| by Gajalakshmi Paramasivam
( January 25, 2013, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I read with interest Sri Lanka Guardian’s article ‘Addressing Sri Lanka’s Twin National Questions’ which I understand is a published version of the Keynote Speech delivered by Dr. Alan Keenan (Project Director - Sri Lanka - for the International Crisis Group) to Canadian Tamil Congress during Thai Pongal Dinner.
Dr. Keenan says ‘My central message tonight is that Sri Lanka’s two political crises – the crisis the long-standing denial of the rights of the Tamil people and the crisis of Sri Lanka’s liberal democracy – these need to be analysed and understood together and they need to be addressed together. There is no way to respond effectively to one crisis without responding effectively to the other. Sri Lanka as a whole, and that means the Sinhalese majority, can never have a meaningful and stable democracy so long as the Tamil people are abused and humiliated and denied their individual and collective rights.’
Investors in the Sri Lankan crisis are of different levels. Majority shareholders are mere voters. They are manifestations of total forces they carry as well as others’ forces for which they are the medium at that time at that place. Educating and/or transforming these majority is essential for harmony in that environment. Without this the mere voter from majority group would expand the small investment s/he makes in government structure as if it represents the whole and take up high status to massacre the voter from minority group. For government structure by majority to be reliable – the base voter needs to be seen to be equal. Hence the need for devolution when the apparent commonness is less than the apparent differences.
Unless the shareholder is made the medium of democratic forces – democratic solutions do not have the pathway to reach their destinations – which are the environments in which they are needed. To me, the problem with the Middle East where the West is failing again and again – is that the Middle Easterner is not receptive to Democracy.
Dr. Keenan has stated in this regard ‘What Tamils can begin to work on, however, is the important task of rebuilding damaged relations with other Sri Lankan communities and broadening its reform agenda.
This can begin with Sri Lankan Muslims, both those in the north, many of whom were unfairly forced from their homes by the LTTE, as well as those in east. Put bluntly, the Tamil national struggle can’t be won without the substantial support of Muslims. No power-sharing deal will be workable without the agreement of Muslims, particularly those in the east, most of whom would resist being included as part of a single northeast province or administrative unit. More generally speaking, leaders of both communities need to work out a mutually acceptable understanding of how the Tamil people and the Muslim people relate to each other – tied together by cultural and linguistic links, but also with distinct religious traditions and a recent history of tension. Both communities have complaints and grievances about how they have been treated by the other, and these need to be worked through with care, beginning with a greater recognition by Tamils of the pain that the LTTE’s expulsion of the northern Muslims still causes and the need to make amends. Until relations are repaired, the government will continue to be able to divide the communities, as they are actively doing now, particularly in Mannar district. Trust and political cooperation can ultimately be rebuilt, I believe, but it will take a lot of hard work, which needs to begin now.’
An indifferent citizen tends to be a reactive citizen. When residents in an area are indifferent to governance – they become easy targets for political divisions. If the Sri Lankan Judiciary had actively practiced independence from political powers in their local environments – they would not have been the medium through which Parliament manifested its superiority for the majority to ‘see and believe’. Unlike with the Tamil community – the Judiciary through its status had the official powers to govern independent of the Parliament. This was blocked in action. With Tamils the action happened and the official equal status of leaders is yet to happen.
Majority voters even in Australia are driven by the ‘seen’. Thinkers are in the minority. Hence a government elected by majority would be successful in its political governance only when such vote is based on ‘belief’. Belief helps us govern ourselves. To the extent politicians need to develop belief through the ‘seen’, Judiciary need to develop common thinking as a group. That when they would be equal powers. Hence higher education is mandatory for the Judiciary but not for politicians towards membership in their work environments.
In terms of the above suggestion that Tamils and Muslims need to repair and rebuild their relationship with each other, it is my observation that to the common Tamil leader Muslims carry the parallel status that Tamils carry in the minds of Sinhalese leaders. We are insignificant until we become ‘active’ in our show of independence.
To my mind, the LTTE would have expelled Muslims for similar reasons to why the Sri Lankan Government expelled Westerners. During times of crises we need to be able to rely on our ability to influence the mind of those in the area. Hence we have the duty to follow the safety demonstrations by flight-crew at the beginning of our air travel. We may not remember what was said but we would follow the flight crew in an emergency.
Muslims and Tamils coexisted in Jaffna. Their minds did not work together. Likewise Westerners and Sri Lankans of any race – coexist in Sri Lanka. During times of crises if one answered to the calls of those who merely coexisted - one would lose one’s mind power to work laterally to manifest winning results. If the other community – is of higher status – for example the Western community in Sri Lanka – then their presence would disturb the mind of the activist due to the expectation that one had to follow the law of the higher authority. If the other community is of minority status – for example – the Muslim community – then one would be concerned that they may add power to the ‘other’ side and thus upset the balance of powers. They are like independent members of parliament who are free to vote either way.
