods and we would develop far beyond the development influenced by external elements.  

The Army considered the LTTE to be Terrorists. They have the duty to uphold that and not override it now. Likewise LTTE considered themselves to be ‘Freedom Fighters’. The first reconciliation needs to be between three two labels. To my mind, that is the only Reconciliation needed. The LTTE claim that they were fighting for freedom is translated differently at different levels. Majority at the lower end fought to preserve their self-dignity. That is needed by any individual to feel Sovereignty. If the deaths of such persons – is greater in number than the deaths of official soldiers – then that homeland is Sovereign Territory of the group that endures more deaths.

 If the Sri Lankan Army is making a home in that war zone due to deaths of their members – then death becomes the measure of ownership. Tamils lost many more lives than Sinhalese and this needs to be respected and preserved as heritage. We Tamils owe it to our Common Community. If the Government goes ahead – then Tamil Political Leaders must renounce Reconciliation–credits and therefore also renounce the pat in the back from the UN.

Sinhalese soldiers marrying Tamil women should never be taken as credit for the Reconciliation process. It is indeed a polluted pathway that tarnishes the honor owed to those who died for their belief in Sovereignty – starting with the Sovereignty of the self. If these soldiers come with houses – then it is against the principles and values of Thesawalamai Law – the Customary law of Northern Sri Lankans. As per this law – the bride takes dowry and the husband must wait until the death of his parents to inherit ancestral wealth. Marriage separates for the purpose of expansion and given that women are often home-makers in Tamil culture – they get dowry to complete their relationship with the birth family – when starting a new family - and take with them only the Love/Truth realized through the biological relationships. Thus the Sovereignty of the bride is recognized to help her feel Equal in a new family – starting from zero base – as in rebirth. A woman who so practices Thesawalamai is blessed by the Tamil ancestors who developed Thesawalamai Customary Law to suit us.

The parallel of Dowry is Bride Price – where men become house husbands in the new family. As per the above project – which smells strongly of Colonization – the army are seeking to become house-husbands in Northern Sri Lanka. That is the way psychology works. All Tamils who took-up arms became the natural army of Tamils. It would be wrong to pollute this status by indiscriminately mixing Sinhalese soldiers with Tamils. It is also disrespectful of the Tamil system of marriage that most of us have valued and practiced over generations. If even one of them feels pain and loss through this so called Reconciliation - their curse is brought upon the government that is promoting this low level assimilation.

http://www.theredheadriter.com/2010/03/women-vs-men-women-win/

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 04 April   2016

The Higher Power above Electricity

‘Not only in recent months but previously too, our system and systems around the world, have shut down. It is the behaviour of the network, that is the functioning of the system as a whole, that holds the key to the problem; it is not the repetition of the same defect time and again’
Professor Kumar David – in his Island article - A layman’s guide to power blackouts

I felt interested not only because I have problems with the Ceylon Electricity Board – Northern Province (http://austms.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/multicultural-sharing-in-sydney.html) but also because the above claims to be a ‘layman’s guide’.

Professor David states in terms of  Technical Administration: ‘Each generator does not service a particular load; rather, the output of all generators is "pooled" into the transmission grid. Individual distribution systems (municipalities, industries, rural regions) tap power from the grid in much the same way as a housing estate taps the water-main and then distributes water to individual housing units. There is one critical difference though; electricity cannot be stored in the grid, therefore there has to be a near instantaneous balance of production and consumption of electric energy.’

To my mind, the resources of each branch in a family, institution, nation are also ‘pooled’ into the Central Government transmission grid known to us through many names and at national level - as the Parliament. The parallels of the above in Government – are Devolution and Unitary Governance respectively. If therefore we are to have a Unitary structure – the pathway between the user and provider needs to be clear at all times. In terms of Northern Province Electricity Suppliers – this was/is  NOT the case. They read the meter and issued the bill on the spot but we did not have free access to the Administrators when we felt the pain. Many times – the Chulipuram-Vaddukoddai local branch was left in the care of  juniors. If we had had devolution – we would have not even thought of going to Colombo for higher application of the rule but the local rule would have been enforced on us.

