| by Gajalakshmi
Paramasivam
( November 02, 2012, Melbourne,
Sri Lanka Guardian) I read through the presentation by Sri Lanka’s Minister the
Hon Mahinda Samarasinghe’s presentation to the UNHRC – as published
by Sri Lanka Guardian.
 |
| Photo credit: Indi Samarajiva |
It was not difficult
to follow and initially it did make sense. It made sense because I read it with
an open mind. But when it came to the part about May 2009 – I started rejecting
the statements being made by the Minister. The Minister said ‘A sea-change
occurred approximately 12 months after the 2008 UPR with the rescue of nearly
300,000 civilians in the month of May 2009.’
This to me was like
the quota system at University entrance level which became a strong
reason for the war. This statement alone confirms that little has
been done to bridge the ethnic divide at the grassroots level.
This week’s
Human Values lesson for our folks in Northern Sri Lanka, included the following
passage:
There are three ways
in which we make decisions:
(1) Through our direct
physical observation using our physical senses
(2) Through Discriminative
thinking
(3) Through Belief
Observations through
senses would give us the right answer for that place at that time –
provided we take a 360 degree view i.e. - from all sides. The net
value of all observers is the right answer for that time and place.
This answer however would not work at a different time and/or at a
different place.
Rights and wrongs as
per Common Principles, Common Law and Common Processes would provide the right
solution to all who practice those principles, laws and processes. This is the
basic reason for education. It helps expand our world and others’ energies work
for us through the practice of common principles.
Belief is
our personal Truth. Decisions made on the basis of Belief would always work for
within that pool of common belief. They do not need explaining. If
explained they would be right. This is because Truth is Universal. An
individual deciding as per her/his observation only, on the basis of her/his
belief would find that that decision works for her/him and all those who
believe in that person. It would be wrong to impose those decisions on others –
those who do not have faith. If enforced on those who do not have
faith – it would lead to wrong outcomes. If Seniors include Juniors within
themselves the decisions would be intuitively shared. That is the power
of Belief.
The following
presentation by the Sri Lankan Minister, seemed largely to be under category
(1) above but without any contribution of observed facts from
the ‘other’ side: ‘Sri Lanka, like any post-conflict polity, faced
challenges of a magnitude and scope that were truly daunting. The housing and
maintenance of hundreds of thousands of civilians, restoring security, law and
order, clearing of vast tracts of land contaminated by UXO including IEDs and
landmines, restoring physical, administrative, economic and social
infrastructure, preparing people for resettlement, identifying ex-combatants for
rehabilitative care, the transition from humanitarian assistance to a
development phase, all while maintaining a stable economy and sustainable
growth in the rest of the country, were just some of the tasks that the
Government had to contend with. At the same time, we were not complacent but
tried our utmost to prevent and forestall acts of destabilization from within
and outside the country. There are still some elements that support the LTTE’s
cause of dismemberment and separation of our island nation. We are aware of
these initiatives and will defeat them by our ongoing strategy of
re-democratization, reconciliation, reconstruction and development.’
Except for the
Trilingual Policy, the points highlighted under implementation of National
Action Plan do not include Common Principles based approach to the ethnic
problem – due to which this UPR has become an important assessment at global
level. This confirms lack of wisdom in and / or commitment on the part of the
Government to multicultural issues.
Given that the
proportion of Sri Lankans using discriminative thinking on the basis of substance
which leads to production of objectively measurable outcomes, is declining,
Belief seems to be the more reliable basis on which effective solutions could
be found for Sri Lankans. In this regard, Belief based statements by
leaders of minorities in Sri Lanka ought to have formed part of the
presentation to the UPR Committee. The decisions presented at best are based on
the belief of Sinhalese leaders and hence would not work for Tamils, other
minorities and most importantly for Sri Lankans who are believed to
be Sri Lankans by fellow Sri Lankans. Such a leader would have
included the solutions by all ethnicities – to Racial Equality.
If Racial Equality is
considered a Human Right in Sri Lanka, that ought to have been the highlight of
this Presentation. Without this assurance – the Presentation qualifies merely
to be related to other presentations during this session – towards best-looking
award.
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