When there is no crisis in Northern Sri Lanka – Tamil speaking Muslims and Tamils will co-exist and would continue to do so unless Muslims invest more than Tamils in the system of Democracy – as happened with the Sinhalese-Tamil relationship. The leading race does not like to recognize that a minority race has invested more than they in the official system. To the extent the leading race uses its official powers to be elected through majority opinion (not necessarily on the basis of belief), it automatically weakens its opportunity to invest in common principles and values towards vertical growth. The Bandaranayake government said ‘Sinhala only’ and Tamil Political Governors said ‘Separate Tamil State’ and Sinhalese Government in Sri Lankan clothes said to the Democratic world ‘We are a Sovereign Nation. Don’t come inside our premises – you are already trespassing.’ They are all due to lack of self confidence at global level – due to self isolation – confirming fear of wider world.
Dr. Keenan stated ‘The decades-long assault on the Tamil people and their rights and the brutal strategies used to repress them has contributed directly to and provided cover for the slower and more subtle but now very obvious assault on Sri Lanka’s democracy and rule of law. Restoring the rule of law, human rights and democracy in a meaningful way will require finally coming to terms with and honouring the just demands of Tamils for an equal share of power and equal citizenship across the island. At the same time, however, I want to argue that the Tamil people will never be able to reclaim their rights and gain justice and a rightful share of power so long as Sri Lanka’s deepening crisis of governance is not reversed and at least minimal standards of democracy, constitutionalism and legal protections are not restored. So – the struggle for Tamil rights needs to be fought in conjunction with the struggle for the rights of all Sri Lankans.’
I would rephrase that as Tamils needing to first practice the change that they expect from the Sinhala leadership. Yesterday in a submission to our Australian Federal Government – I said as an ‘Australian Hindu Tamil’ :
“”Management of a Humanitarian program needs to recognize the distinction between the experience of a person who thinks as an individual and one who thinks in the consciousness that s/he is part of a group. In an educated group, thoughts are trained to flow through structured paths. At the individual level – each person would interpret as per their investment in the reasons why something happened and hence these thoughts and expressions may not be true reflections of the person’s experience of what happened – but rather a mix of what happened with hearsay as to why it happened. To the extent, they are able to regulate the events through common principles and processes – they are expressing their own mind pain also – due to threat to their investment in those common principles and processes. This means that they have had the experience as if that group is a person and the individuals are various parts of that group. Then when someone hurts another within the group – the pain is raised to the level as if all individuals in the group experienced the pain.
There is a Hindu Tamil legend explaining this effect: [The king of Pandya Kingdom (in South India) ordered that a retaining wall be built around the coastal area. The Government authorities ordered that all citizens build the wall under their supervision. An old lady who was too weak to do the physical work cried out to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva appeared in the form of a young manual worker and said he would do the work on her behalf and in return he wanted the old lady to cook him some – Puttu (a bit like couscous). The old lady agreed and cooked the Puttu for the young worker. Shiva carried some sand, ate the Puttu and fell asleep. The supervising guard questioned him as to why he was not doing his work and whipped Shiva. Instantaneously all those who had the responsibility to do the work that was allocated to citizens, got the whiplash. ]
The moral of the story is that when we punish a true person for doing what we ought to have done as per our position duties – the punishment / karma comes back to us. Truth is the highest common value and principles that flow from Truth cover the whole group that we claim to be a part of. ]””
The expulsion of Muslims from North happened. If Tamil leaders blame only the LTTE – then they must accept the parallel of that from the Sinhalese Government also – especially when it expelled Westerners. If Tamils as a community take responsibility for the expulsion of Muslims – with the thought that we did it together – then we would strength our powers of independence. The independent person/group first takes responsibility for its part. An independent leader takes responsibility as if s/he did it all by her/himself. That is the way of the Research part of an academic. Once the solution that fits all is found – it is presented in common through the form understood by majority in an environment. That is the Taching part of an academic. Hence Tamils who are showing their suffering due to the actions of Sinhalese leaders, need to include with themselves Muslims who suffered due to Tamil leaders. That’s when they have true membership in the system of Democracy.
LTTE are the Technicians who carried out the work. Tamil intellectual leaders need to be the engineers who have the influence to direct the Technicians through the power of their common belief. Towards this these leaders need to invest in research to know why something happened and then teach their followers. Likewise – the Sri Lankan Army including its leaders – General Fonseka and Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse need to be directed by intellectual leaders. Otherwise we would have all Indians and no chiefs.
Most leaders of Sri Lankan origin are yet to become democratic – even though they may live in the West. Young ones who have invested in democratic structures do not feel for resident Sri Lankans as the older generation does. If the two merge forces at family level – that would naturally strengthen global powers. The form needs to be of the greater force. If the young are stronger, the ‘form’ of the solution would be democratic and contemporary. If the seniors are stronger – the form of the solution would be ‘Traditional’ – as in celebrating Thai Pongal by cooking Sweet Rice as an offering to the Sun. The true powers need to be shown respect through the form of the contributor. As Sri Sathya Sai Baba says ‘My Life is My Message’. This older generation is the parallel of Tamil for Canadian Tamils. Between Canada and Sri Lanka – the form needs to be Canadian for the solutions developed by juniors and Tamil or Sri Lankan for the solutions developed by ‘seniors only’. At the global level therefore there is only One question – Contemporary Democracy or Traditional Autocracy?
 I read with interest Sri Lanka Guardian’s articl...){kind=link}