In terms of Human Resource Management Professor Kumar David demonstrates his lack of care as follows:

‘CEB engineers are technically sound, but the overall structure of the organisation has not undergone radical rethinking for a long time – maybe not since LECO was spun off (I may be wrong here). Privatisation is no solution but restructuring will be a boost. An open structure with greater transparency and public participation and the creation of advisory committees that include outside experts (even a foreigner or two) which meet say twice a year to review ongoing work and make recommendations will, I believe, strengthen the organisation both in fact and in image.’

The Achilles heel of the Electricity system is referred to by Professor Kumar David as follows: ‘AC systems, excellent for handling large amounts of power, too have their Achilles heel. In normal operation all generators must work at strictly the same frequency, the sinusoidal shape (if you remember it from school) of their voltage waves must all oscillate at the same rate. The waves can, and must, be slightly out of phase (shifted) from each other – see figure - but must maintain a lockstep of frequency during steady operation. All system wide blackouts eventually are the result of synchronism (lockstep operation) being disrupted by big external or internal shocks, causing generators to attempt to run at different frequencies leading to failure of harmonized operation.’

The shock is the arrow that killed Achilles. The Achilles heel is within the system itself. The customer in the Electrical Engineer is her/his Achilles heel. Without this customer – there is no motivational power to complete the application of technical knowledge. An engineer who ‘forgets’ this customer when using her/his knowledge fails the ‘ownership’ test. The shock happens when a customer becomes an insider by doing her/his duty by the system as a whole, which  makes the  engineer minus the customer -  the ‘outsider’ to the service.

 The customer who has the ‘supplier’ in her/him completes the picture and represents the Truth. All technical facilities above that level do not qualify as part of the ‘Service’. A customer who has done her/his duty – has the power to shock this part of the system. Using ‘business unit’ structures helps us to reduce wastage in such sophistication.

In Australia for example the migrant who practiced Equal Opportunity values above the level of the highest Administrator - becomes the Achilles heel of the Government. Such migrants have the ‘absolute’ power of global citizens and hence Mr. Howard’s presence during 9/11 attack. It is essential that the citizen completes the picture at her/his level – by becoming the government – bottom up. This often entails losing money and/or status one would otherwise have had by going along with the government/central administration. Such work is heard by the system of Truth – which is above all sciences and answers to all sciences.

Professor David states for example:

[The involvement of politicians in project decision making (these are not in the multi-million but the multi-billion rupee range) has been a curse as it contributes to wrong decisions, wrong sequencing of project options, cost overruns and interference with investigations of system failures (yours faithfully has first-hand experience of one such bigtime mystery in 2009). CEB engineers are technically sound, but the overall structure of the organisation has not undergone radical rethinking for a long time – maybe not since LECO was spun off (I may be wrong here). Privatisation is no solution but restructuring will be a boost. An open structure with greater transparency and public participation and the creation of advisory committees that include outside experts (even a foreigner or two) which meet say twice a year to review ongoing work and make recommendations will, I believe, strengthen the organisation both in fact and in image.]

The above confirms that Professor David himself is lacking in knowledge of Democratic Management – leave alone actual experience. Restructuring CEB on Business Unit basis – so each Unit proves itself to be self-sufficient and becomes the supplier  of another internal unit satisfies both requirements – privatization as well as restructuring. But this needs to be without any ‘foreigners’ for ‘foreigners’ often tend to pamper the locals or takeover the ‘service’. Sri Lanka is not yet global for such inclusions.

