tw news-features

by K.S.Sivakumaran

On the 15th of this month I had the privilege of being with some high ranking state officers who were all from the majority community. They understood English. The opportunity to speak with them rather than speak down to them was a rewarding engagement. They were all well disciplined listeners and asked pertinent questions to form a clear picture of Hinduism. That was the subject we discussed.

Two days after - March 17, 2007 - I witnessed the launch of two books in Tamil relating to Hinduism.

Although I am a Hindu by birth I would not claim that I am soaked in my religion -Saivaism which is one of the components of a larger area of Hinduism. I am not a strict practitioner of all the intricate rituals involved in this perhaps the oldest faith in the world. They say that it exists for more than 8000 years!

The two books published were by the All Ceylon Hindu Congress at 91 / 1, Sir Chittamalam Mawatha, Colombo 02 (Tel: 011 2344720). One was the Quarterly Indu Oli (Hindu Light) dated March 10, 2007 and the other was titled Indu Nagarikam (The Hindu Civilization).

I shall say something about the latter book. It is edited by
T.Manoharan with the assistance from various scholars on the subject.

This 382 page is elegantly published by the Uni Arts (Pvt) Ltd. The book is priced at Rs.250/- but it is worth more because there are excellent articles and materials on the subject in two sections.

Although the book is meant primarily for the Lankan GCE A Level
students who offer Hindu Civilization as a subject for their examination, the book is very useful even for the degree students and readers like me.

All who could read Tamil irrespective of their own religion could
gather a lot of information on the culture of the Tamilians, most of whom practice Saivaism.

Some of the subjects dealt with are the Sivalingam (phallic symbol of Lord Siva or Shiva) worship during the Indus valley civilization, Saiva Sidhantham (The Theory of Saivaism), the significance of the Dance of Shiva eruditely explained earlier in English by the late Dr Ananda Ccoomaraswamy), the Temple Architecture and the like.

The book is a fine compendium of the Hindu Civilization in general and the Tamilian Culture as related to Saivaism in particular.

Moving on, on Saturday, March 24, 2007, the Department of Hindu Cultural Affairs launched the eighth volume of the Indu Kalai
Kalanchiyam (The Hindu Encyclopedia) at the Columbu Tamil Sangam at Wellawatta in Colombo..

Emeritus History Professor S.Pathmanathan and his team had compiled this worthwhile encyclopedia of researched entries beginning with the Tamil alphabet ‘Thi’ to ‘Tho’

Yours truly was also one of those who introduced this encyclopedia to the audience.

All this suggests that yours truly ageing as he is, now seemingly
inclined towards spiritualism, which is the only way for all of us to
get rid of the sad things happening around us almost as daily
occurrences.

Contact:

Contact: sivakumaranks@yahoo.com

By Selvi Sachithanandam

(Extracts from Kambiz Naficy’s talks: Kambiz Naficy is a Persian meditation master and the founder of the ‘Joy of Life Organization’ which has a branch in Colombo. He is currently visiting Sri Lanka and conducting workshops at the Taj Samudra)

The abundance of religious missions and spiritual teachers, relentlessly preaching various spiritual practices makes one wonder. Is this necessary at a time when the world is torn apart by war, conflict and violence? Wouldn’t the spiritual masters serve well by diverting their energies in giving relief and assistance to the affected people rather than reading religious texts, chanting, meditation, satsang, yoga or prayers?

One of the masters of spirituality, Kambiz Naficy of the ‘Joy of Life Organisation’ says no. Although the spiritual practices that are handed down from various spiritual traditions may appear futile and superfluous amidst civil strife, they are slowly but surely transforming conflict by changing individual consciousness of those who participate and through that, the collective consciousness of a community or group.

Another teacher Deepak Chopra says we are fast approaching an era when one person can create wars and climate changes by the press of a button. It is believed that due to the progress in electronic communication, one human can use a gadget, as big as a mobile phone, which can alter the pattern of electrons in the clouds to cause rain: The same contraption can be used to blow up a nuclear installation many miles away.

