Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

08 June  2020

Australian Racism  & Lankan Media

On 04 June 2020, I responded to ABC’s article ‘Does the races power still have a place in the Australian constitution?’. My response was headed ‘Race Law is Not a Door Mat’. This article was circulated to my regular groups – including the media group. In that was included 'Editor Lanka News Web'. This website has from time to time published my work. But this time they did not publish my response. On 07 June 2020 – they published the ABC article only.

Included in it is the following:

[Indigenous barrister Tony McAvoy, SC, says since then, successive federal governments have largely used the races power to help fund national organisations specially formed to support Aboriginal people.

This includes the Aboriginal Medical Service, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, Aboriginal housing companies and the now-defunct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.

“So [the races power] has made a significant change to the way Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been able to access services, to participate in society,” Mr McAvoy says.

The federal government also used the races power to make laws to implement the Northern Territory intervention in 2007, which has been widely criticised by Indigenous groups.

“That legislation I think remains a low point in terms of the relationship between the Commonwealth and Aboriginal people nationally but particularly in the Northern Territory,” Mr McAvoy says.

He says the races power is “entirely anachronistic” and should be changed. “The notion of distinction between peoples upon the basis of race is something that has generally been left behind internationally.”]

I highlighted Article 51(xxvi) of the constitution as follows in my response:

[The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to the people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws]

In Sri Lanka, we already recognize various customary laws – presented as follows by Wikipedia:

[Kandyan law is the customary law that originates from the Kingdom of Kandy, which is applicable to Sri Lankans who are Buddhist and from the former provinces of the Kandyan Kingdom. It is one of three customary laws which are still in use in Sri Lanka. The other two customary laws are the Thesavalamai and the Muslim law. At present it governs aspects of marriage, adoption, transfer of property and inheritance, as codified in 1938 in the Kandyan Law Declaration and Amendment Ordinance]

In his Financial Times article – ‘Our heritage is Kandyan law; not Roman Dutch law as Rathana Thero thinks’, Mr Harsha Gunasena states :

[In Sri Lanka the Common law applicable to marriage and divorce is based on the Roman Dutch law. This Common law is in the Marriages (General) Ordinance No. 19 of 1907. In addition to that there is Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act No. 44 of 1952 applicable for the people living in the Kandyan Districts.]

The article is based on the following initiative:

[There were four bills presented by private members to the Parliament on 8 January (one bill is to be presented) which were already advertised in the gazette. They were to repeal the Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act No. 44 of 1952; to repeal the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act No. 13 of 1951; to amend the Marriages (General) Ordinance No. 19 of 1907; to amend the Marriages Registration Ordinance; and to introduce a minimum age of marriage in Sri Lanka. The first three were/will be presented to the Parliament by Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero MP and the other two were presented by MP Dr. Thusitha Wijemanna.]

In democracy, a law is legitimate only when it is initiated on behalf of the People by their elected representatives. Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero MP is a Buddhist monk and therefore is confirmed to be lacking in marriage related experiences and therefore belief. If approved by Parliament, it cuts us off from the minds of those who made those laws and practiced those laws with faith over decades.  

Family is an institution. Every belief based relationship within the family confirms its institutional value. Each unit of sacrifice towards commonness goes towards strengthening existing institutional structure and/or developing a new one. Laws are the energies that flow between two or more positions within the institution. Recently I wrote to a member of the St Joseph’s alumni :

[A member of our family  who is professionally senior to us is reported to have stated in a family forum that I would ‘question even the judge’. I did this recently also through my article of 04 June - headed ‘Race Law is Not a Door Mat’.]

The identity with that characteristic of mine is strongly supported by our common institutional values through family structures over 4 generations. When stated in Australia, they enrich Australian family values. To the extent they are genuine and without expectation of return benefits, these are shared values between various nations where our family network has been established over the years.

Rules without belief often lead to internal separations. The dowry system is one such example due to ‘imported’ habits. When we abide by practices without belief – we need to leave them behind when we emigrate to new environments or when others in our environment emigrate and we restructure our environment to suit the new form. Those who use continue to use the name of the law to elevate their status  - become frivolous users of the system. I wrote about a Professional colleague and Friend (P&F) as follows:

[P&F may not do what I do or the way I do it – especially in a court of law. To me the logical order in which we present our experiences would vary from person to person. It’s like in composing music. Country Music and Pop Music do not have identical structures. Likewise, our experiences. Between P&F and I,  our commonness in ‘composing’ has been strengthened by our common investment in Accountancy. ]

Friendship after Professional relationship is healthy and wholesome. Friendship before institutional relationship makes it difficult to develop an institutional / family relationship.