I believe that like in the case of our former Prime Minister John Howard, I contributed to the blackouts – by completing the picture – bottom-up as a customer who went through the process of addressing the bill that was 4 times the average for that period. The ‘technically sound’ engineer said to me that it was due to the security cameras which had been  in place for months. That simple logic was missing – because the engineer took-on the mind of the meter reader instead of  the caring customer who used her Truth to workout what ought to have been charged. If the Electrical Engineer could not specifically state why and how the consumption was higher – he had the responsibility to accept the customer’s explanation as ‘right’ and settle the bill at that level. When this is not done – the blackouts would happen to confirm the real status of that complete customer who has been hurt. In my case that was at the Prime Ministerial level here in Australia and Presidential level in Sri Lanka. In both cases they suffered the consequences of my pain.

The Hindu example is Lord Shiva who undertook the labor  work required to be done by an old woman. In return Lord Shiva who appeared as a laborer was offered  Puttu (Tamil rice dish) . When he did not do the work the guards caned  him and the caning returned to the guards and the king.

At physical level we connect through the body. At mental level – we connect through the brain. At soul level – we connect through our Ownership Energy. Included in Electricity is this unseen and often consciously unrecognized  component that is identified with only through experience. Excessive knowledge often becomes a block in this passage.  

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 02 April   2016

Nainatheevu  or Nagadeepa ?

The ethnic problem of Sri Lanka is highlighted yet again through the island of Nainatheevu in Northern Sri Lanka. This island is known to Sinhalese as Nagadeepa – Island of the Nagas (Nagam = Cobra). The latest row is published as follows:

Ceylon Today - Nagadeepa Prelate accuses Jaffna GA – By Priyapema Manikkaratne

[The Chief Incumbent of the Nagadeepa Temple Venerable Navadagala Padumakiththi Thera claims that the Government Agent of Jaffna has sent a letter ordering construction of the planned 75-foot Buddha Statue at the Nagadeepa Temple in Jaffna to be halted immediately. The construction is estimated to cost Rs 120 million.
The Chief Incumbent made this statement to devotees who participated in the Reconciliation Tour which connects the 'thalpatha and panhinda' at the Nagadeepa Vihara and met him at the temple recently.

The Chief Monk said there is a conspiracy being hatched to destroy the Nagadeepa Temple which, because of its importance, can help forge reconciliation between the people of the North and the South and that the letter sent by the Government Agent of Jaffna confirms that there is a hidden hand behind this conspiracy.
The Thera said  he strongly suspected mala fide objectives here judging by the manner in which the Government Agent of Jaffna and other officials are acting while everyone including fishermen in Jaffna have said that they will provide assistance to construct the Buddha Statue.

Venerable Padumakiththi Thera added that construction of the Buddha Statue will not be halted irrespective of any impediments. He said he hopes that the attention of the government including the President and the Prime Minister, as well as top officials will focus on this problem and issue directives changing the decision of the Government Agent.]

In terms of Law and Order, the Buddhist clergy are no exception to the ordinary citizens. By expressing his expectation that  the President and the Prime Minister would intervene in the Administration of  the temple – the Buddhist Chief Monk has confirmed that he is part of the reasons for the breakdown of Law and Order in the country.

The Government Agent may be right or he may be wrong as per the law in making the ruling he is alleged to have made. But Due Process needs to be followed in establishing how the Buddhist Chief  made his decision. If the monk’s decision was made as per Buddha Sasana as facilitated by Article 9 of the Constitution – then the Government Agent who is a Hindu is entitled to include his belief in making the decision – the belief that Buddhist construction would damage the rights of Hindus and therefore would be in breach of Article 14 (1) (e ) which states as follows:

(e) Every citizen is entitled to - the freedom, either by himself or in association with others, and either in public or in private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice or teaching;

If indeed the Prime Minister and/or the President intervene/s to overrule the Government Agent – they would be guilty of acting in breach of Article 14 (1) (e )

Strangely, the recorded background to the Buddhist part of the island goes as follows:

[The site is known as the place where Lord Buddha came during his second visit to Sri Lanka, after five years of attaining Enlightenment, to intervene and mediate in settling a dispute over the possession of a gem-studded throne.