With this prospect in the cards one realizes that a conventional army will become gradually redundant. The phenomena of suicide attacks show how one individual can become an army: This trend is reflected in the Human Security Report released by the United Nations in Oct 2005. It paints a picture of war and peace in the 21st century: Armed conflicts have declined by more than 40 percent since 1992. The only form of political violence that appears to be increasing is international terrorism - a serious threat that nonetheless kills extraordinarily few people per year compared with wars, it said.

War and violence seriously threaten our civilization, the globe and our eco system. As quoted in the charter of UNESCO “…Wars begin in the minds of men.” Unless qualitative changes are wrought in human hearts and minds, we are rapidly walking towards the annihilation of the world as we know it. Changes in collective consciousness of a ‘critical mass’ of people in the world, who can then lead the rest from war and violence to peace, is crucial and decisive now, more than ever before, for the survival of human civilization.

This is the entry point for spirituality.

Spirituality contends that the basic cause of violence is fear. Emotions of jealousy, envy, insecurity, and violence are all rooted in fear. Fear is the emotion of the individual ego and love is the emotion of the Soul of the human Spirit. All violence in humans arises from the emotion of fear. Some warriors think they are very courageous, but ultimately, the most violently powerful people are the most frightened and psychologically, the most vulnerable. “There are only two basic emotions in people: Love and Fear. Choose love over fear at any decision-making junction of life” says Kambiz, adding; “Whenever you are fearful, just walk out and give egoless service and love to someone else”

Kambiz explains that the individual ego or the sense of “I” presupposes that “I” am different from “you”. At the physical level of matter, this seems true due to the fact that our five senses are attached to our physical bodies and we fall into the illusion that we are two separate physical bodies that need to protect our individual property and our individual body from each other. At the level of subtle and invisible energies (all matter is ultimately made up of invisible energy), all of us people and the planet Earth are just energy-spheres interacting with one another and with nature.

When a person has gone through spiritual practice successfully, she/he can react intelligently to all the opportunities, stimulations and problems provided by the environment: She/he will display awareness, calmness, but will be spiked with dynamic energy to serve. A spiritually advanced person is motivated by personal values that take her/him beyond her/his own interests to those in the community. She/he is one who does not look at the fruit but the tree and its place in the eco system.

“The common thinking that spirituality makes one passive and powerless is a misconception. It gives you authentic power. War and violence is based on the seeking of external power. The assumption amongst violent people is that power stems from external elements such as money, coercion, manipulation of others, injustice, and brute force. The funny thing is that in the history of mankind no number of guns, tanks, and bombardments has been able to destroy the human Soul. Napoleon Bonaparte himself was quoted in amazement during a battle as to why his cannons, guns, and regiments could not destroy the victim’s Soul” says Kambiz

“Authentic power, such as Mahatma Ghandi’s and Mother Theresa’s comes from the inside. Through an intensive inner-search, people like Mandela and Martin Luther King have found that the fountain of authentic power is the Soul or the whisper of the human heart. Once you know the inner-self (Soul), you will know and master every element of the outer-world. Manipulation will not be necessary as the saint’s power of love gently and gradually persuades the brute to put down his gun.” Kambiz ends with the rhetoric question “Do you ever wonder how the one mind of Mahatma Gandhi was able to persuade 200 million ethnic people of India to put a stop to their racial violence and for the British soldiers to simply walk away while waving back at the Indians?”

At the outset of 2003, it was estimated that thirty military conflicts were being fought around the world. To end war means ending not just one conflict, and not just thirty but to end the idea of war, which has turned into the habit of war: Our normal reaction when we become very afraid or very angry: the response of war comes naturally: Because it has become a habit.

Spiritual masters are saying that world peace is waiting for the ‘critical mass’ to become spiritually aware to turn the habitual groove of war and violence into the ‘New Earth’ of Peace and Love. Knowing that peace is an inner-decision not an outer negotiation amongst parties who are in a state of inner-fear and insecurity, the spiritual masters are working towards world peace by impacting the individual consciousness. They are inculcating the principles of love and service to arrive at peace and authentic power.

“United Nations should establish a full-fledged international human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka”, says Professor Alston, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary or summary executions.