Where we accept demotion due to race – conscious or subconscious – we become part of the frivolous group.

Current ‘Australian Black Lives Matter protests’ were not born out of Australian experience. The timing confirms that it has been copied from America. Hence one is entitled to conclude that they are lacking in belief – that we Australian People are Sovereign.

It is difficult for me to appreciate that ‘Lanka News Web' is interpreting the Australian article with belief or through ‘common institutional structure’. If it were belief – my analysis as a common citizen would have also been published. The original common mind with disciplined structures is the highest authority without whose blessings the information tends towards frivolousness.

 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

06 June  2020

Covid19 Punishment instead of war?

After asking a junior family member to wash her hands I said ‘when we believe, everything we do with faith goes towards our need to be protected’. We still do not know how Corona virus  works. Hence my above saying. The Corona virus did indicate to me some connections between Racism beyond the control of victims and the Government’s negligence of its duty to Democracy which includes elimination of racial discrimination. I wrote a couple of articles connecting the two. Those that were specifically headed thus, were published on 07 May and 31 May 2020 . That which is not known intellectually could be  known through belief and v.v. Former is facilitated through elections and parliament. Latter through laws and scientific theories.

I therefore took the following as an invitation to contribute further on the subject matter:

[A recent video released shows Rear-Admiral Sarath Werasekara taking on, admirably, an idiotic Australian politician who too claimed that there was a Tamil genocide with 160,000 being killed by Sri Lankan forces. Interestingly, the previously exaggerated claim of 40,000 has now become 160,000] Island article ‘US riots : Why drag Sri Lanka’ by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana.

Calling an elected member of an Australian parliament ‘idiotic’ is disrespectful and confirms lack of knowledge-based substance in the issue. Dr Upul Wijayawardhana has based his introduction on the following article ‘US riots are a pointer to starting discussion at home’ by Mr Jehan Perera who is well respected in my community. In his article Mr Jehan Perera states:

[There are lessons for us in Sri Lanka from the ongoing events in the United States. The end of the war in 2009 ended the armed uprising against the state by members of the Tamil ethnic minority. But it did not end the ethnic conflict. From 2015-19 Sri Lanka had a framework for reconciliation in UNHRC Resolution 30/1 of 2015 which the then government co-sponsored. It consisted of new institutions to meet the needs of those who had suffered in the war, such as the Office of Missing Persons, and reform of laws on the one hand, and addressing the roots of the conflict through constitutional reform on the other hand. This reconciliation framework was being implemented by the government, albeit slowly in view of political resistance by the opposition, both by hardline Sinhala nationalists as well as by Tamil nationalists who refused to cooperate.]

But Dr Upul Wijayawardhana has interpreted it as follows:

[I was rather perplexed by the title of a piece in The Island of 1st June: "US riots are a pointer to starting discussion at home". The on-going riots in US started following an horrific incident of racially based police brutality. Though our Police are no saints, often manipulated to do their dirty work by corrupt politicians, I am not aware of such brutality by Sri Lankan Police.]

To my mind, the latter is a surface reader with little understanding of how such minds are developed by leaders – intellectually or through common belief. If only a small percentage of African Americans  voted for Mr Trump, then the government led by Mr Trump needed to rely heavily on intellectually balanced logic to be democratic. Likewise, the government of Sinhala-Buddhists in Sri Lanka. It is all about the science of mind. When we act out of belief – our Energy gets directed to our true need. Hence there is no need for intellectual logic. If one did analyse the believer would find perfect logic.

The withdrawal from UNHRC Resolution 30/1 of 2015 is bound to surface riots strongly influenced by supporters of armed rebels who do not believe in democracy. They would have jobs and activities at the cost of civilians. As per my discovery about the law of nature, when the level is the same but the looks are different – they attract each other – as in man and woman. The current government has made such takeover of power by the Armed Forces, from the civilians and those who think at that level but look  different due to culture – would likewise takeover from civilians in their own community.

