An open letter to, Mr. Bob Carr, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia
Dear Mr. Carr,
( April 04, 2012, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I write further to my letter dated 27 March 2012, on your support of War Crimes Court which was published by Sri Lanka Guardian at http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2012/03/war-crimes-courts.html. Today I learnt that you consider the war on drugs program a failure. I am not able to identify with the two of you (Bob Carr the civilian and Bob Carr the Minister) at the same time. That to me is also the ‘gap’ in status between the Government and the Civilian in the drug war.
 |
Bob Carr looks at Julia Gillard after she announces his appointment as Foreign Affairs Minister. [ABC File photo] |
If you consider war on drugs a failure, then many of us consider the war on alleged terrorism also to be a failure – especially using countries such as Sri Lanka – my country of origin.
Your role as civilian in the drug war is the parallel of my role as a civilian Tamil in the Sri Lankan arms war. As per the media your role is indicated as follows:
“Senator Carr, whose brother died of a heroin overdose in 1981, is taking a more liberal view based on his time as NSW premier.
'I sponsored a medically supervised injecting room so that people who are hooked on this wretched, addictive white powder ... would have a chance,' he said.
'While they were there, you could persuade them to give the stuff up and to enter treatment to get off it.'”
Mr. Carr, be it intoxicants or war related excesses – our family has had its share. Where events have happened due to our distance we could make up for it by sharing in the pain of victims which would prevent / reduce future pain and loss through such habits. Once they are habits – only internal forces would be able to cure them. Hence the importance of families and institutions with both sides of the subject matter.
Mr. Carr, laws have many roles in our life - including (1) To regulate our paths so that we do not collide with each other (2) To allocate Social and Institutional status (3) For the purpose of jobs.
Natural Sharing
(1) Use of alcohol and drugs at the individual level is now more a family / social issue in most Western countries. Self regulation is high in families that have good karma in abstinence from intoxicants. It is higher in families that have strong self-healing minds. Even one such member would regulate whole groups through natural powers. I believe that you are one such member and hence your participation in Sydney University’s think tank Australia21’s research. As a caring leader of your electorate you would have had this natural power-sharing to keep drug abuse at levels lower than they otherwise would have been in your electorate. But the moment you give it ‘form’ at a higher level – such as the University or the Federal Government level – this personal karma to be effective, would need to be stronger than the natural karma of those investing in the relevant institutional structures, taking the ‘other’ side to yourself. For example, Prime Minister Gillard would have greater personal credit to herself in the Politics of our Federal Government than yourself. Hence Ms. Gillard’s intuition in this would work more effectively than yours – the same way your intuition is likely to be stronger than Ms Gillard’s in the politics of marriage especially with a person/family of a different culture. Families bound by strong common faith would naturally heal each other. They do not need ‘external’ policing. Their privacy needs to be protected to preserve these natural healing powers. Likewise, the privacy of those with strong common faith in Sri Lanka. It is for this reason that Devolution of Power is needed – at the level of strongest faith for the group. This is the best and most natural path – be it for war-related healing and prevention or drug-related healing and prevention.
Status Power
(2) In most Eastern cultures, use of alcohol and drugs demote one’s social status. Hence the more we include migrants from such countries in our regular social lives, the higher our status would be in the eyes of those migrants. The status we allocate ourselves improves our self-esteem. Hence those Westerners who include themselves with such Easterners would have the added opportunity to improve their self-esteem through elimination of intoxicants. By the same measure Easterners who assimilate are at greater risk of losing their inhibitions in this regard and hence contribute to majority power that makes it seem ok. Where majority in a group are drug users – there is no loss of status - so long as the effects are within the group. Likewise in any activity that is natural to a group – there are no rights or wrongs. This is the case with Sri Lankans in relation to arms/weapons. But even one strong natural opposition would naturally cure these diseases – a reason why I reside with the lowest caste in Northern Sri Lanka during my service there. Administrators are too fearful of having their offices in that area, despite us donating Land for this purpose.
The presence of a traditional Hindu lady is enough to influence lower intake by a group of Hindu men – be it of intoxicants or weapons. That is the power of faith. There is zero tolerance for the use of alcohol (the common social intoxicant) in my home for this reason. I did not enforce it at any time. But my family observed me being serious about abstaining from it and now they do not use intoxicants in my home. In turn I do not interfere with their social drinking in my absence. I believe that anyone whom I truly include as part of me is naturally protected by my good karma. Likewise those who believe in me and/or my values – even though we may never physically meet.
Like with most enjoyments, intoxicants when used with complete independence help young ones think together without inhibitions. Hence I do not interfere in their free exercise of this independence with like minded friends. But when it comes to allocation of status on that basis, I insist on the right protocols being practiced to reflect my investment in abstinence. This I believe is the way forward for Australia in relation to drugs and other diseases for which migrants have karma through stronger investment in anti-intoxicant cultural regulations.