Excerpts by the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings Prof. Philip Alston on the situation in Sri Lanka:

Since I visited Sri Lanka in late 2005, there has been a radicalescalation of hostilities. This has been characterized in part by combat between Government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) combatants. But the information that I receive indicates that the conflict also continues to involve extrajudicial executions and disappearances
Directed at civilians and others no longer involved in combat. The return of disappearances on a large scale – the so-called “white van” syndrome – should be especially disturbing to anyone with even a cursory familiarity with Sri Lanka’s recent history.

The Government has, unfortunately, responded to this pattern of human rights violations primarily with a public relations campaign designed to head off international scrutiny. While there have been some positive initiatives, including the establishment of a commission of inquiry accompanied by an independent international group of eminent persons, these cannot plausibly respond to the abuses occurring on a daily and
escalating basis.

Commissions of inquiry are, at their best, less than nimble and less than capable of addressing constantly evolving situations. And no one Seriously believes that any national initiative will be able to meaningfully Address abuses committed by the LTTE even if it were to end – and this remains but a hope – violations committed by Government forces.

Indeed, it is worth reiterating the conclusion reached by Sri Lanka’s own National Human Rights Commission – reached, I might add, when that body’s independence from the executive remained assured. The HRC stated, “It is the Commission’s belief that no national or regional human rights entity will be able to effectively monitor and implement human rights standards in the north and the east. No organization or individual enjoys that kind of universal authority and legitimacy.” While the HRC entertained the possibility that with sufficient “international aid and assistance”
it might be able to make some difference, its message was clear and has only become more firmly validated as time has passed.

I feel compelled to reiterate the recommendation I made to the General Assembly in October. The United Nations should establish a full-fledged international human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka. A failure to take some international measures will amount to yet another instance of standing by while a human rights disaster escalates and the five digit tolls of deaths and disappearances of the not so distant past return.

‘The words federal and unitary have lost their meaning over the passage of time’

Science and Technology Minister Prof. Tissa Vitarana, Chairman of the All Party Representatives Committee, outlines the progress made by the APRC and stresses the need for a power sharing mechanism to resolve the present conflict, in an interview with Manjula Fernando of the Daily News:

Q: The All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) is reportedly close to submitting its proposals. When will it be forthcoming?

A: The APRC has had 24 meetings for over a period of six months and based on the views expressed there I produced a document a month ago. It also included some of the suggestions made by a panel of experts appointed by the President. Members of the APRC accepted this document and agreed to submit their parties’ amendments in writing.

Already 10 of the parties including the UNP have sent in their written proposals. The JHU and the CWC said they were ready with the proposals, but they want to study the SLFP proposals before handing them over.

I heard that the SLFP committee appointed to finalise their suggestions and also approve the amendments, have put together their report and it was on the way to the SLFP’s Central committee for approval. Hopefully it will be submitted next week.

I have been circulating the individual amendments among all the parties. Once we receive the SLFP proposals it will be circulated. Then we will restart our discussions. We should try to conclude the discussions on amendments in about two months.

The minimum consensus I have indicated is that the two main political parties, SLFP and the UNP should be in agreement on whatever positions accepted. If any other party disagrees a particular section their dissent will be recorded.

At which point will the LTTE and TNA come into the picture ?

At the moment the TNA is not part of the process, though from the inception I have stated I would like them to be a part of the process but unfortunately they are not. The LTTE will come into the process only after peace talks begins. That is of course will be left to the President to decide.

Q: The JVP is boycotting APRC meetings. How has this affected your deliberations? Without their active contribution can you claim this to be a legitimate southern consensus? Any hard attempts to get them back?

A: I’m disappointed that the JVP which participated in 21 meetings for over four months decided to withdraw. I met the Leader of the JVP Somawansa Amarasinghe, about a month ago, and prevailed on him to come back into the process.

I stated that they are free to suggest any position and we are ready to listen to them. But so far I have not received any response.

The fact that they are carrying out a campaign against the whole process would indicate they are not likely to come back. Their staying off does not prevent us from striving to reach a consensus between the 13 parties that are in the process now.

Q: Will the JVP continue to be a spoiler?

A: That is a question you must ask the JVP. The main argument of the LTTE against any type of negotiated settlement with the government was on the basis that opposition was not involved in the process and therefore any agreement reached with the Government in power will not be honoured by the next Government. This has carried weight with the Tamil community and the International community.

