| by Gajalakshmi
Paramasivam
( December 28,
2012, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I write in response to Sri Lanka Guardian
Editorial ‘ Is Natural Justice Nigh?’ by
Helesingha Bandara
The article is
based on the mass grave in Matale – believed to be
evidence of atrocity by the Government
during JVP insurrection in 1987 about which the Mr. Bandara quotes as follows:
‘During the second insurgency, the ruling United National Party (UNP) launched
a counter-terrorism campaign in the south, resulting in an estimated 60,000
people who died or disappeared during the 1987-1989 revolt. (The Economist
15-21 Apr. 1995, 37).’
 |
First we must feel the authority to punish others. If we react to the perpetrators – we stagnate at that level and the problem revolves in different forms as per the reality of its environment. If official governments are punished for punishing rebels – we endorse governance at the level of rebels.
These are
painful experiences and Tamils also went through similar experiences. The world
pays greater attention to Tamil experiences due to the ‘gap’ between Government
and citizen being greater in the case of Tamils who do not have majority power
to elect Government at the national level. To know the way of Natural Justice,
one needs to have had the total experience -
Under the vertical system of autocracy – from the oldest point to the
latest point; Under the lateral system
of democracy – from the most remote victim to the closest victim. In the
alternative, one could limit one’s world
to the area of one’s true experience. Hence the power of sovereignty. Once we claim power of sovereignty we need to
not only find our own solutions but also share our discoveries with other
stakeholders who respected our privacy and kept their distance.
To the extent the
Tamil Community allowed LTTE to rule, the Tamil Community has the
responsibility to find its own solutions and not blame it all on the
Government. This responsibility is greater for the Sinhalese who do have the
power of majority vote to elect Government. The basic principle of Nature is
that in terms of ‘seen’ causes one should limit the area of responsibility to
the ‘seen’ world and not beyond. Hence Tamils who claim Eelam have to look
within for the causes. Those who blame the Sri Lankan Government are really
stating that they are either Sri Lankans or are part of the Global
Community. The rules are different as
per our grouping. In each case, we need to feel part of that group to have the
natural power to influence others in that group. We need to feel for the group
more deeply than any other member over whom we take up authority.
The JVP
insurrections confirm that Sinhalese who elected Government did not feel
part of the whole Sinhalese Community
and therefore there was a big gap between the consolidated power of their
belief and the votes through which they
elected government. To the extent of that gap – the Government elected by them
was not naturally influenced by them. To fill that gap, the Government had the
responsibility to have in place, systems driven by objective measures – as if,
like the UN, it was governing from a
distance. The bonus from such a system is the ticket to global governance at
high levels if influence.
The system of
democracy facilitates manifestation of beliefs at lower levels of authority.
Hence we ‘count’ and accept as per majority. Once we manifest outcomes as
independents we no longer have the protection of a higher authority. This often
limits vertical growth and therefore depth when we interact with more mature participants.
This happened with the Sinhalese Government after independence from the
British.
Under the
vertical hierarchical system, the manifestation at lower levels was ‘banned’.
This often helped participation at lower levels without needing to show
individual outcomes. Hence the younger participants had the experience without
the individual credits. The deeper our experience – the stronger our feelings
for the whole. The earlier we merge our small investments with the higher ones
– the deeper our feelings of ownership. When the time was ripe for us to take
over leadership – we were then ready to manifest outcomes at the higher level.
This is an opportunity cost in terms of those who use democracy to express
themselves at the lower levels. The
natural influence in under the vertical system was stronger due to the
contribution by the younger ones, being known and/or felt as a force rather
than being in mass form – to be counted and included at surface level as
Equals. Until therefore manifestations are limited to beliefs – governments
elected by majority vote would not influence or be influenced by natural
forces. One would not therefore be able to connect directly the effects of their actions/silence to their causes.
A parent driven
by popularity rather than disciplined responsibility as per parental position –
is breeding rebellion when the child loses interest in the benefits in the
custody of the parent. Likewise, a
Government driven by desire for majority
vote is breeding rebellion once the citizen / voter loses interest in the
benefits in the custody of the Government. In both – Tamil as well as Sinhalese
– the respective leaders driven by majority vote beyond their own belief /
feelings of ownership – were breeding rebels. Hence JVP followed by LTTE.
Mr. Bandara
states [This government should not have such illusions or divided loyalties.
Perhaps the discovery of the Matale mass grave is a timely reminder that
justice still awaits for those who were murdered. After the Second World War
Nazis were relentlessly chased. The last case was as recent as 2009, after
almost 65 years. “The Last Nazi, aged 89, finally faces justice as he goes on
trial accused of helping to kill 28,000 Jews”]
First we must
feel the authority to punish others. If we react to the perpetrators – we
stagnate at that level and the problem revolves in different forms as per the
reality of its environment. If official
governments are punished for punishing rebels – we endorse governance at the
level of rebels. JVP Government would not be acceptable to global minded
Sinhalese any more than LTTE Government being acceptable to global minded
Tamils. We need to seek through our own experiences
and find the root causes of the pain we feel. The less we manifest for public
consumption at that stage the stronger our experience. Once we go to the root –
we would not ‘see’ any physical manifestations but merely experience the cause
and the effect – as if one part of us as
the cause and another part of us was
the effect. Together – we are the
wholesome solution and the path we traveled is the law for the next
generation’s harmony. We survived the holocausts in our own environments so we
would share our Truth – so that the next generation would not suffer like us.
If we insist on punishing at local levels – we lose the opportunity to
participate in global governance. If on the other hand we register our
experiences and show our discoveries to all at risk – beyond time and space borders
– we would feel the satisfaction of having achieved the purpose of having
survived our own holocausts.
Again, the Sri
Lankan parallel of the Jewish Holocaust is not the JVP victims - who were
Sinhalese with the priority powers to influence the Government directly through
votes and through their natural powers to influence their Community. Nor is it
the LTTE and its supporters who preferred the armed struggle and quicker access
than the political path to leadership
positions. It’s the Tamil and Muslim civilians who consciously prevented any
investment in armed retaliation from
getting into their minds and who did not have the power to elect national level
government through majority vote. They
are the only group with the natural authority to claim devolution
of powers. Their survival and
growth in this warmongering that Sri
Lanka has become – is the only real solution as per Natural Justice. Their mere
association would cure the warmongers. A system that respects such powers has
the blessings of Natural Justice.
Subscribe Us
 I write in response to Sri Lanka Guardian Ed...){kind=link}