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| Truth is also Common to all – irrespective of whether we are present or not at the scene of manifestation of such Truth. Truth does not manifest Itself without a just cause. Truth is experienced. Facts could be used to confirm that experience to others. Outsiders need facts. Insiders do not. Insiders believe as per their common experiences. |
by Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam
(June 07, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I have just returned to Australia, from Sri Lanka – where I spent most of the time with ordinary folks living everyday life as per their current reality. The UN Report never came up in our discussions. Everyday Public Administration did. There is a big gap between the two.
Ms Pearl Thevanayagam says in her article ‘The fine line between LTTE terrorism and state terrorism’ (published in Sri Lanka Guardian) ‘Public servants functioning in the North and East during the most turbulent times in the last two years deserve plaudits and recognition. Ms Imelda Sukumar is one such figure whose courage and strength and above all her duty consciousness amidst threats from some members of the LTTE and of course amidst a spiraling war scenario saved hundreds of civilians.’
Ms Sukumar’s group is not the only group to suffer such risks and threats. Most of us who worked in those areas also suffered. To the extent we did not get paid nor derive benefits for our work – the suffering is of greater value. It is of ownership value which becomes a natural part of us and motivates us from within. We are the costs and we are the benefits.
The state of Public Administration in Northern Sri Lanka is currently based more on customary laws rather than intellectually applicable common laws of global standards. It’s the parallel of Tamil v English – with Sinhalese stuck in-between. In terms of the Tamil community itself – the parallel is North Eastern Tamils v Diaspora Tamils – with Colombo Tamils stuck in-between. In terms of law – it is the parallel of Thesawalamai v Roman Dutch (civil) / English Law (criminal) with Kandyan Law stuck in-between.
Ms Thevanayagam says further about Ms Imelda Sukumar – current GA Jaffna – “Many criticisms were leveled at her by the Tamils abroad and others in the country. Following her evidence at LLRC (Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission) I could not help pondering that hers was but what she saw and not exactly what happened to others……………. While it is easy to dismiss her as a stooge of the government or government politicians and putty in the hands of the security forces I empathise with her situation where she was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Ms Sukumar is just one of the witnesses and her evidence should not be taken as the total picture of the last throes of the war.”
Let us take the position of GA Jaffna – without being conscious of the current occupant of the position. GA Jaffna is responsible for Public Administration of Jaffna. If Legal Judgments are medication, Administration is vitamin. A dose of the Administrative vitamin needs to be consumed to prevent rather than cure. That dose could be through Natural food – such as Common Customary Practices based on Customary laws or in the form of pills – intellectual consumption of relevant legislation and rules that flow from such legislation. In a country like Sri Lanka, the former (Natural form) is more easily practiced and in Western countries the latter is more popular.
The primary responsibility of GA of current Jaffna is to provide that dosage through everyday Public life. The tertiary responsibility of that GA is to reconcile the vitamin in the Natural form to the pill that is understood by Colombo and beyond.
Ms Thevanayagam’s statement ‘Following her evidence at LLRC (Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission) I could not help pondering that hers was but what she saw and not exactly what happened to others.’
What happened at that place, at that time is common to all present at that time and place. Majority presentation is taken as correct in terms of ‘facts’ / ‘what happened’. How the ‘fact’ was received in the mind by each person present would vary but not what happened itself.
Truth is also Common to all – irrespective of whether we are present or not at the scene of manifestation of such Truth. Truth does not manifest Itself without a just cause. Truth is experienced. Facts could be used to confirm that experience to others. Outsiders need facts. Insiders do not. Insiders believe as per their common experiences. Ms Imelda Sukumar was part of the experience of civilians in the war zone. Ms Sukumar was also part of the Government Administration in that area – an Administration that was not strong enough to prevent the war. The former is primary/fundamental level participation, whilst the latter is tertiary level contribution. The latter is bound to be riddled with theory. Had Ms Sukumar actually practiced the Administrative Laws in everyday life – through the culture of that area – Ms Sukumar would have been the best and the first citizen to present the experience to the world. But this did not happen. Most Administrators in Sri Lanka are guilty of practicing ‘Do as I say and not as I do’ mantra. If we found fault with Ms Sukumar for being average – we are likely to groom someone irrelevant. We have to make the best use of what is currently available to us.
Tamil lawyers practicing Thesawalamai are as confused as the senior Administrators of Jaffna. Many senior Tamil lawyers, from Colombo and Jaffna ‘told’ me that the property of my brother in law who died a bachelor was to be divided equally between all siblings – sisters included – even though the sisters were given dowry. To me that did not ‘seem’ right. I believe in the sovereignty of Tamils as a community and therefore I believed that the customary laws that are applicable to us as a community would uphold the principles of Equal Opportunity. I did my research and found that there was provision in Thesawalamai Regulation 18 of 1806, to balance through inheritance (Muthusom) to male heirs the custom of Seethanam (Dowry) to female heirs. Had I just taken the word of these leading lawyers as correct – I would have lost confidence in the sovereignty of Tamils as a Community. I concluded that these senior Tamil Lawyers were indiscriminately mixing the two systems because they were in a hurry. Likewise – those driven by facts during that last war.
Only one who has experienced pain and is able to express that pain through facts produced is a reliable presenter of the root cause of the problem. Real Mental pain experienced is relative to the costs we have paid. To the extent we have invested in that group that was physically damaged – through common values particular to that group and/or as part of that group we would have experienced the pain from inside. Others are outsiders and need to reconcile consciously with the principles and laws common to their current environments.
Northern Sri Lanka is not alone in this gap between customary laws and national/international laws. Here in Australia also we are still struggling to reconcile between Aboriginal customary laws and Public Administration Common to all.
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