RIGHT TO REPLY: The National Flag and the aspersions of an Opportunist Jayadevan of the Tamil National Congress
by Radhika Murugesar
(November 24, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) I read with interest the sudden concern of R.Jayadevan (a disgruntled person of questionable repute) in his article of November 22,2008 in the Sri Lanka Guardian – He abuses the freedom of the Press and is allowed to do so by the Press for reasons common to money launderers and mischief makers, conspirators and temple trustees who throw money on advertisements and entertainment and at the end dissatisfied by the outcome he dissipates his energy. Commonly known as Undiyal Anna(Money Laundering Brother), this R.Jayadevan is an arm of the LTTE but masquerades himself as one against the convictions of the LTTE. He also patronized Karuna and Pillaiyan. Jayadevan even tried to flirt with the Sri Lankan Government early this year but was detected in time.
Jayadevan is known as the man sandwiched between Karuna and Pillaiyan. They, like the other militant groups have links with the LTTE. The Government of Sri Lanka must eradicate all Tamil Militant Groups. They exploit the Government and the people to prolong the peace process until they obtain their objectives.
Several photos of the National Flag has been displayed with notes by Jayadevan below. The notes are as follows:
(1)The above photograph is from Poonaryn following army advances. This land is not in the neighbouring Maldives or India to hoist the Sri Lankan flag following an invasion. It only reflects the hate and anger the government is attributing and such actions would not help Sri Lanka as a nation to find peaceful resolution to the conflict.
(2) a nation’s army behave like this by standing on a monument even though it is built by the LTTE? The monument is built for the dead LTTE cadres. Though it may be a symbol of the most detested LTTE, it is not right for the forces to stand on it. It is a monument for the misguided youngsters who had engaged in the violent struggle against the government. It is the struggle which is rooted in the suppressive policies of the successive governments to maginalise the Tamils. Let the Tamils decide what they want to do with the monuments when they are empowered to lead a civil life in Sri Lanka without any fear.
(3) a nation’s army behave like this by standing on a monument even though it is built by the LTTE? The monument is built for the dead LTTE cadres. Though it may be a symbol of the most detested LTTE, it is not right for the forces to stand on it. It is a monument for the misguided youngsters who had engaged in the violent struggle against the government. It is the struggle which is rooted in the suppressive policies of the successive governments to maginalise the Tamils. Let the Tamils decide what they want to do with the monuments when they are empowered to lead a civil life in Sri Lanka without any fear.
(4) this little boy (left) in the shanty town in Pooneryn, the national flag and presence of newly arrived soldiers must be a mind boggling experience.This is another cheap gimmick of the government. The government claims the Tamil people in Jaffna came out in large numbers to celebrate the capture of Pooneryn by the army. The photographs amply reflect the contingent in the celebrations is government backed EPDP paramilitary boys called to do a publicity stunt. Can the Tamil civilian population living amidst the state army and the LTTE’s intelligence men in Jaffna venture out and express their free opinion? Will they publicly identify themselves as pro-government? The government must stop orchestrating such petty publicity stunts and avoid demeaning the national flag to gain unimportant mileage.
All these are indicative of his warm heart for the LTTE. United Kingdom has banned the LTTE, so Jayadevan under the pretext of being against the LTTE is performing well.
Early this year, he came to Sri Lanka with three others to discuss the future of Karuna. He visited Parliament as the guest of the Government. He accompanied Krishnan who wanted to register the TMVP. But before they came Pillaiyan had registered the TMVP through Ragu. The Sunday Leader carried the whole story which led to the burning of their Press.
A National flag is a flag that symbolizes a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can be flown by citizens of that country as well. Both public and private buildings such as schools and courthouses often fly the national flag. In some countries, the national flags are only flown from non-military buildings on certain flag days.There are three distinct types of national flag for use on land, and three for use at sea, although many countries use identical designs for several (and sometimes all) of these types of flag.
National flags on land
On land, there is a distinction between civil flags (FIAV symbol ), state flags (), and war or military flags (). State flags are those used officially by government agencies, whereas civil flags may be flown by anyone irrespective of whether they are linked to the government. War flags (also called military flags) are used by military organizations such as armies.
In practice, many countries (including the United States and the United Kingdom) have identical flags for these three purposes; national flag is sometimes used as a vexillological term to refer to such a three-purpose flag (). In a number of countries, however—notably those in Latin America—there is a distinct difference between civil and state flags. In most cases, the civil flag is a simplified version of the state flag, the difference often being the presence of a coat of arms on the state flag which is absent from the civil flag. Very few countries use a war flag that differs from the state flag; the PRC, ROC, and Japan are notable exceptions. The Philippines does not have a distinctive war flag in this usual sense, but the flag of the Philippines is unique in that it is flown with the red stripe on top, rather than the blue, when the country is in a state of war.