Many of us civilians were happy when the ‘Office of Missing Persons’ became a reality. The government that facilitated this is blessed by those who felt they could DO something about the loved ones they have lost. It is what our seeking does to US that matters here. The loved ones live through us as our Energy. Like in Belief – Love also directs our Energy to our need. The sadness will always remain. But we would no longer feel anxious – once we do our best.

There could be more wars, bombings and civil riots in Sri Lanka. But those who have done their best to prevent injustice will not be anxious. If they are wounded they would know that it happened for a just cause and thus the pain is submitted to Nature. If a loved one dies in combat – doing what s/he believes is her/his duty to her/him and/or their loved ones  - that person will live through many others while one who wins by setting aside common rules and lives by that win – will die without good heirs. To my mind, the Navy’s infection confirms that kind of karma. That would help know that the truth manifests in one form or the other.

To my mind, it is quite in order to connect the American and Chinese governments’ involvement  in others’ wars in breach of those others’ entitlement to their belief based sovereignty – to their inability to manage the epidemic. Both are beyond the direct control of the People. But through belief, those who did their utmost to resolve through the logical pathway – get protected from lower level enjoyment and suffering. Their minds are instead elevated to the exponential power of truth – so they enjoy exponentially through their Energies raised to the power of all those who get protected by the work they did and the sacrifices they made. The very reality that the Corona virus spread exponentially confirms that it happened due to believers getting hurt. It led to governments knowing how weak they are and how lacking they were in the knowledge to manage it, leave alone eliminate it. That was how the People feel in war which they are not party to but happens in their true homelands by belief.

During these riots – a few members of a leading boys’ college in Colombo ended up fighting against each other due to a letter written to the Hon. Dr. Hugh McDermott MP for Prospect by Dr Harold Gunatillake. The heading was  ‘ Your talk delivered at the Tamil Congress’. Like in the case of Corona Virus the truth that it was exponentially negative - was known through consequences.

I summarized my feelings as follows:

[Xxxx said ‘toilet bowl’. Now Yyyy  is saying ‘sakkili woman.’

Yyyyy -  You say you were the "Kossa" of the forum.  You say also ‘She brings out the devil in me’. Now you will understand why George Floyd was killed by the devil in that Kossa. All the protests are against you too. They are global including from me. This is what happens when you separate and isolate yourselves into a boys’ club. That is all it is. The best man to tell you that is a woman. Ssss might draw up another picture with you as Kossa and me as the black  Sakkili woman.]

Kossa = Police; sakkili = toilet cleaner/ pariah.

None of the above respected their mothers. Most of them hold educational titles. How can we legitimately project harmony in Sri Lanka that has produced such groups? It might take a few generations but every bit of true energy towards Peace will live exponentially to manifest when there is enough power.

I lived with junior caste toddy tappers in Northern Sri Lanka. They stoned my roof  because I reported them to the Police. Most of the adults are illiterate. None of them used disrespectful language with me. That is because of my education. But these so called educated ‘boys’ were ‘free’ to abuse minority of one. When one comes down to the same level of mind – the habits become infectious. Their parallels in the armed forces would have raped in ‘free’ environment – when they did not truly have a high purpose for which they fought.

The more we absorb the pain of such insults, the more we contribute to prevention of  wars. In the meantime,  if we take our allocated positions and live with others at that level – we would protect ourselves from further attacks. That was how many Tamil politicians became supporters of armed rebels. 

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

05 June  2020

Sri Lanka the Buddhist Holy See?

The sentiments in USA seem to have surfaced their parallels in Sri Lankans. The Editorial of Sri Lanka Guardian is headed ‘Sri Lanka: Buddhist Country vs. Country of Buddhists’. The issue could have been raised more substantively under the heading ‘Buddhist vs Sri Lankan’. The mental picture of the Editor seems to not extend beyond Buddhism.

The editor states:

[Some say that Sri Lanka is not a country of Buddhists but a country of Sri Lankans. They argue for it. Others react to the idea that Sri Lanka is a country of Buddhists. Both parties have distorted a niche in language and placed it before society. Buddhist country and Country of Buddhists are two different concepts.

