Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: Unfortunately the President, not knowing the Tamil people for lack of good Tamil advisors, has let himself be led by the most unsuitable people. Douglas Devananda for example, has admitted to common friends that he has killed people. It is widely known that he is wanted for murder in India and is persona non grata in many countries including the UK which has refused him a visa. K.T. Rajasingam, a presidential confidant, I know has smuggled people to the West and even held them up in Bangkok until full payment of fees was effected.
by Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam
(August 20, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I refer to the information provided by Dr. Ratnajeevan Hoole Under the heading ‘Brief Summary of the Background to my Fleeing under Harassment by Douglas Devananda’, published in Sri Lanka Guardian.
This ‘confession’ confirms further my feelings as to Dr. Hoole’s lack of ability to manage the University of Jaffna as its Vice Chancellor. Intellectual Independence is an essential criterion to be the Vice Chancellor of any University. As a Tamil, I want the best available leadership for the University of Jaffna. In measuring – I use myself as the base. It’s true that I did not apply but that does not mean that I am not qualified. We bring into ourselves and therefore our lives key positions from our environments. In doing so, it is important that we bring into ourselves the best – even if it is ourselves. Out of the actual applicants, the one we identify most with through that position we have brought into us – is the best person for us. Dr. Hoole did not qualify as per my assessment. My assessment included my expectations of an Academic of Global standards which Dr. Hoole claims to be on the basis of his work in America. Yes, University of Jaffna could do with world-class leadership but under the current environment of ‘Tamil Nationalism’ only a person who is naturally global would be that leader. To me, Dr. Hoole is ‘thinking’ Global and is not yet Naturally Global. My response to Dr. Hoole’s statements would, I believe lead to why I do not assess Dr. Hoole to be ‘Naturally Global’.
Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: 1) My wife Dr. Dushyanthi Hoole and I returned to Sri Lanka after both of us had completed our studies in 1995. Despite shortages, she took a year to get a permanent job and I three years. We were finally employees of University of Peradeniya. My wife was terminated by the university after having her on the payroll for a year and a half saying she had accepted her appointment with conditions (which was that mistakes in the letter of appointment should be rectified to bring it in line with circulars). I too was badly treated there and not confirmed or promoted on various pretexts. She filed action at the Human Rights Commission and I at the Court of Appeal.
Gaja: Sri Lankan employers have the responsibility to maintain an appropriate balance between the ‘foreign’ and ‘domestic’ components of the employment sector. If money was a fundamental need – in their shoes – one of us would have returned and the other stayed back with the family – especially considering that both are well educated and are capable of living independently in a foreign country. If staying physically close to family was important then the costs that go with it need to be accepted. In fact it is what we forego to get something else that gives value to that something. The more we complain – the less we accept and therefore the less the opportunity cost underpinning our experience.
2) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: As a result of the harassment I applied to University of Jaffna for the post of Senior Professor of Computer Science. My application was not even put to a selection committee as required by law. I filed action at the USAB (University Services Appeals Board).
Gaja: Sri Lanka has been operating under emergency laws for some time. The expectation that the law must be followed to the letter shows strong selfishness and insensitivity to the environment Dr. Hoole lived in. In money affluent countries such as America and Australia, it is understandable that the rule of law would be more strongly followed than in people rich countries like India & Sri Lanka. To me, the measures as per the law are largely to ‘show’ others. These are needed to give form to work. But within us there is another silent communication with each other. That is the communication of Truth. In a country where there is a wide gap between this inner Truth and the outer Form – one of the main culprits would be the Universities. In Sri Lanka, the quota system for University Entrance was one of the apparent reasons shown for the ethnic conflict. It is understandable that Sri Lankan Universities would lack independence and therefore the ability to produce objectively measurable outcomes. Even in Australia – this does not happen at the Universities at the level at which it is claimed to be happening. Sri Lanka’s need to ‘show’ and maintain global status in Higher Education is much lower than Australia’s. Hence it’s the expectation of Dr. Hoole that caused him the disappointment.
3) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: My wife applied for the posts of Senior Lecturer and Professor of Chemistry which were advertised by Jaffna. Her professorial application was not put to a Selection committee as required by law and her application for Senior Lecturer was denied saying there was no vacancy although they had advertised the post. She too appealed to the USAB.
Gaja: At the University of NSW – after I resigned from my substantive position of Management Accountant and complained to the University Central Administration through Due Processes, I applied for about 30 positions – some small and others not so small. I was called only for one part time position. I did not make it through the interview and my efforts to find out why I had failed according to the University failed to produce an answer from them. I concluded that it was due to the academic leading the panel wanting from me current membership with professional bodies (including Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka) which would really have worked against the position needs. It further confirmed to me that that University was seriously lacking in ‘Research’ credentials – a core requirement of a University. The academic was not a Natural academic. He was ‘acting’ as per his assessment of what was required to keep him in his job. It was not about ‘what can I do to make this a better University’. Where an institution is weak in managing people – it is highly likely that it does not know what the institution’s needs are. Applicants who care would reveal the real requirement through their application and if they are successful – this would be followed by actual re/structuring of the job itself. If Dr. Hoole had done this in USA – he would have naturally done this in Sri Lanka.
4) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: Towards the end of 2005 the Human Rights Commission found my wife’s rights violated by Peradeniya and the Court of Appeal ordered my confirmation and promotion.
Gaja: This is much more than what the Australian Human Rights Commission and Australian Federal Court did in relation to my complaints. Mine were dismissed as lacking substance. To my simple mind, lacking in ownership is lacking in substance. One who has lost benefits, investments and developed opportunities – the reason for which cannot be measured through the applicable merit basis – is an owner and therefore should not be dismissed as lacking in substance. The Commission and the Courts gave the impression that they were confusing ‘evidence’ with ‘substance’. The experiences helped me know the Truth about the system – so I could draw the line to place a ceiling on my expectations. This has helped me help many other workers and migrants – especially those who had less credits than I through merit basis. It also helped me give form to my reality as a migrant in Australia. This I believe would empower my descendants/followers.
5) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: In February 2006 the USAB ordered Jaffna to process my application and effect an appointment.
Gaja: At least at that level – there was apparent acceptance of Dr. Hoole’s claims. I did not have this with the parallel bodies in Australia – nor do I know of a Sri Lankan who has had the positive experience in America.
6) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: In March 2006 HE the President appointed me VC of Jaffna following my selection by the Council of Jaffna to the panel of three for final selection by him. Peradeniya released me for three years to accept my appointment as VC.
Gaja: My question is whether Dr. Hoole believes that he would have been successful in winning the position of VC of Peradeniya University or Colombo University. I no, then the appointment was because Dr. Hoole was a Tamil. This confirms the social component of that job – the same way most Australian Vice Chancellors are White. They look good in those positions – better than us Blacks. I, a Black woman had to risk getting arrested to even have a dialogue with Vice Chancellor of the University of NSW. The Vice Chancellor who ultimately did warrant one – after I got arrested twice – said I could have no more than half an hour. During that meeting he first spent precious minutes talking about his eye problems! The one before him delegated the matter to the Director of Human Resources and it ended up in Police arresting me. That was after the Director of HR wrote to me asking me to suggest improvements to their Recruitment Guide. That was due to that silent communication of Truth. That Vice Chancellor got dismissed and to me that was his karma for hurting me – a genuine owner who cared.
7) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: I was displaced by LTTE death threats in 2006 following my appointment as VC of Jaffna. My wife and I fled Sri Lanka with the permission of the UGC.
Gaja: Diplomacy is not a strength of those driven by Administrative status. Dr. Hoole, to my mind is strongly driven by status as an academic. Higher Education was last on LTTE’s list of priorities. Any statement/action during that period ought to have been strictly limited to merit basis that was acceptable to the LTTE but without favoring the LTTE. An independent manager would have done that. Other issues had to ‘wait’. It was understandable that the LTTE would have seen Dr. Hoole as the President’s man and hence they would have used Dr. Hoole’s position and personality to their advantage. A good strategic planner would have foreseen this and acted accordingly.
8) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: I informed Peradeniya as my release ended that I would return to Sri Lanka in December 2008 as my release was ending in March 2006 and after I reported back was told I was vacated post that same week. I returned to the US immediately.
Gaja: Again strong symptoms of indecisiveness.
9) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: After the war with the LTTE in June 2009 when the government invited displaced Sri Lankans to return and help rebuild our country, I sought and received assurances from the President of reinstatement if we were on the soil and, on the strength of his word, returned on 2 September 2010 with my family and all our household effects at great expense to ourselves. True to his word, the President issued instructions that my wife and I should be reinstated at Peradeniya and released to Jaffna without loss of service or delay.
Gaja: I came back in 2003 on my own free will – without any assurances but my own commitment to Sri Lanka – the country to which I owe my education. The President seems to have deviated from Global University practices by providing assurances. This is also in breach of Doctrine of Separation of Powers between Intellectual Powers and Political Powers. The fact that Dr. Hoole sought the assurance confirms that he contributed to a system strongly influenced by the State and not an independent system driven by its own powers.
10) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: I moved my son at the critical stage of high school to Sri Lanka where he had to now study some subjects in Tamil.
Gaja: The question is whether the family saw this as a strength or weakness. The President is not responsible for our family decisions – is he?
11) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: As I write a year later, the president’s directive is yet to be carried out. My wife has been unemployed for a year. In November 2010 I received a temporary assignment by the UGC as Coordinator for Engineering at Jaffna “until further notice.” Our job security therefore was nil whereas in the US we had had secure jobs, both of us as professors.
Gaja: Sri Lanka and especially North & East are recovering from the war and need development. One who seeks assurances rather than making her/his own – is a misfit in such an environment. We need to be self-employed – irrespective of where the pay comes from and whether we get paid or not. Those who are seeking reassurances from others are either living in the pre-war period or are depending on those who ‘seem’ to have power.
12) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: I applied in October 2010 for the post of VC Jaffna which was coming vacant. Minister Devananda carried out an aggressive campaign with the University Council not to vote for me. The council still elected me to the panel of three and the President promised me the appointment at a meeting in Temple trees in mid-December.
Gaja: The question is whether Dr. Hoole was strong enough to not be affected by Political influence – but his own Truth. That Truth is the best leader. To the extent Dr. Hoole did share his Truth with others – including through his efforts to lead the University of Jaffna – he is part of the University of Jaffna. To the extent he stays within his own Truth – for his own purposes – he would get the returns through the system of Natural Justice – as I did here in Australia. I became independent of the Australian systems by knowing their Truth through mine. It all starts with us and ends with us.
13) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: The previous USAB orders not having been implemented by Vice Chancellors and a university Council controlled by Douglas, I have filled action at the USAB.
Gaja: An independent thinker would have expected Political interference in the University of Jaffna. That is the price we pay for seeking to ‘show’ self governance before actually governing ourselves at our local levels.
14) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: Unfortunately the President, not knowing the Tamil people for lack of good Tamil advisors, has let himself be led by the most unsuitable people. Douglas Devananda for example, has admitted to common friends that he has killed people. It is widely known that he is wanted for murder in India and is persona non grata in many countries including the UK which has refused him a visa. K.T. Rajasingam, a presidential confidant, I know has smuggled people to the West and even held them up in Bangkok until full payment of fees was effected. Although my election to the panel of three was because of a campaign by many Hindu supporters, the president was misled by Douglas and Rajasingam who informed him that if I was appointed, Hindus would never support the PA. The President believed them and denied me the appointment he promised me. The result is the belief in Jaffna that the President wants to sabotage the university. This is partly the cause of the PA’s debacle at July’s Local Government Elections.