National ensigns at sea
The flag that indicates nationality on a ship is called ensign. As with the national flags, there are three varieties: the civil ensign (), flown by private vessels; state ensigns (also called government ensigns; ), flown by government ships; and war ensigns (also called naval ensigns; ), flown by naval vessels. The ensign is flown from an ensign-staff at the stern of the ship, or from a gaff when underway. Both these positions are superior to any other on the ship, even though the masthead is higher. In the absence of a gaff the ensign may be flown from the yardarm. (See Maritime flags.) National flags may also be flown by aircraft and the vehicles of important officials. In some countries, such as the United States and Canada, the national ensign is identical to the national flag, while in others, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, there are specific ensigns for maritime use. Most countries do not have a separate state ensign, although the United Kingdom is a rare exception, in having a red ensign for civil use, a white ensign as its naval ensign, and a blue ensign for government non-military vessels.
Flag protocol
There is a great deal of protocol involved in the proper display of national flags. A general rule is that the national flag should be flown in the position of honour and not in an inferior position to any other flag (although some countries make an exception for royal standards). The following rules are typical of the conventions when flags are flown on land.
When a national flag is displayed together with any other flags, it must be hoisted first and lowered last.
When a national flag is displayed together with the national flags of other countries, all the flags should be of approximately equal size and must be flown at an equal height, although the national flag of the host country should be flown in the position of honour (in the center of an odd number of flagstaffs or at the far right — left from an observer's point of view — of an even number of flagstaffs).
When a national flag is displayed together with flags other than national flags, it should be flown on a separate flagstaff, either higher or in the position of honor.
When a national flag is displayed together with any other flags on the same flagstaff, it must be at the top, though separate flagstaffs are preferable.
When a national flag is displayed together with any other flag on crossed staffs, the national flag must be on the observer's left and its staff must be in front of the staff of the other flag.
When a national flag is displayed together with another flag or flags in procession, the national flag must be on the marching right. If there is a row of flags, it should be in the position of honor.
When a national flag, with some exceptions, is flown upside down it indicates distress. This however is merely tradition. It is not a recognized distress signal according the International regulations for preventing collisions at sea. Further, a nation's flag is commonly flown inverted as a sign of protest or contempt against the country concerned.
The Sri Lanka National Flag represents all communities.Jayadevan is hysterical and behaves as if he is undergoing menopause.
Jayadevan was amongst the Nine members of the Tamil diaspora in the UK were gifted an all expenses paid trip to Sri Lanka courtesy the Foreign Ministry to meet President Rajapakse, prominent ministers and opposition parliamentarians and to visit the north and east. They arrived in Sri Lanka in the afternoon of February 17 on Sri Lankan Airlines flight no. UL502. The majority departed a week later on February 23. The group was led by R. Jayadevan.
Having come all the way, Jayadevan was unable to speak to President Rajapakse . This angered Jayadevan as his self esteem and pride was dashed to the wall.
"A delegation assembled by me incorporating wider views of the Tamil diaspora visited Sri. The group also included N. Satchithananthan, a former resident of Jaffna and a former EPRLF member and president, Federation of Saiva Hindu Temples in the UK, political activist, journalist and writer originally from Batticaloa - Mrs. R Balasubramaniam, and Krishnan Suppiah, leader of the TMVP UK branch, one of the original founders of the Tiger movement who shifted to PLOTE and then joined the TMVP on the invitation of Karuna Amman.
Krishan an active member of the TMVP and admittedly a close associate of both Pillayan and Karuna was incidentally the man whom K.T.Rajasingham, editor of the Asian Tribune in a taped conversation between himself and Pillayan once wanted disposed of or at least locked up. Pillayan refuses saying 'Paavam' - Sin I feel sorry.
K.Vivekanandan is a former Jaffna man and the trustee of the Eelapathiswara Hindu Temple in UK. A former ardent member of the LTTE he has even taken the 10 point oath of the organization in Germany and has been later incarcerated by the LTTE over a dispute and power struggle regarding the temple.