Buddhist Sri Lanka is similar to the concept known and accepted by common sense, such as Christian USA, Catholic Vatican, Hindu India, Judaist Israel and Islamic Saudi Arabia, though they have not officially proclaimed. By this historical nature, is it wrong to call Sri Lanka a Buddhist country? Does this practice harm or discriminate another religion? We believe, not. This is nothing more than the identity of a nation.]

The dictionary for common purposes is the Sri Lankan Constitution. If Sri Lanka by law is governed by Buddha Sasana, then it would be valid to call Sri Lanka a Buddhist country or country of Buddhists. To my mind they are not different in substance. Article 9 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka separates the country into two nations. By stating

[The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana, while assuring to all religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1)(e).]

The moment the root of our form of belief is recognized to be different to that of another – we are naturally separated. The root of Buddhism is represented by Buddha. The root of Christianity is represented by Jesus. Hence the Sovereignty of each is confirmed as separate entities. To be a Sovereign entity within a larger sovereign entity there needs to be separation – as earth is separated from the Sun. Earth revolves around the sun due to its sovereign power. One who holds an official position in the larger entity cannot hold official position in the smaller sovereign body and v.v. The PM of Sri Lanka cannot hold an official position in the UN for this reason. But we could be bound by the same laws.

The Vatican City for example is a sovereign entity within Holy See’s jurisdiction. These structures have been confirmed through appropriate laws.

[The Holy See also called the See of Rome, is the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope, which includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome with universal ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the worldwide Catholic Church, as well as a sovereign entity of international law, governing the Vatican City.]

Buddhist country is therefore valid only when there has been such a declaration of belief by Buddhists. Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976 is such a claim by Tamil politicians. Thereafter there was no authority for the Sri Lankan government to directly administer Tamils represented by Politicians. Common law ought to have been the basis and the exercise of power ought to have been through law and/or  consensus  and not direct ‘telling’. That in effect is a Federal structure.

More importantly, the Hindu  parallel of Episcopal See / Chair of Authority is Sri Sai Baba’s chair which is an essential representation in Sri Sai Baba’s shrines – including here in Australia.

The Lankan parallel is the Kandyan throne which was last occupied by Hindu King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha:

[Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (1780 – January 30, 1832, born Kannasamy Nayaka) was the last of four Kings, to rule the last Sinhalese monarchy of the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka. The Nayak Kings were of Telugu origin who practiced Shaivite Hinduism and were patrons of Theravada Buddhism. The Nayak rulers played a huge role in reviving Buddhism in the island. They spoke Tamil, which was also used as the court language in Kandy alongside Sinhalese.] Wikipedia

When Sinhalese politicians declared ‘Sinhala Only’ as official language they naturally disconnected themselves from the heritage up to January 1832. In democracy a law is a declaration of belief. The subsequent addition through the 13^th Amendment is in effect a treaty.

Likewise when Buddhism foremost was added to the Constitution in 1972 Lanka became the parallel of Holy See / the Sun and Buddhist common area the parallel of the Vatican State/Earth.

Tamils balanced this through Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976. If the armed rebels had considered the Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976 to be the Sun and themselves the Earth we would have been positively supported by Dharma. We may do so by promoting Intellectual opposition foremost and preserve our Independence.

The editor concludes as follows:

[The verbal game between Buddhist Country and Country of Buddhists has done a great deal to the country's reputation and people. The whole country suffered for decades as these fundamental issues were not addressed nationally and the same mistakes were repeated. It is high time to rethink the bad consequences we as the country encountered due to the slight negligence of our very language.]

To my mind it goes deeper than verbal play. It’s fear of majority power in the region. Those who desire power of majority in local circle, would automatically fear majority power in wider circles where they are not in control. This became reality when India trained Tamil militants after the 1983 pogrom against Tamils in multicultural areas of Sri Lanka. Hindu part of India tthe facto parallel  of the Holy See. It did not have official jurisdiction but had the moral authority to facilitate Tamils to defend themselves. Moral authority is based on the science of Truth. Such authority is valid – so long as it is confidentially exercised. Beyond that one needs express laws that confirm intellectual/scientific  logic. Wikipedia presents this as follows:

[ International law differs from state-based legal systems in that it is primarily—though not exclusively—applicable to countries, rather than to individuals, and operates largely through consent, since there is no universally accepted authority to enforce it upon sovereign states. Consequently, states may choose to not abide by international law, and even to break a treaty. However, such violations, particularly of customary international law and peremptory norms (jus cogens), can be met with coercive action, ranging from military intervention to diplomatic and economic pressure.]