When Buddha arrived and saw the Naga Kings prepared for fighting, Budhha used psychic powers to appear in the sky performing miracles. This made the Nagas astonished and happy. After having listened to the Dhamma sermons displaying Buddha's masterly knowledge of unity and harmony, meththa and compassion, the Naga kings paid homage to Budhha with overwhelming faith. The throne was offered to him in unison and they became pious devotees.

The Naga King Maniakkitha, ruler of Kelaniya, moved by the compassion of the Buddha, thanked him profusely for settling the dispute.]

One could therefore conclude that the actions and expressions of the Buddhist monk are not in line with the above heritage of Higher Powers. Neither the Prime Minister nor the President claim to have attained Enlightenment and therefore neither could play the role of Buddha in this instance. If they do so claim – they need to also demonstrate their higher powers of Truth.

I am a Hindu and I believe in Nagapooshani Amman. I learnt from my mother that our uncle Sri Khanta who is one of the predecessors of the current GA in that position of GA Jaffna - also believed in Nagapooshani Amman of Nainatheevu. I learnt from my mother that Mrs. Sri Khanta had prayed at the temple and received confirmation that her husband would win that job. As per my mother -the indicator was the camphor sending a spark from the ceremonial flame – very similar to the following example that reached me today from Mr. Samy Pasupati - a nephew of Mr. & Mrs. Sri Kanta:

These are the parallels of Lord Buddha’s ‘miracles in the sky’ to bring the dueling tribal leaders out of their lower mind order.

To me it is no coincidence that I received the above message on the day I read the article about Nagadeepa problem as reported by Ceylon Today. Yesterday, in relation to Sri Lankan Airlines I stated as follows:

[Sri Lankan Airlines – in reality became ‘Inner Budget Unit’ of the Government in 1998 – except that the Government here is not just Sri Lankan Government but also Government of Dubai – the owner of Emirates. ]

Even in families we have the inner units known as immediate family and outer units known as extended family. Those who are bound by belief are part of the inner circle and they share each other’s Energy (positive or negative) naturally. Some may be biologically distant from the head of the family but they may be bound more closely to such a person through common belief – sometimes even if the two have never met. I feel this with some of my ancestors and my father in law and more recently with my brother in law who passed away in 2010 and over whose Intestate Estate there is a Testamentary case being heard through Thesawalamai Law. By preparing for this hearing I learnt about the wealth of Thesawalamai and the height of the minds that drew up this Constitution for Northern Sri Lankans driven more by experience based knowledge than by external knowledge. Through this process I became part of the inner circle of Thesawalamai leaders. Once we are in this inner circle –we do not need ‘proof’ nor knowledge-based arguments. We know through that Common Belief whether the person Administering / Judging is part of us as a group or is an outsider.  If former, we would naturally abide by their decisions. If latter we have the responsibility to insist on objectively measurable proof as outsiders or subjective proof as relatives.

I knew this in relation to current reporters who wrote about Sri Lankan Airlines. I knew this also about lesser Australians at   University of New South Wales whose Vice Chancellors sent me to prison for making my declaration based on this Belief in the Institution. A few within the University who considered me to be the ‘enlightened  person’ sought to support me and felt supported by me. That is the way Ownership Energy is shared instantaneously – as between mother and child.

In terms of Nainatheevau – the Buddhist temple is a minority power – a distant relation to the Hindu majority in that land area. Minorities  are entitled to use the outcomes produced by majority for their own purposes but they do not have the authority to ‘tell’ on behalf of the whole nor do they have the responsibility to accept the authority that tells them. The Chief Buddhist monk has every right to establish through lawful process that the Government Agent was acting in breach of the law but he does not have the right to ‘tell’ on behalf of the government. Such telling needs to be limited to Buddhist circle which may include the President and the Prime Minister if they are Buddhists – but they can express and/or act - only through Article 9. They in turn do not have the right to ‘tell’ a Hindu Government Agent due to Article 14 (1) (e ).