Arunasalam Muthukumarapillai, brother of TULF MP Thangathurai, assassinated in a suicide attack by the LTTE. He is a member of the Tamil Community Association in Denmark. S.M.M. Bazeer, head of the Sri Lanka Muslim Information Centre originally hailing from Batticaloa. N.Mohamed, president, Sri Lanka Islamic Forum UK, a man from up country Sri Lanka and M.M. Cassim, a Muslim from Jaffna attached to the Association of Displaced Muslims of the Northern Province, Norway. Dr. A. Nicholaspillai, president of the TULF UK Branch was in the original group to come but was later struck off the list.
However head of the group, R. Jayadevan was to praise the efforts of the government, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London and the Foreign Ministry to bring about wider engagement with the Tamil diaspora. This said, little if anything was achieved in spite of the colossal sum of money the Foreign Ministry forked out of its funds to facilitate the visit.
Jayadevan must first put his house in order. Then he should search his conscience if he can find it, and then take care of the temple which is his haven for generating income.
Together with Jayadevan is a former EROS dropout known as Nesan Shankar Raji who is also a tongue twister- he desperately attempts to defend Jayadevan. Last year he wrote:
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“The pathetic lengths the LTTE will go to defame and slander pro-moderate Tamil democrats
6 June, 2007 - 18:32
By: Nesan Shankar Raji
A number of articles have been posted on various websites recently in relation to the recent demise of Mr Kandiah Thangarajah, a Sri Lankan Tamil residing in North London. I would firstly like to express my condolences and sympathies to his bereaved family.
Having taken the trouble to speak to the victims, I am appalled by the false information and pathetic lengths the LTTE is going to in their hate campaign on Mr R Jayadevan. It beggars beyond belief that the LTTE encourages inaccurate information regarding Mr Thangarajah's death to be published on their websites…..that his death a premeditated killing and was linked to Mr R. Jayadevan of the Tamil Democratic Congress. It is blatantly obvious that if there were any suspicions in relation to Mr Thangarajah's death by the forensics team, CID and accident investigators of the Metropolitan Police, UK then his body would not have been released to his family pending a full investigation. But the Coroner released the body and allowed for cremation as well……... Mr R Jayadevan had nothing to do with their divorce under any circumstances. In fact Mr R Jayadevan and his fellow trustees of the temple encouraged and tried to mediate between Mr Thangaraja and his wife in an attempt to get them back together. Often it was Mr Thangaraja who requested Mr R Jayadevan to have his wife removed from the temple administration and ultimately held personal grudge against Mr R Jayadevan when he flatly refused in accordance with the rules by not getting involved in their family squabbles.
Now that Mr Kandiah Thangarajah has passed away as a result of the fatal accident, the LTTE are sick enough to capitalise on his death and instruct their TIGER cubs to implicate Mr R Jayadevan with venom and full vengeance against him.
Mr R Jayadevan and the temple priest “Kumar” are in no way associated with the unfortunate fatal death of Mr Thangarajah: This is the game that Nesan Shanker Raji plays for money.”
In yet another article R Jayadevan states : “November’ decisive month for Sri Lanka. [Tuesday, 02-09-2008, 21:00 GMT]
With the heavy drum beatings in the South that victory in the war against the LTTE is imminent and the sombre feeling amongst the LTTE support base, the war situation in Sri Lanka is heading for a another muddied stage. Month of November is crucial for the government of Sri Lanka and LTTE. Both are engaged in an inconclusive military campaign for over twenty five years. ….On the LTTE front, November is a crucial month in its annual calendar. Its leader Pirabakaran’s 54th birthday followed by hero’s day celebrations are crucial events. The current status quo of the LTTE in the battle front is not a healthy situation for it to project a boisterous and buoyant image for its support base. Pirabakaran’s 2007 speech was the weakest of all the Hero’s Day speeches and it reflected sheer desperation. His appeal to the diaspora Tamil community to come to the rescue did not materialize except for some desperate and unsuccessful campaign work carried out by the hardcore LTTE men. Thanks to the western governments to keep the LTTE men on the tab. There is wider expectation within the LTTE support base that its Thalaivar (Leader) will do miracles before his November 2008 speech. These hardcore elements are expecting Pirabakaran to give a decisive blow to the government to bring them to his knees in this hopeless situation. …With the Colombo leadership that is unwilling to empower the Tamils to be part of the Sri Lanka with the substantial devolution of powers and the estranged LTTE that lacks political vision and political leadership are progressing the country into calamity. The show piece All Party Parliamentary Group which is presently considering devolution of powers may come to its natural death if the months leading to November cause political thunderstorm in Sri Lanka.”
(The writer is a former Lecturer in Political Studies in the UK) - Sri Lanka Guardian
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