By promising to withdraw from the UN Resolution and therefore the fundamental values of International Law, the current President disconnected the Energy flow to his followers - from Common International mind .

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

03 June  2020

The Virtual Jaffna Library

On 31 May, the British Tamils Forum in the UK released a communiqué headed ‘Burning Jaffna library, an intent of Genocide’ . The message presents the following picture:

[Today is the 39th anniversary of the burning down of Jaffna library on 31^st May 1981 by the Sinhala mob brought from the South of Sri Lanka by senior ministers of the Sri Lankan state.

This is a key event in the history of the Sri Lankan state’s genocide against Tamils, as the library was attacked in an aggressive act of biblioclasm, the deliberate destruction of books. By intentionally burning one of the oldest and respected collection of ancient Tamil manuscripts in the whole of south Asia, Sri Lankan state deprived Tamils of their immeasurable treasure of cultural heritage.]

It is true that the above happened. Who caused it and why they did it are internal indicators known to believers. One example is as follows:

[This was intentional as there was no provocation in the area in which the library stood. The Jaffna district Police Headquarters was in the vicinity of the library when this occurred which shows intent as they were led by former ministers Gamini Dissanayake and Cyril Matthew. These are evidence that the burning of Jaffna Library was an intentional act of cultural genocide as the Sri Lankan government purposefully wanted to erase parts of Tamil history.]

 About Mr Cyril Mathew, Wikipedia presents the following picture:

[Mathew was the author of the book Sinhalese! Rise to Protect Buddhism, which urged Sinhalese to stand up for their rights and protect their values. He also issued a pamphlet Who is the Tiger, a collection of his inflammatory speeches made in 1979.

Mathew was elected at the 8th parliamentary elections, held on 21 July 1977, representing the Kelaniya electorate for the United National Party. He was known for his hard-line position against the Tamil's political aspirations. He was appointed as the Minister of Industry and Scientific Affairs in July 1977. He is widely regarded as one of the key ministers responsible for instigating the anti-Tamil riots of July 1983, which subsequently resulted in the outbreak of a 26-year civil war. Mathew was expelled from the cabinet and the governing United National Party by President J. R. Jayewardene in 1984 after publicly criticising a conference called by Jayewardene to redress grievances of the Tamil minority. Jayewardene's successor, Ranasinghe Premadasa, subsequently reinstated Mathew's party membership. He died of a heart attack on 17 October 1989.]

The above confirms that the burning of the Jaffna library happened between (1) the 1977 elections in which Tamils became the leading Opposition in National Parliament and (2) the 1983 pogrom  in Colombo and other multicultural parts of Sri Lanka.

We did not have the parallel of USA’s ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement nor the De Facto National Guards. Even now we do not have one. The communiqué claims as follows:

[70 years of acts of genocide against Tamils calls for the need of justice through an international judicial mechanism and a process to protect the Tamils in the North-East of Sri Lanka.]

If Jaffna library is believed to be of heritage value to the believer, the intellectual pathway that Tamis followed including or Conflict Resolution in politics such believers need to maintain their independence including from armed rebel groups. Gandhi said:

[“They may torture my body, break my bones, even kill me. Then they will have my dead body, but not my obedience.”]

How many believers in the intellectual pathway remained independent of internal suicides of the intellect when the LTTE recruited from schools? Even today – most members of the Tamil Diaspora who participate in public discussions get excited about blaming the Sinhalese but not so involved in intellectual analysis of the problem? My book ‘Naan Australian’ found its way to the National Library of Australia but the Jaffna Library does not hold it as a treasure. One of my clients donated one to the University of Jaffna – as a ‘thank you’ gesture for helping him with understanding of the law. No member of the Tamil Diaspora has so far asked for a copy. Non-Sri Lankans and non-Tamils  have. Yesterday, fellow Australian Tamil George Thillainathan wrote to me to ask nicely to take him off the email list. The only ‘intellectual’ reason could be to show that he had ‘authority’ over me – over a topic – China in which he had very little interest. I believe that I merge my experiences as a Sri Lankan with those as an Australian before interpreting world events that come to my attention. I believe that I am already of heritage value to many Tamils in Northern Sri Lanka. Some of my work in fundamentals of the Justice system through Theswalamai Law applicable to Jaffna Tamils is codified intellectually in the book ‘ Jaffna is my heritage and not dowry’. My husband included the Jaffna Library in our distribution list.