Now for the first time the President has set up an All Party Conference which has brought together the political parties represented in the parliament except the TNA. It has brought together the UNP and the SLFP, which are the parties that form successive governments. If we reach a consensus accepted by these two along with others then both the Tamil people as well as the international community will be convinced.

By opposing the APRC process, they are, in reality, helping the LTTE, because the LTTE does not want to have serious talks to solve the problems. They want to embark on a military cum terrorist road to achieve a separate state.

Q: Has the feud between the UNP and the SLFP been reflected at the APRC?

A: Because of the collapse of the MoU the UNP wanted to withdraw from the APRC. Then I met UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and said it was not a very rational position to take because the APRC has not been appointed by the SLFP or the Government, but it was a creation of the APC of which the UNP is still a member. Therefore, the MOU had no bearing.

The UNP Leader accepted this position and then he tried to convince his party to stay on in the process.

But there had been differences of opinion and now the ultimate position they have taken is that they will see what the SLFP comes up with and decide to continue or not.

My earnest hope is that they will continue. Here, I must record the very positive contribution the UNP Representative K.N.Choksy has made during the meetings he was present.

Q: What is the reaction of the other parties to the UNP reformist group’s participation?

A: Minister Karu Jayasuriya met me and indicated that they would like to see my document and also submit their proposals. I have agreed to accept any proposal they submit. Their participation poses a problem because they are not a recognised political party. I will have to consult the President on that matter.

Q: How has the UNP reacted?

A: The position they took on their first document on the North and the East that there should be a merger for six to eight years followed by a referendum was changed in the subsequent document to accept my position that this matter should not be discussed at this point. But the question of a merger should be raised only during peace talks where Muslims will also have representation.

Q: Is there a common consensus among parties with regard to main issues?

A: On different issues parties have expressed their desire for some change but the majority have accepted my document as a suitable basis for discussion and developing a consensus document. The only party that has not stated that is the MEP. And they have sent in their changes.

Q: You yourself have been described as a federalist. Has the APRC decided on a unit of devolution? Is Federalism the best answer for Lanka?

A: Labels have no meanings. Here we are trying to work out a solution that will enable sufficient power to be given to appropriate levels for people to take decisions on matters relevant to their living and working existence.

The crux of the matter is that in a system where the central Government is taking decisions the minorities have lost faith in the desire of majority to do justice to them . They appeal for necessary power so that they can fulfil their needs which is not being satisfactorily done by the centre now.

Power sharing has risen as a result of this. Therefore, working out an arrangement where people can have necessary power to meet their own needs is what we are doing.

The words Federal and unitary have lost their meaning over the passage of time. For example Britain, which is considered to be a unitary state has, today, given Scotland and Wales a separate Parliamentary unit and devolved most of the power that was enjoyed by London, giving them not only executive power but also legislative power. It is only in a few areas, Britain as a whole, the power is retained in Westminster.

India is considered to be a federal government. But it has very clearly stated powers given to the Centre to dissolve any state government under specified circumstances.

I think it is senseless to argue on words like federal and unitary. What we have to ensure is that we have a system to meet aspirations of all our people satisfactorily, within a framework of one country and one state.

For instance there is a movement in Canada for the French speaking province of Quebec to separate from Canada. There are two main political formations, one is the separatist and the other is federal. The federal movement is considered to be against separatism.

There 24 countries which have purely federal constitutions. These include large states like USA, Australia, India and China and smaller states like Belgium and Switzerland.

There about 27 other countries which have veered away from unitary status towards federal states to prevent separation.

The whole idea is to remain as one country but if the minorities don’t get the powers they need, the only solution is separation.

The unit of devolution will be the existing nine provinces. There will be no change either within those nine provinces or between those nine provinces, meaning no merger, in my document. These decisions will be taken at the peace talks with adequate representation of all the stakeholders. Without doubt there has to be a Muslim representation.

Q: Should any solution go beyond Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s 2000 proposals?

A: There are a number of features in the 2000 constitutional proposals which met the aspirations of the minorities, in particular Tamils. But at the same time there are certain features they were not completely happy with. In my document we have tried to overcome these. It will help reduce the fears of the majority community on a separatist point of view while satisfying the minority needs for an adequate share of power.

