Belief & Independence

| by Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam

(October 06, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I believe that we are all born with the ability to be ‘independent’. Belief is the seat of independence. Once we ‘believe’ we are no longer dependent. We all have the ability to ‘believe’ at least / ultimately in ourselves. Hence we all have the ability to be independent.

All of us who genuinely feel Sri Lankan, add value through our genuine commitment to the positions we hold. We hold natural positions – which are as per the status majority in an environment attribute to us naturally and without conscious calculations at the time of our interactions.

Structures, Laws and Due Processes help regulate our desires and distractions – towards leading us to independence. In the alternative, we could stay within the Truth we know about ourselves and travel in the path of our belief. The former is the institutional path and the latter is the path of the Individual. The educated person finds the institutional path more interesting to follow whilst the average voter finds the path of Belief to be the more successful one. To my mind, Belief is true ownership. Ownership helps us work the system that gives form to our belief. To my mind, this power of Belief is the core value of our Voting system. It is the power of the individual and hence needs to be exercised independently. Secret / Confidential voting is facilitated towards this independence.

In a recent article, Dr. Dayan Jayatilleke says ‘While the Sri Lankan media reflects the domestic disagreements on the international policy and diplomatic stance that should be adopted, we may surely agree that what is required is an approach that is, above all else, effective in defending Sri Lanka’s national interest in a hostile climate. But how does one identify “effective diplomacy” and who is to do so credibly and authoritatively? Wikileaks revelations of confidential cable traffic to Washington DC, throw a spotlight on a moment when the US, and in one case France, regarded Sri Lanka as following “an effective” and even “a very effective diplomatic approach”, in challenging conditions.’

The Sri Lankan Government, which through his position Dr. Dayan Jayatilleke is a part of, did not choose the Structured path of Global standards, to eliminate the LTTE. Everyone with an official position is bound by the limits of that position and this includes Dr. Jayatilleke, who gets paid by the People to maintain and/or strengthen his official position and the structures that the position is a part of. Anyone using the official path to explain their actions needs to therefore not show recognition of the Belief based system, while in that forum/environment. Wikileaks could be legitimately used by those without portfolio to derive an understanding of the issues they have invested in. This could help them clear their distractions and continue to realise Truth through their own belief. It would be counterproductive to indiscriminately mix the two – the official and the personal. The Doctrine of Separation of Powers between the Executive Government and the Judiciary is based on this value. Dr. Jayatilleke, whilst being part of the official system, has - by expressing himself by relating to the work done by Wikileaks – acted in breach of the principles underpinning the Doctrine of Separation of Powers between Politics and Administration. If it feels ‘right’ to do so – then Dr. Jayatilleke is no longer in that official position but is acting as a politician. This happens when one is driven more by the individual supervising and controlling that position and its occupier than the common principles and values regulating the occupier towards becoming an owner of the position.

All of us who genuinely feel Sri Lankan, add value through our genuine commitment to the positions we hold. We hold natural positions – which are as per the status majority in an environment attribute to us naturally and without conscious calculations at the time of our interactions. For example – I am naturally seen as a professional in Sri Lanka whereas in Australia I am naturally seen as an Asian migrant by majority Australians. Our apparent positions are the ones we are allocated by that environment. Our real positions are as per our real contributions to others in that environment. It is this real position that naturally influences the real systems and the real outcomes. It is independent and yet integrated.

Sri Lanka’s position at the International level – is apparently low at the moment. Its official position is as per the status allocated by the UN. Its real one is as per the contribution made by every Sri Lankan – be they Government or otherwise.

Where the People of Sri Lanka have contributed more than the Government – through their own independent pursuits – Sri Lanka is no longer represented by the Government in that international forum. We need to therefore cease to refer to the Government as Sri Lanka – but consciously refer to them as Government of Sri Lanka and honor the People of Sri Lanka who have independently contributed to Global standards. The value of their work should not be diluted by any wrongs by the Government. Those who fail to recognize this difference and therefore indiscriminately use the name of Sri Lanka to refer to the Government – are indicating strong desires to take over the ‘position’ of the Government, instead of facilitating the People to govern themselves through their own investments independent of the Government, where the Government’s investment in official systems is weaker than that of the People through various paths.