Knowing the lack of current investment in intellectual justice by Tamils – my interpretation of  British Tamil Forum’s message is that we are yet to feel ownership in the intellectual pathway to claim that our belief that the intent was ‘Genocide’ rather than ‘Fear’ of our intellectual capacity.

If fear was the reason – then the more intellectual we demonstrate to be – the more we win. On 01 June I wrote under the heading Constitution  - The Intervenient Petitioner? -  challenging the heirs of the UNP that is being blamed for the burning of Jaffna Library:

[The fundamental rights case before the Judiciary is about elections. But there was already an issue with the SJB candidates being in two parties when submitting their nominations. Article 91(1) (b)(ii) of the Sri Lankan Constitution – under chapter headed ‘THE FRANCHISE AND ELECTIONS’  - states:

[91. (1) No person shall be qualified to be elected as a Member of Parliament or to sit and vote in Parliament –

 (b) (ii) if he - stands nominated as a candidate for election by more than one recognized political party or independent group in respect of any electoral district, ]

Basically, membership with a political party is through belief. As political parties – SJB headed by Mr Premadasa is independent and Equal to UNP headed by Mr Wickremesinghe. The Sunday Times Political editorial presents the following:

[Whilst an SC ruling is expected, political activity is heating up between the two main Opposition political parties – the United National Party (UNP) and its offshoot, the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB). In a surprise move, notwithstanding the awaited ruling from the Supreme Court, UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam issued a news release on Wednesday about the cancellation of party memberships of those whom he says have “violated the party constitution.” In effect, he is referring to SJB leader Sajith Premadasa and his backers who have handed in their nominations as Balavegaya candidates. It appears that UNP lawyers had wanted the move done before June 2, the date by which the party says the proclamation of March 2 dissolving Parliament expires.]

Wikipedia presents the following timeline about SJB:

·       30 January 2020 - United National Party working committee approves Sajith Premadasa as leader of the new alliance and its Prime Ministerial candidate.

·       11 February 2020 - Election Commission has accepts the appointment of Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa as the leader of Samagi Jana Balawegaya and Ranjith Madduma Bandara as General Secretary.

·       13 February 2020 - Jathika Hela Urumaya, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Tamil Progressive Alliance announce its support to the new alliance.

·       19 February 2020 - United National Party working committee approves the swan as the symbol of the alliance.

·       2 March 2020 - Party was officially launched at Nelum Pokuna Colombo. 

·       9 March 2020 - SJB opens its Headquarters at No 815, E.W. Perera Mawatha, Ethulkotte.

·       10 March 2020 - SJB select Telephone as its election symbol.

·       19 March 2020 - Party handover nominations for 22 districts for 2020 General Elections.

It was in breach of ethics  of the Universal Franchise for  the Election Commission to accept the registration of a new party (SJB) headed by someone who was holding a seat in the then (11 February 2020) current parliament under the grouping of another party (UNP). ]

If there was at least one intellectual Tamil of Sri Lanka – s/he would have either agreed or opposed the above. Instead I was asked to disconnect myself from someone who as per my search was more interested in money and the status that money can buy.

Neither the money driven nor the status driven will have my obedience because I am the virtual library that my heirs inherit – each as per their need.

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

02 June  2020

POWER OF MEMORIALS

I walked out the lift after facilitating the workers to leave the building. Our neighbour and wife were waiting to go out but paused for a discussion with me. The discussion was about security camera for our floor. There was no apology for what happened about a week ago when another neighbour who was drunk was trying to open our door and we had to call the Police. I kept saying that additional security cameras would not help me under similar circumstances but our neighbour kept promoting his agenda. But towards the end the couple revealed that there was a major incident during the weekend, in a unit owned by another member of the Managing Committee. I was informed that the Police were there for more than 3 hours and yet had not brought about any charges – despite witnesses being available. Like the law, the evidence seemed to have become irrelevant and the power of the committee member was taken to tell me how good the security cameras would be – for example for defamation charges.