Just a Job
(3) Whether it is the Government, University or the Civil Group that produced this report – there are parts of our work that are done just to keep members employed. We need to not give them greater importance than that – even at Prime Ministerial level. They maintain the current structure through which other higher investors work the system. Some – even a handful may actually practice the laws that the structures confirm and thus generate higher opportunities for the next generation and/or for the use of wider world. Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a good example where Australian Authorities have very little investment but maintain it largely for the purpose of status at International level. That is the parallel of the Hindu culture against intoxicants. Most may not practice abstinence but would respect others who do for the purpose of higher status – close to God.
As per my experience, Elimination of Racial Discrimination is actually practiced only by a few Australians. They do not need the institutions that confirm the relevant laws. But they generate the opportunities for the next generation and for others at a distance who have greater need than Australians for wisdom and good karma in this regard. To the Police – including NSW Police when you were Premier – Racial Discrimination Laws are difficult subjects. They often practice racial discrimination subconsciously when there is no merit based discrimination to punish someone of Brown/Black culture/looks, who seems to be unpopular with their ‘home’ group. Your Police could not find fault with me through application of even the Trespass law (Inclosed Lands Protection Act 1901) and yet they arrested me and took me in a caged van as if I were a criminal. The Courts endorsed it. I believe that it was the presence of my friend Ms Gwen Harrigan of the University of New South Wales in Court to support me that helped the Court of a white Australian Magistrate dismiss the Police charges. But when I went before Magistrate Pat O’Shane – the identical case became a competitive show of power. The Police, in that instance listed as witness, the Vice Chancellor of the University of New South Wales (white Australian) whose position was used to call the Police. The effects through Natural Justice were seen not only when the white Australian Vice Chancellor was of lower status than an Aboriginal Magistrate ,but also – when the Vice Chancellor had to wait a whole day in Court in the presence of two Engineers (my relatives) of the University who have the responsibility and power to elevate or demote his professional status in real terms through their real work. When this is done sincerely and independently, it naturally affects the real forces affecting the professional life of the Vice Chancellor. That was seen when this Vice Chancellor also was seen to have been responsible for the collapse of UNSW Asia in Singapore. Identification with this outcome through forces beyond my control helped me bring about closure by submitting my work to the Court of Natural Justice. That is how the law of Karma works as per my discovery.
Despite all this did YOU undertake to restructure the relevant Police rules and Due Processes? Likewise did you add your status to those who were opposing such practices by the University? Were they not wasting Public Resources when they could have easily asked the University Security Officers to remove me physically from the premises? If they are being maintained, then all those who ‘fear’ drug users / dealers are entitled to Police presence in their areas.
Most Police / Armed Forces in most countries do not act independently except when they ‘think’ they could get some extra credit from the work to elevate their status. The status elevation of many Heads of Sri Lankan Armed Forces, to civilian positions confirms this. Each one of them, who ‘took’ personal credit for getting rid of the LTTE, alleged to be Terrorists, is claiming to have acted independent of the Government and therefore is part of the reason why the UNHRC demoted Sri Lanka’s status at the International level. If they had explained how they had followed International Laws and Policies relating to war, global citizens would have identified with their elevated status. Otherwise they had the responsibility to leave it all to their President and President alone. They were mere employees and therefore parts of the structure carrying UN principles and values. The moment they take higher position than someone with real investment at that level (even though they may not have the higher status) they demote themselves in real terms. Hence Anti Discrimination laws to reduce gaps between earned and apparent status.
If you truly believe that decriminalization of drugs is needed in Australia, then I ask you as Minister for Foreign Affairs to extend the principle/value to global level and seek decriminalization of armed rebellion in countries where use of weapons during conflict is natural. On this basis, you have the responsibility to urge the Sri Lankan Government to remove its armed forces from war affected areas. What they do is not directly under your control. But what you do would go towards adjusting their status at the Global level. After all Australia also co-sponsored the UNHRC Resolution against Sri Lanka. If you are not able to do this, the righteous way is to wait until you leave the official government to become simple citizen and seek only as per the law and your belief – just like we do.
Just like with weapons, there is a business side to drugs from which Governments benefit through taxes including employment related taxes and status due to employment of citizens in the Police force and other related authorities. That is the business of government which should not be confused with the morality of a government. Educate your citizens to catch fish would help them become independent. Giving them the fish leads to dependence.
I submit that it would be healthy to educate our citizens in a mature way and restructure the Police to abstain from status elevation by chasing after drug dealers purely for that purpose. But keep the laws for those dependent on the Police – especially new migrants who look up to Police. It’s good for the morale of the Police.
Yours sincerely,
Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam
Chief Operating Officer – Australian Tamil Management Service
CC: All Concerned – including :
AFTA – Australian Federation of Tamil Associations.
Mr. Mark Pierce, Assistant Secretary, South & Central Asia Branch,
Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
...){kind=link}
Post a Comment