Q: Do you think India’s Panchayat or Grama Rajya system will fit into a complex system like ours?

A: I have adopted that system to suit our conditions. It is an important part because a lot of problems of governance or lack of governance, flow from the gap between the governed and the governing. It is very wide.

What I have suggested at village level is to form a Jana Sabha (JS) for a unit of 100 families. You can elect one member from the JS area (a ward) to Gam Sabha (village committee).

About 2/3 Grama Sevaka Wasamas will form one Gam Sabha area. There will be ten elected members in the GS and a Chairperson/CEO will be elected among them. They will be given adequate funding through the Constitution itself to carry out economic and infrastructure development activities.

The Chairperson of the Gam Sabha will be the representative of that area at the Pradeshiya Sabha (PS). There will be no need for a separate election for PSs.

In the present system, Divisional Secretariats and the Pradeshiya Sabhas are divorced. The divisional secretariats come under district secretariats.

Pradeshiya Sabhas are usually at loggerheads with the Divisional secretariats if they want to get things done for their people. I have proposed divisional secretariats to come under the purview of Pradeshiya Sabhas.

They can’t legislate but they can pass by-laws for functions allocated to them. This system will enable the pockets of various groupings like Muslim communities living in Sinhalese dominant areas or Sinhalese in Tamil dominant areas, etc to have adequate powers and funding to attend to their needs. The system is to apply to the whole country.

Q: How do you plan to convince the LTTE and TNA to accept your proposals of power sharing? Do you think it will be easy?

A: I would like to emphasise this, I have been misrepresented by JVP in particular and media in general that I have said our objective in the APRC is to satisfy the LTTE. I have never said that. What I have expressed is that we are meeting here as representatives of people to work out a solution acceptable to the people of our country, be they Sinhalese, Muslim or Tamil.

If we present a document which adequately satisfies the aspirations of the Tamils and it is accepted by the two main political parties, then there is no need for Tamils to support the LTTE to form a separate state.

Besides EPDP and the parties representing the plantation sector Tamils, there have been inputs from the EPRLF, PLOTE and also possibly from TULF Leader V. Anandasangaree. They represent Tamil aspirations.

In this situation, the LTTE will be forced to come to serious talks and try to fulfil the real needs of Tamils or else they will be alienated by the community they claim to represent. If that happens the LTTE will be very vulnerable because history has shown that any military group which loses the support of the people cannot survive.

Q: The air attack on the Katunayake SLAF base clearly shows the LTTE at the moment is not into peace. The Government is also continuing limited military operations. In this backdrop how optimistic are you that the process to find a political solution will see the light of day?

A: As I have always maintained the LTTE’s military and terrorist campaign has developed because of the grievances of the Tamil people. If they had no grievances there won’t be a need for the LTTE. They have made use of the people’s grievances to further their own objectives. Weakening the LTTE and undermining their separatist campaign could only be done by satisfying the Tamils’ needs.

Therefore by having the APC process going on we will be sending the message both to the Tamil people and the International Community that the Government is moving towards a peaceful resolution to the dispute and the blame for the escalation of violence lies with the LTTE.

Q: No peaceful settlement will be possible if you do not ‘sell’ the idea of power sharing to the South. How do you plan to do this ?

A: Power sharing has already been experienced under the 13th amendment. The idea is already there. What we try to do is to show that you can make it more effective by ensuring the benefits really flow to the grassroots level.

But on the other hand we have to show that there are sufficient safeguards to prevent the formation of a separate state. If there is any moves towards this the President can deploy the army and if that is inadequate it can dissolve the province and take over administration.

Under these circumstances I see no reason why people in the South should not accept devolution. Further there will be no separate treatment to the North. Whatever will be proposed will apply to the entire country.

By Shenali Waduge

Whether the attack was minimal or not, the Tigers proved to the world and the Sri Lankan Government that whatever Kfirs, MIGs the GOSL possessed it could also steer not one but two self-assembled aircrafts all the way from the North to hit Sri Lanka’s main Air force base in Katunayake.