I was satisfied that the system of Natural Justice had yet again delivered the right judgment on the committee member who failed in his duty to me. Then I knew that my belief  had yet again worked for me. On 18 May 2020, I wrote as follows to the Committee:

[The reasons why I would exercise my rights would include unlawful discrimination outside merit basis, - on the basis of  Race (the most apparent difference) , Gender and age in that order. Right now I include all of you as part of the Coogee View family and hence I choose not to invoke that reason against Aleks and Dee who seem more my children’s age than mine. But the more I am treated as an ‘outsider’ the more conscious I would become of the above reasons. It is my DUTY as a law-abiding Australian to be conscious of such reasons when I am hurt outside merit basis – as my independent interpretation the merit. ]

The riots in the USA are generally seen to be race related. Tom Switzer presents the following picture through his Sydney Morning Herald opinion  ‘Trump fans flames of resentment and hatred’:

[For several decades, America has been a deeply divided nation, but it has grown more so in the Trump era. It’s not just that hostility from those in one political party towards those in the other has risen. Divisions between urban and rural America, between those with university degrees and those without, have also widened.

As the crisis in Minneapolis and other cities demonstrates, race also remains a significant fault line. Of course, the immediate spark for the protests and subsequent riots was the truly horrifying footage of last week’s encounter between African-American man George Floyd and the Minneapolis police: an officer is seen pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck while his pleas for help are ignored before he dies. ]

There are anti-discrimination laws in most democratic countries. But how they are practiced varies from environment to environment. Here in Australia, as per my experience it is largely theoretical due to the difficulty of direct evidence. Most of it is subconscious. Hence a breach is identified with largely through indicators. If the judge/police is more culturally common to the accused – then the complainant fails.

May 25 was memorial day in the USA in the memory of military personnel. As per Wikipedia report: ‘According to a co-owner of Cup Foods, Floyd attempted to use a $20 bill that a staff member suspected as counterfeit’

During Covid19 time depression, would have been high and the depressed mind fails to think rationally. Given that George Floyd was apparently of different race to the Café owner – the Police needed proof that it was indeed counterfeit note – before taking any action. When the Police minds were high due also to memorial day elevation of their community’s status – the need to have proof would have been set aside. When I peacefully waited to speak to the Vice Chancellor of the University of NSW – the University Security asked me to leave and when I questioned them as to their authority on the basis of law – they called the Police. That was collusion which elevated their status in their own minds. Later when the Police listed me as Sri Lankan and I corrected them saying I was by law, Australian, they did not correct their records nor did they call for evidence. They were right and I was wrong. But because I was true – the real reason why they elevated their status – manifested as ‘race’ – as declared by them. It’s like in the law of Prescription. You may have lawful documentary title; but if they believed you of a particular race – that is what they list you as. This is our ultimate reality. Even though America is hurting – the above Australian did not express any concern for my above mentioned indication that I was not heard because of my race. If they had to systematically calculate and write the right answers – most of these officers would not be in the Police.

The law works positively for those who respect the law and eventually believe in the law that they would not take easier shortcuts. In terms of Protests – this is what Gandhi established successfully. A law that the community to which it applies is not believed by that community’s elected leaders – the law becomes a foreign law. According to Politico report:‘Trump received just 8 percent of the black vote in 2016, and his campaign aides concede he’s never going to win more than a narrow slice of African American support.’

In Sri Lanka the current President received only around 4% of Tamil votes. This is largely due to the pain of 2009 war. The Franchise being Universal would naturally work exponentially against ‘face values’ – to the extent the Tamils believed that they were disenfranchised – especially by repetitive claims of ‘Victory’ by the government.  How that manifests would vary as per the need of the believer. The Memorial in honour of armed forces invoked its parallel in the Black community – presented as follows by Wikipedia:

[In the wake of community outrage in Minneapolis, the bus stop at the site of Floyd's death on Chicago Avenue became a makeshift memorial throughout May 26, with many placards paying tribute to him and referencing the Black Lives Matter movement]