Gaja: A University needs to be intellectually independent of Politics. That is when the University would research and find the Truth and give its discoveries Universal / Global form. Every academic leader needs to have this basic Guna/Trait of seeking the Truth without external influence. Getting involved in local politics – leave alone using it to give reason for failure – reduces one’s substantive investment in the University system. One has to have strength of one’s own intellectual independence to not be influenced by politics.
When I attended the conference held at the University of Jaffna – in January 2010 – I did so as an independent person seeking to add my contribution towards Reconstruction and Development through the University system. I made it clear to all concerned that I was not into politics and that I was an Administrator / Public Facilitator. This was respected by all concerned including the Hon Douglas Devananda. To me – the Minister is part of the system through which I invest and from which I derive my returns. So long as my path is not blocked – I take it that they are NOT interfering with my work. They have NOT so far. My sense of Independence must be ‘showing’. I take this approach also with the communities I work closely with – so we do not interfere with each other’s culture.
15) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: During the LG Elections I saw many malpractices in the Islands off Jaffna (the only places where Douglas triumphed through overt rigging) and I wrote about these hoping to make His Excellency see where Douglas has taken him and the PA. Instead of an inquiry into my complaint as I expected, I came under police scrutiny.
Gaja: In contrast – I took the then Prime Minister Mr. John Howard to Courts through Due Processes as per my investment. I did not even think whether I would win or lose. But by taking Mr. Howard to courts – I confirmed and strengthened my investment in his position – as it ought to have been and not as it was. Natural Justice worked again – and hence Mr. Howard was present in Washington during 9/11 attack and later he was dismissed by his electorate. I was able to identify with the justice in this through my own work related losses. Where on is genuine – one get to know about the path of karma – the connection between cause and effect. I did write to Mr. Howard in 1999 (these are in court records) that if he did not take timely action there would be damage due to racial discrimination – similar to the damage in Sri Lanka. I felt it – due to me being true Sri Lankan as well as true Australian. Now I marvel more and more as to why Krishna urged us to work without expecting the benefits of our work. The rewards come – to make us happy and not merely for temporary pleasures.
16) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: As part of Douglas’ practice of terrorizing the Tamil people he has used the judge Joy Mahadeva of Kayts (who attends Douglas’ political meetings while improperly hearing cases where Douglas is a party) and the police to file and move forward a criminal charge against me. At several steps in the process, Douglas’ media announced things like my questioning by the police even before the events had occurred. The judge too moved with unusual haste despite errors by the police in a notice to appear in Court. This proved to me that the entire episode was orchestrated.
Gaja: When I was threatened with Police arrest followed by imprisonment – I did not give up or run away. I had the choice of doing so. By going through the punishment which I believed I had not earned and which according to my interpretation of the law was not lawful punishment – my ownership in Australian was strengthened. Now I feel I am Australia and work the system without expecting return from a particular source in a particular form. When I do get the rewards / returns – it strengthens my Global Consciousness.
17) Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole: My legal team and friends advised me that Douglas who has armed paramilitary men under him has killed before and I should not stay nor step on to Kayts (not even the courts) where Douglas’ men have killed before. Sinhalese members and supporters of the PA also advised me to the same effect.
18) I have therefore left Sri Lanka and will return to the US.
Gaja: I represented myself in Courts – despite suggestions from family and friends to hire lawyers. I discovered the Truth about our legal system through my own experiences – rather than being told about it. I realized that I practiced the law more than the lawyers and judges. This has helped me connect more and more to the system of Natural Justice which has never failed to ‘show’ me the connection between ‘cause and effect’. Sometimes there was a time lapse but I have learnt more and more to expect less and less from particular sources. Eventually I believe that whatever I do, I do for myself to get the other side in the future or immediately through others around me. I pray that Dr. Hoole takes the essence of his experience with him and not the details at individual / local level.
I note that Dr. Hoole has published this on Indian Independence day. Good timing.
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