The roles are reversed at National level – with Buddhists forming government. They do not have the right to ‘tell’ followers of other religions but have the Responsibility to actively tell Buddhists through Article 9. This would go against Sri Lankan Buddhists taking Equal position in countries outside Sri Lanka – including here in Australia where a migrant has the responsibility to take Equal position with others until known otherwise through merit. That is owed to Australia not only by the Government but by all of us – especially migrants. I believe that by insisting on Equal footing – I protected my Sovereignty and the dignity that comes with it. That is the riches heritage I share with those who believe in me and in whom I believe. 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam – 01 April   2016

Handing over National Airlines to Foreigners?

I believe that laws when genuinely practiced bring our minds together. When we care about the person/institution and we use the law to ‘advise’ them – our Energy is added in two ways – (1) as our feeling of care and (2) as our effort to share our knowledge of law with them. But unless the other side is  open to receiving this – the relationship does not get strengthened by such ‘advice’. This does not mean that the service provider loses value. To the extent the provider is genuine – the provider’s own mind gets strengthened through additional investment in the ‘Structure’ that the law serves. Gandhi  went beyond the law and was driven by his own Truth. Truth provides solutions to all genuine seekers and rewards all genuine workers – beyond the boundaries of an institution. Gandhi accepted punishment whenever the official system charged him as per the law. Now I feel that by going through that pain Gandhi eliminated the knowledge of laws that did not lead to him realizing his Sovereignty.

If work was the measure – then the official charging Gandhi was using his work to gain  knowledge  of law and to get into that position of authority to charge Gandhi. The Judge/Official was also getting benefits in return for doing this job. Gandhi also did work but did not draw proportionate benefits for that work done. Gandhi ‘sacrificed’ to feel like the ordinary Indian laborer and that facilitated the feeling of ownership in common with majority Indians.  Once we feel – we work the inner  system naturally. Laws that are heavy on knowledge and high status – tend to keep us away from Truth – except when  we become victims of such laws. When one is taken to Truth by punishment by law enforcement officers and/or the law itself – one’s Sovereignty is often realized by accepting low status as allocated by the higher officer and the punishment that goes with it. One is however, free of distracting laws, once such punishment is accepted.

On 24 February 2016, there was ‘protest’ in Northern Province of Sri Lanka,  over the rape and death of a teenager and our lawyer in a testamentary matter informed us that he would not be working that day. We went to Court to respect the work of the Court Administration. The Colombo-barrister representing our opposition in that Testamentary matter stated in the Civil Appellate High Court of  Northern Province, Jaffna, that he could move to have the matter ‘dismissed’ but was agreeing to a postponement. I stated that given that I had ‘done’ the primary work for the Appeal – I was ready for the matter to be heard that day itself. To my mind, if there was a law that facilitated such ‘dismissal’ – then such a law was not suitable for war torn areas in Sri Lanka.  In addition, if I had represented myself – common belief  resulting in care for each other – ought to be the primary goal  driving our motivation to be part of the Court system. In any case – by advising the opposition to keep themselves updated about the happenings in Jaffna, the judge confirmed the fulfilment of this basic duty of the Judiciary. Had I been attached to the money outcome of the Court matter and/or the Cost of attending Court – I would not have declared that I would be self-represented. By foregoing the ‘win’ I was able to identify with and bring out the Truth which the Judge also could identify with – but not the lawyer who was driven by ‘winning’ without losing money.

This helps me better appreciate the real problem with Sri Lankan Airlines. Sri Lankan Airlines’ money loss  continues to be highlighted as follows:

‘Sri Lanka's loss-making carrier seeks foreign partner’

[Sri Lanka is seeking foreign assistance to rescue its loss-making national carrier, a minister said Thursday, after the government announced the airline was unable to pay back nearly $1 billion in debt.

The country cannot afford to bear SriLankan Airlines' losses of 128 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($872 million) on top of its massive debt, International Trade Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe told reporters in Colombo.