The preparation for the attack would have been known by more than a few for immediately following the attack WEB circulations of press releases and photo shoots of the beaming pilots with the Tiger supremo and the aircraft itself were released globally. It is to their credit that those who knew about the attack were able to keep mum about the whole affair.

The latest we hear following the attack is that the radars were faulty – possibly gathering rust as it is not every day that enemy aircrafts suddenly arrive to drop bombs on a major base that too in Colombo. If we had radars donated by a foreign government, should not the technicians handling such ensure that they are in working condition at all times. If negligence is to be the cause of what occurred then we can very well imagine the fate of the tsunami/earthquake detectors that have been installed.

Even if the light aircrafts travelled over 400kms to arrive in Katunayake, surely we had enough personnel and aircrafts faster than theirs to follow them when they were retreating to the jungles. Why is it that no SL Aircrafts took to the air in pursuit of the enemy? Wouldn’t the destruction of the two aircrafts immediately after their attack on us been better than having to now watch in anticipation of another gruesome attack?

The public through the media have been under the impression the armed forces have clearly got an edge over the Tigers at least in the East. We are all under the impression that the Tigers are demoralized and retreating to the North. But then suddenly we are faced with back to back attacks almost simultaneously. The sudden attack resulting in minimal deaths was because of the presence of mind, by a soldier on duty and the first attack purely because the pilots lacked experience in precision dropping. Can the Defense establishments perhaps reveal approximately how many Tiger bases there are in both the East and North so that we may start eliminating the numbers against the success rates of the SL Air Force. We hear with great delight the successful air raids and destruction of Tiger bases but somehow their strength has yet to diminish.

The GOSL should remember that it is none other than the public that is bearing the burden of not only up keeping a jumbo cabinet and Parliament but also having to bear the cost of living for every purchase made towards the war and all the corrupt and wasteful actions of all the Politicians in the country. Without preaching to the public on stages, all Parliamentarians should remember this without making life miserable for us especially the fiasco on the roads nowadays with the backup security and road closures. Parliamentarians should remember too that it is not their sweat that brings in money and upholds the economy of the country. It is the hard toil of each and every citizen of the country barring the politicians whose job is merely to talk shop and preach to everyone other than themselves.

From the public point of view we can only deduce once again that amongst the ordinary citizens of all denominations none of us work or live with the thought of ethnicity or hatred enough to eliminate another from the country we are born into.

The seed of hatred planted by a few for their own personal gains has now been turned into a money spinner for those engaged in it. They are all laundering money from the public to upkeep their plush lifestyles and fatten their purses. It has turned into such an ugly phenomenon that neither of the warring parties will ever decide to end it. To appease the world one party will carry out successful attacks and then give the turn to the next. The pattern is likely to continue as it has done for the past 25 years.

By G. S. Ananda
[Wattala]

Neither science nor religion acknowledges the existence of any particular distinct race other than the one and only human race on Earth.

Lord Buddha clearly and vividly explained this fact in Vasetta Sutra viewing many a conflict situation that prevailed upon people due to this conceptual division factor followed with bloodshed, destruction and great suffering to humanity.

Sri Lanka proudly claims to be a Buddhist country and we can often see in the news media its leaders sitting before statues of Lord Buddha in meditative posture. This is all but pure hypocrisy as they openly encourage killing, stealing, lying, consumption of liquor etc; the most basic precepts the Buddhist laity should abstain from.

No wonder, the very same disciples of Lord Buddha are the people who always opposed and stood in the way whenever a peaceful solution is proposed to settle the ethnic crisis which has caused so much of destruction to Sri Lanka since independence.

The so called Sinhala Buddhists, Tamil Hindus, Christians and all others are Sri Lankans and above all, all of them are human beings inseparable from one another although they carry different conceptual identity labels.

Their leaders in the past fought together to win the much cherished independence for Sri Lanka.

It is the mentally sick and selfish fanatics who have mislead the people over and over for personal gain, exploiting the racial issue since independence costing the entire nation billions upon billions worth of assets, every cent of which we and the generations to be born have to bear while they, the pseudo patriots, enjoy life to the maximum.

This makes democracy a mockery as practiced under the presidential system with powers vested in one individual who enjoys legal immunity. [A letter to the Editor, in themorningleader.lk]