Who Groomed the Torturing Police in Sri Lanka – What is the Cure?

by Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam

(February 19, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I read with distress the report published in Sri Lanka Guardian, regarding two Sinhalese [ Mr. D G Suthisa Kumara Jayalath (25) and Mr. W V Mahendra Uppalawanna (18) ] by officers attached to the Welipanna Police Station. I have heard similar and worse about the torture of Tamil youth in custody. To the extent I am a Sri Lankan of Tamil origin I am able to feel for the Sinhalese at the same level as Tamils to the extent I believe they are at the same level. To the extent Sri Lankans of Sinhalese origins have shared my feelings for Tamil victims, I owe them my feelings and their powers. Hence I seek to share the cure I know for the mental torture I experienced in Australia as well as in Sri Lanka – at various levels. Torture is not as per the physical only. Mental torture is worse and often goes undetected by hasty observers seeking to exercise quick authority. To my mind, the mental agony of someone who has contributed positively to the Justice system would be greater when arrested by that very system than the physical agony caused by that system to a person with weaker investment in the Justice system. We need to bring the two to a common base/equal playing field before comparing. In other words, we need to disintegrate the higher mental agony of the higher investor or integrate the body level agony of the number of citizens equal to the higher level investor. That was how Gandhi was recognized by the British to be India. Gandhi led the Indians in his mind. He was able to, due to his deep belief in Truth. The path of Truth is the system of Natural Justice.

When reading the accounts regarding the Sinhalese Youth, some of us would register the data at that level. Others who have committed themselves to higher common values, would receive through those values. The latter already have the solution if their investments in those values and common principles are greater than the data received. The former on the other hand would tend to release the net information they have received – as in quickly obtained majority vote of indifferent citizens. The vote of those who carry common values is far more valuable than the vote of surface observers. Likewise, the readers of an article. The surface reader retains at data level and fails to connect the data to a common value within. There is superficial value to this which is useful where one needs to make quick decisions for that time and place. They mislead when extended beyond the environment in which they were born.

Unless therefore, the Police Officers knew the youth personally, their conduct would either be external as per the surface memory – as per what they heard and saw/read about others – especially others who are in high positions or it is their internal guna / entrenched quality. We call this ‘piravi gunam’ in Tamil. In other words it is in their genes. Knowing which one this is, is fundamental to finding the solution.

The report says ‘The beating was witnessed by the small children of the house which was located in close proximity to the place where he was tortured’

This indicates strongly that the area is suffering from domestic violence also. If the Police officers were placed in those positions through political influence and cronyism, rather than being recruited on merit basis at National standards and principles, the power is in the hands of the local voters of that area. They need to go en-masse and complain to their elected leader – whose political destiny is in their hands. If they are not ready to do this, they first need a powerful communication medium to identify with their own powers within and consolidate as a group.

Each one of them is that potential leader and unless the elected leader represents the thinking of majority in such issues, they need to bring the politician down at the following elections. The immediate step towards this needs to be taken then and there – by someone else declaring her/himself as the opposition. That is how we recruit our leaders through common faith. It is an everyday job of the citizen. When citizens are idle and indifferent, they allow themselves to be fooled. This is as negative as obtaining votes by intimidation or purchasing votes for cash. If an electorate is not able to consolidate this power, we need to look at the power of One.

Hence where the above People Power is not possible, the person of that area with highest merit in the system of Justice needs to step forward and put her/himself through the experience. This is what I did here in Australia – at the University of New South Wales. If not for my deep investment in Justice and Peace – it is highly likely that I would have facilitated the Police to charge me for resisting police arrest and/or being violent. It is when one side is still that one can measure the extent of guilt of the other side. That is the value from Gandhi’s non-violent non-cooperation. The person who has this merit as well as courage needs to be someone connected to the people of the area / community – for the value of that person’s work to naturally benefit those people through common faith.

The report says ‘Then on 13 September a Member of Local Government Body (Pradesheeya Saba), Mr. Janaka Kumara Gunasekara came to Suthisa and asked him to come to the police station on 15 September with him to talk about the matter with police officers. Suthisa refused. Then Suthisa and Mahendra complained to the National Police Commission (NPC) and to the Human Rights Commission and to the ASP.’

This indicates that Susitha needs the help of someone from his community, with high level of investment in the Justice system.

If neither of these is possible, then Susitha needs to migrate to an area where he would be able to trust his elected leader and/or where the Police Officers are more just than the ones in Welipanna Police Station.

The power of the mind is awesome. Just yesterday, I watched a TV documentary about the discovery that electronic equipment could be moved by the mind. This lesson is nothing new. Ascetics have shared with us their wisdom in this regard. I have myself experienced many such instances where others’ minds seem to have been moved by my feelings, resulting in what would look like coincidences to surface observers. The Christian message ‘Ask and you shall be given; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall open’ says it all. Until we start seeking from within – we need to ASK respectfully. Once we seek and find, we start owning. Once we own at the root level – we work the system. All we have to do is knock and opportunities will open. They do – each time I knock with deep feeling.

It looks as if the victims in this matter are in the first group and they need to Ask someone who has sought and found. If they do not want to do that – then their peace would come from prayers and they need to submit the complaint to their common Lord – Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha has always answered my prayers whenever I sought help. If Lord Buddha is not within the victims they are truly without leadership, despite living in a country whose constitution demands that Buddhism be given first place.

I believe that there is a God within all of us. Likewise, there is a leader within all of us. Once we seek within, we will find the leader within who will fill the gap to complete the cycle of Independence. That is all the leadership we really need.