The airline owes at least $933 million but the government last week said the true figure could be much higher.

"We want to restructure SriLankan (Airlines) with either direct foreign capital or through a management agreement with a foreign airline," Senasinghe said.

He added that he hopes the process will be completed within "two to three months".

Official sources said Colombo was in talks with a Middle Eastern carrier to form an agreement that would see the airline hand over control of its management to a foreign carrier.

A previous management deal with Emirates was ended in 2008 by the former Sri Lankan government following a personal disagreement between the flag carrier and then-president Mahinda Rajapakse.

The airline had refused to bump fare-paying business-class passengers to economy class and give their seats to members of Rajapakse's family, who were returning from London.

An angry Rajapakse removed the Emirates-appointed CEO of SriLankan Airlines from his post and replaced him with his brother-in-law.

The beleaguered national carrier has also drawn controversy in recent years after an independent investigator last year found evidence of serious corruption in a $2.3 billion deal to buy Airbus aircraft during Rajapakse's presidency.

Rajapakse's brother-in-law, Nishantha Wickramasinghe, is under investigation for bribery and corruption dating back to when he was the chairman of the national carrier.

A mounting debt crisis of its own has forced the Sri Lankan government to request a bailout for the country from the International Monetary Fund. Media reports have placed the requested bailout amount at $1.5 billion.]

As per the above report - money alone is considered to be sufficient in the case of  Government. But in terms of the National Carrier – the Government is ready to handover management to foreigners. Given that Government is directly involved in this – such handovers if they are considered to be necessary for lasting  solution – ought to apply in the case of the Government and the war-crimes inquiry also.  The Government must either facilitate Sri Lankan Airlines to operate fully on business basis – or take upon itself  the blame for the loss – as if the Airline was an  inner budget unit.

I learnt about the challenges within Public Service here in Australia – while developing more democratic Financial Management systems within New South Wales Government. I share my wisdom in this regard as follows:

The Inner Budget Unit is like immediate family. We do not ‘show’ outcomes at lower levels. Such units are Program driven and are controlled through Expenditure. Research activities in Universities are such ‘Inner Budget Units’. They are heavy on laws and values  inherited from the past. Others where the public ‘see’ the outcomes delivered – such as teaching activities in a University -  are Business Units that need to generate their own funds. They are the extended parts of the family which do not have the authority to directly exercise power as if they were part of the Government.

Sri Lankan Airlines – in reality became ‘Inner Budget Unit’ of the Government in 1998 – except that the Government here is not just Sri Lankan Government but also Government of Dubai – the owner of Emirates. The conflict over seats happened also due to  lack of separation of powers at the top, combined with the relative money status of the two countries. Dubai Government being an absolute monarchy, it is highly doubtful that Emirates staff would have denied seats to their head of government – the way the Rajapaksa Government was denied seats. Mr. Rajapaksa, as the President of Sri Lanka, himself would have been bound by the rules of Democracy and treated Sri Lankan Airlines as an independent unit with its own right to make business decisions above political decisions where the two  are in conflict.

Such lack of separation happened in the case of Sri Lankan  Judiciary as well and eventually resulted in the dismissal of the Chief Justice. If  minority communities do not challenge subjective decisions – they also risk such dismissals.

Most governments abandon Democracy and the Doctrine of Separation of Powers when they do not have official challenge to their decisions. I found this to be the case with the Australian Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission also. Discretionary powers of the president were used even when a more democratic decision could have been made to dismiss the complaints made by me against high ranking officials. At the national level – our elected Prime Minister was dismissed in 1975 - by the Queen’s representative.  

Even here in Australia we are not as democratic as we claim to be. But there is always the Truth that completes our experience to OUR inner satisfaction. We need to remain within our Truth to lose consciousness of external influences that are temporary. Using money values alone requires a unit to be way out of the central management’s influence. Otherwise there is the grave risk of damaging the Sovereign value of the National carrier and therefore  of the Nation.