| by Gajalakshmi
Paramasivam
( December 21,
2012, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) Accountability is a key feature of
Democracy. Ultimately we are accountable to ourselves with our conscience as
our judge. I have been receiving news
regarding Dr. Brian Seneviratne being denied entry into Singapore for onward
travel to Malaysia. As per my memory, Dr. Seneviratne was denied entry into
Malaysia in May 2009, when he allegedly sought to meet LTTE arms dealer Kumaran
Pathmanathan. Hence I am surprised that Dr. Seneviratne expected to have free
passage into Malaysia this time around.
As is my way – I
thought about the rights and wrongs of this through my own parallel experience
here in Australia. I was arrested for
peaceful assembly when I sat waiting to see the Vice Chancellor of the
University of NSW. In 2005, Magistrate
Pat O’Shane sentenced me to a year in prison. I accepted this even though I knew that this punishment was
unlawful. By that time I had gone into ‘Natural Mode’ and hence needed to
observe instead of consciously influencing my projected outcomes. Later due to
urging by my immediate family and as advised by Legal Aid – I signed bail
conditions and have not stepped into the University of New South Wales ever
since. That to me was my word of honor. By upholding that word of honor I am
upholding my Hindu culture which is also
to a large extent Tamil culture. To the
extent I am true to that culture – that culture would support me from the depth
of my investment. As my spiritual Guru Swami Sathya Sai Baba says ‘Dharma
protects those who protect Dharma’. Those who extracted that bail undertaking
from me, largely due to indifference, would reap their own karma through their
own cultural paths. Due to this indifference they failed to consciously
practice Equal Opportunity principles with me. They thus contributed negative
grades to Australia’s self confidence in the area of Equal Opportunity issues.
Some returns have already happened at the public level. For my turn I am using my experience to help others of common faith manage issues
at their level.
Just recently,
to a lawyer from a leading Law firm, demanding without any inquiry – that an
Australian Tamil pay for the repairs in
an accident that happened two years ago – I wrote ‘Ms Xxxx, it is shocking that a professional lawyer
representing Yyyyyy Lawyers - a reputed
Law Firm – would ‘judge’ and then spell out the punishment and also threaten
further punishment through legal action
if that one-sided judgment is not obeyed
! This leads one to conclude that to you Mr. A and the Community he belongs to
as a migrant – are legally ignorant
peasants waiting to be exploited ! Mr. A’s name may paint such pictures in your
mind. But if you do your homework, you would include in that picture, the
judgments in action by all the intermediary authorities with the power to take
legal action – primarily the two insurers.
Even Mr. B’s insurer seems to have abandoned him once we complained to
the Ombudsman.’
The confidence
with which I wrote as above comes from my own direct experience – with the
Australian legal system - at all times with the highest respect for the laws of
Australia. I believe that I thus connect to the minds of others who practice
and value those laws. Some custodians of power in Courts and other institutions
do judge and punish unjustly. But if we go into their ‘territory’ – (in Dr.
Seneviratne’s case it is Malaysia) we must respect their laws and their
interpretations of the law - however
unjust and unfair it may seem to
us. This is why it is unlawful to resist
arrest. After they pronounce their judgment and we disagree - we must do what we do openly – by alerting
the authorities concerned – as per the principles of transparency.
If Dr.
Seneviratne did expect these outcomes and as a veteran he ought to have
expected them – and he still went ahead – I conclude that Dr. Seneviratne was
doing what he did as a show of support to his side.
Dr.
Seneviratne’s side in the issue of Tamil
Refugees does not include me. Dr.
Seneviratne wrote to me in response to my response to Professor Damien
Kingsbury’s stand on this issue (http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2012/10/professor-kingsburys-eyes-colonial-or.html)
‘I commend Damien Kingsbury for his monumental work which I have just bought
and read from cover to cover. Although I do not agree with a few points, they
are trivial. Overall, this is a very important contribution from someone with
knowledge and ability. That the R2P has not been applied to Sri Lanka is
something I have written and spoken about for years. However, I am only a
doctor of medicine and has neither the knowledge nor the ability of Damien
Kingsbury to deal with this in depth as he has.
It is a pity
that this terribly important book has been priced so high that some may not be
able to afford it but if you pay peanuts you get monkeys. In any case, that is
beyond Damien Kingsbury’s control.It is such a pity that financial constraints
prevented me from attending the C.J Eliezer Memorial Oration delivered by
Kingsbury. I commend the ETA for making this wise choice at a time when the
Tamils need some hope and sound advise
I might also say
that sending all sorts of nonsense to huge numbers of people is
counterproductive to the struggle of the Tamil people for justice. It must stop
right now.
Brian
Senewiratne’
If my work is
nonsensical to Dr. Seneviratne – then at least one of us is not working for
Tamil Independence. To me ultimately –
Justice happens through the system of karma – cause and effect. We do and we reap. Dr. Seneviratne sowed in
2009 and he reaped in 2012. Singapore authorities were just part of the medium
through which karma traveled. To me this
denial of entry was earned by Dr. Seneviratne and if my assessment of Dr.
Seneviratne is correct – he would be enjoying it all. LTTE did not respect the law and they were
open about it. One ought to expect LTTE
supporters to be likewise and uphold that heritage with dignity. If we act as
per our Truth and Truth alone – that is above all laws. Unless therefore we are
structuring a secular system of Justice for Tamils – each investor/group is for her/himself/itself. All those who have faith in us and in whom we
have faith – will naturally share in the value of these investments – for
better or for worse. Some may be visible and others formless energies that motivate from within. LTTE did
not freely allow all into Vanni. Even Tamils are known to have been rejected by
them. LTTE supporters need to respect and expect the return at that level from
other Governments and not expect higher rights.
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