The deepest sadness I feel in relation to false promises by the UN is when I think back about how I ‘experienced’ the feelings of Murugathasan who self-immolated in front of the UN – due to his frustrations. Most Diaspora Tamils failed to demonstrate actual feelings – but rather ‘talked’ about it intellectually and/or as per ‘hearsay’.
l by Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam
(12 July, 2012, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I write in response to the Sri Lanka Guardian article ‘UN Human Rights Council and its Subsidiary Bodies’ by Mr. S.V. Kirupaharan, General Secretary, Tamil Center for Human Rights, France.
At the end of his article, Mr. Kirupaharan states: ‘Any victim, their kith and kin and NGOs can send communications to the following address:
Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Human Rights Council Branch
Complaint Procedure Unit
OHCHR- Palais Wilson
United Nations
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland’
I sent many letters and ultimately submitted a paper on Racial Discrimination – relevant to Australia and Sri Lanka, based on my own experiences. I have referred to this paper in my article ‘Victims of Premature Separation’ published by Sri Lanka Guardian on 11 July 2012. I did not receive even an acknowledgement from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to my 82 page submission. There were brief responses on two occasions – from the UN – once when I complained against Mr. Jonathan Shier – the former Managing Director of ABC and later when I sent an application for the position of UN Secretary General – parallel to Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala. I took those two acknowledgments as confirmations of the reality of the UN. It’s the parallel of my defeats in Australian Courts when my complaints of unlawful racial discrimination were summarily dismissed as ‘lacking in substance’. But my True investment in the laws of Australia including in Racial Discrimination Act 1975, helped me appreciate why we still do not enjoy the benefits of Racial Equality in Australia. White Australians taking up a ‘superior’ position above migrants and Aborigines are not alone in unlawful racial discrimination. Migrants and Aborigines who fail to earn their Australian status – through practice of national laws and/or expressing themselves through the highest investor in Australian values in their current environment, ‘sell’ their Equal status for immediate benefits – usually welfare benefits.
Whether it is the UN, the Australian Government or the Sri Lankan Government – what matters to us – those without portfolios – are the ‘facilities’ that we could use to find our own solutions for our own local versions of global problems. I specialize in developing this kind of ‘facility’ – with the deepest investor as the foundation and the highest investor as the visible structure. To the extent I have done the work genuinely as per my sincere interpretation of the common laws and principles of the issue at UN standards, I would naturally start using the UN as a facility. To the extent they ‘show’ participation, they are openly included in my credits and debits. When they remain silent / ‘go into hiding’ I become the UN to the extent I have raised my work to UN standards.
The deepest sadness I feel in relation to false promises by the UN is when I think back about how I ‘experienced’ the feelings of Murugathasan who self-immolated in front of the UN – due to his frustrations. Most Diaspora Tamils failed to demonstrate actual feelings – but rather ‘talked’ about it intellectually and/or as per ‘hearsay’. Back then tears kept pouring down my face when I mentally placed myself in Murugathasan’s mental state. I was able to go into that ‘virtual reality’ due to my own experiences here in Australia – where I was sent to prison and labeled as a mentally ill person (both labels being now used by those whom I sponsored to migrate to Australia, to have me listed as a Vexatious litigant) – for standing up for my Equal Rights as an Australian. The Australian Government also made false promises of Racial Equality and hence my painful experience due to believing that this would be upheld – especially by those who knew that I was a high performer on merit basis. My belief in White Australians was not reciprocated by them. Hence I had to take up Equal and Opposite position and thus ‘lose’ the credits that were not raised to the higher level. Murugathasan lost his life in similar path, due to the UN failing to keep its promises.
The UN structures are for those who are physically a part of the UN. UN is not strong enough to even acknowledge individual complaints, leave alone address them. Hence we must become the UN for our local areas. French Tamils for example need to submit their complaints first to bodies such as the Tamil Center for Human Rights, France. That is what the community bodies are there for.
I recently took legal relatives of mine to the Supreme Court of New South Wales after they stated in Mallakam Courts in Northern Sri Lanka that I was after other people’s monies through my second marriage. They refused to allow me access to the documents relating to the Intestate Estate of my Brother-in-law – claiming that I did not have ‘rights’. These are my legal relatives sponsored by my husband and I to migrant to Australia. Due to lack of Community bodies to deal with such issues, I have had to take the matter to Courts. To my mind, if I am not entitled to participate in the Administration of the Estate of my lawful Brother-in-law, my lawful husband as per these relatives should also not be entitled to my earnings – which if systematically calculated would be of far higher value than any wealth and/or status I am likely to receive from my husband’s side. It’s a bit like the Sinhalese v Tamil issue. My husband’s side, like the Sinhalese has the majority vote. But I made the highest contribution to common family status and wealth as it stands today. Hence those who say that I did not have rights because I did not have their approval to marry their relative, need to remove the benefits and opportunities that they are now wearing due to my work and sacrifices and stand naked facing the effects of their Truth and their Truth alone.
I stated in this regard, in my Affidavit to the Supreme Court of NSW – ‘I affirm my belief on the basis of my experience, that when I work and serve genuinely, the value of my work is returned through social goodwill once it goes beyond the limits of the official system. I believe this on the basis that we were all born with our individual judges within and are free to be driven by that judge outside official boundaries. I believe that the more independent we are the more we would be driven by that inner judge. I believe that when we are driven by that inner judge – we would never hurt another in real terms. I believe that it is on this basis that I am considered a Community Leader.’
Australian Tamils with Equal Opportunity problems seek my services due to my direct experiences with which they identify. Many of them could have gone to the UN – but to the UN it would have been premature and therefore artificial escalation of a problem. If indeed they did respond – there would be much theory and very little practical directions in their response. I have stated in my above mentioned affidavit – in addressing this problem ‘I affirm that I see a dire need for our Community to consolidate at Community level and confirm that to my knowledge there are no official Community based Authorities to resolve such unresolved matters for the Australian Tamil Community.’
I stated also ‘Hence I believe that the work I am doing through this matter before the Supreme Court of NSW , on the basis of my genuine belief, would strengthen the social justice power of the legal system as well as of wider society through individuals who identify with either side. I affirm that it is this realization that has given me inner peace which I believe adds to harmony in Australia and other environments I feel a part of.
I affirm my belief that I have the right to use the Court system as a facility towards giving the highest institutional status to my work before it goes into this social justice system driven by natural judgments. I believe that judgments without expectations of benefits and fears of costs, based on the Truth of individuals –known within, are Natural Judgments. I believe that this Affidavit Facility is to include such Truth into the Legal system, in the form through which the matter is presented in the Legal system.’
Communities that seek to function independently need to facilitate ‘both sides’ of a problem to bring their work to Courts and to other bodies of high status – at the level of the higher investor. I recently wrote as follows in this regard: ‘When two active opposite forces are equal – they manifest a visible outcome. This discovery of mine fits well with my interpretation of Newton’s third law of motion. This is also the reason why we need two sides of the one matter through which votes are registered. If the two sides have not worked independently they would not form a complete picture representing the matter. In parliament – when the Government side wins through a narrow margin – the picture at that level is complete and wholesome and would therefore lead to Peaceful Governance. Where the Government wins by a big margin – there is a large gap between reality – which is the government - at the level of votes won by the Opposition – and the status of Government seen by the next higher level – in this instance the UN through various high ranking members of the UN – including Germany. This is the reason why President Rajapakse’s Government is not able to deliver as per the expectations of the high ranking UN members.’
Without further investment in Racial Equality by our Australian legal system – we would continue to issue judgments at the lower level investor occupying higher position than the highest investor. Likewise in other Western countries. Race related problems would currently be manifested at the lower level in the UN strongly influenced by the West. Lobbying as happened earlier this year before the UNHRC voted against Sri Lankan Government, is of this type. Our sponsored relatives hiring White Australian lawyers to oppose us on family and community issues is likewise towards ‘false status’. The level at which a problem is manifested in a forum / environment is the reality of that environment. It would not reflect the Truth, if taken at the higher level through influence of false status.
Those who have equanimity of mind to accept defeat without feeling depressed would die in that environment and take rebirth in the next higher environment. They would take only the consolidated value of their previous experience into the next one. That is the value of higher education.
Those who lack genuine investment in the issue – which happens due to welfare mentality also – would fear death and cling to their visible life-support system – which includes the Diaspora that is strongly attached to wins and defeats in Sri Lanka. Thus the European section of the Tamil Diaspora contributed to development of false expectations in the mind of Murugathasan who did not have the deeper investment in global governance to escalate the issue to UN level by consolidating his Sri Lankan experience. No we do not want more Murugathasans self immolating due to their frustrations with the UN. If we claim to be an independent Community – we must have our own UN. Otherwise – we must add ourselves to the official governments of our current countries of residence. The deeper our Truth the deeper the root of our solution. The deeper the root – the higher the structure. As they say in Tamil – if we keep our legs – one each in two boats we are likely to collapse in the middle. We need to consolidate at the local level and take only the essence to the next level – which may seem higher or lower as per our own aspirations.
Post a Comment