HOW TO ACHIEVE A BETTER WORLD OR THE BEST WORLD...???

*SAY NO TO: VIOLENCE/BRUTALITY/KILLINGS/RAPES/TORTURE!
*SAY NO TO:
CORRUPTION/FAVORITISM/DISCRIMINATION!
*SAY NO TO:
IGNORANCE/UNEMPLOYMENT/POVERTY/HUNGER/
DISEASES/OPPRESSION/GREED/JEALOUSY/ANGER/
FEAR, REVENGE!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

VICTORY - IS IT WORTH THE PRICE? ....Fr.Alex Dassanayake

VICTORY - IS IT WORTH THE PRICE?

By Fr. Alex Dassanayake

The long protracted ethnic war has brought about such an amount of death in our country that one can hardly imagine: so many valuable lives lost — the, flower of the nation both in the South and the North, destruction of valuable property through bomb blasts, aerial bombings, land mine blasts and shootings, both on land and sea; thousands of widows and orphans, the maimed and the homeless; those who live in refugee camps for ten, fifteen years, undergoing untold sufferings and ever living in fear of fresh attacks

Untold sufferings and

destruction

Also thousands of those who leave the country for safety — thus families broken, children separated from their parents, husbands from their wives; painful brain drain when promising qualified young men and women leave the country in search of better pastures — what a loss for the country ! tremendous financial losses on the attack of Katunayake Air Port and the Anuradhapura military air port with almost the entire fleet of air craft destroyed; the attack on the Galle harbour and so many naval boats lost in sea attacks; so many innocent civilians, victims of attack on buses and in their villages. Thus we are a morally and economically a battered nation

As a result of all these the tremendous burdens laid on the poor masses of the country due to the rocketing price of essential food items and other goods, more than double the price added to these the exorbitant rise in electricity and water bills; the daily escalation in travelling expenses — all these, disproportionate to the income of the people no wonder there are so many strikes by organized groups, but the voiceless masses of the poor suffer in silence. What then is the future of our nation? There would be an under-nourished and both physically and morally weak generation of Sri Lankans; the situation of the poor people in the North is much worse than that of the South. Will not the Rs. 2.8 billion on SAARC not add extra burdens on an already over burdened people.?

While the poor people are undergoing untold difficulties and burden on burden laid upon them, there is a jumbo size cabinet and over hundred Ministers and so many other Advisors and high ranking Officers who enjoy all the perks and do not seem to make the sacrifices that the poor have to make — rather they seem to feed on the poor. the rise of fuel prices and the essential goods don’t seem to affect them.

Further they are well protected and provided for and hundreds of security personnel deployed for their security, bullet proof vests and vehicles available to them while the poor masses are exposed to insecurity.. Have they not been elected by the vote of the people to be their servants. Can a poor country like ours afford to incur such heavy expenses on those in power?

Do we have democracy?

Democracy exists where all people have equal rights and are treated equally, when all enjoy basic human rights, when all citizens are allowed to exercise free use of their vote to elect a Government they want, no one is to be deprived of their right of franchise or compelled to vote for some one whom they do not want. However in recent times we have seen so many election abuses, state resources being abused, obstructing others or rigging votes threatening even the officers on duty; some parties using arms while others are forbidden by law. We can therefore truly ask “is there real democracy in our country:

Further, the frequent harassment meted out to Media personnel has been very harmful for a democratic country like ours: abductions, disappearances, assaults, arrests and murder of several media personnel in recent times has brought the image of our country very low before the international community

It is the essence of democracy that anyone has the right of free expression and offer positive criticism, but today anyone who speaks or writes criticising the policies and actions of those in power are immediately branded as “traitors”, “unpatriotic” or pro L’FTE and soon put within bars and harassed.

Giving a deaf ear to

sound advice

Many knowledgeable persons and Inter-Religious Leaders and the Inter-national Community has repeatedly appealed to both those in power and the LTTE to put an end to this meaningless and bloody war and sit down for peace negotiations but all these have gone unheeded. Before International visitors those in power state emphatically “We are for a peaceful political solution to the ethnic conflict.” But at home, warfare and gun culture reigns. This is indeed a very pathetic situation.

Unfortunately this war is paving the way to the destruct-ion of our beautiful country and its many resources, trees have been felled to clear the battle field and to build bunkers; the railroad tracks have been removed to construct bunkers and check point barriers.

It is being proudly stated that the Eastern Province has been liberated and a Provincial Council established. It is no secret how this has been achieved and the recent events show that terrorism has not been completely wiped out of this region — a helicopter carrying VIP’s for a State Function was shot at, poor civilians travelling in a bus along the Buttala road had been shot at and a few killed while several others wounded; in other places several people abducted and not been able to verify by whom and so many other disturbing events taking place in that region.

While terrorising media personnel who report about the security situation and other crimes, the magic spell is cast on the people in the South by such statements as “the war will be over soon” Kilinochcbhi is now in sight” “the LTTE is much weakened” “our gallant soldiers should not be demoralized”: with these the war goes on and it is evident that before the end of the war there would be a terrible blood bath on both sides — loss of many more valuable young lives. Can we afford such a sacrifice or is the price of such a victory truly of worth.

Let both the Government and the Opposition and also the LTTE work in a responsible manner, having the welfare of the people at heart and reduce the burdens of the poor people, and work selflessly for a genuine and lasting peace. Let this be the prayer of every true Sri Lankan.

ESSENTIAL FOUNDATION TO SOLVE THE SL-NATIONAL QUESTION!....BY DR.A.C.VISVALINGAM, C.M.G.GOVERNANCE

Essential foundation to solve the national question

By Dr A.C. Visvalingam President, Citizens’ Movement for Good Governance

We are told endlessly that, once the war in the North ends, either by the defeat of the LTTE or by their giving up their weapons, negotiations with all concerned parties would be initiated. We have also been informed recently that the open military confrontation with the LITE may be expected to come to an end next year but a guerilla-type war could persist for twenty years or more thereafter. It means that, for a long time to come, all of us would just have to get used to bombs going off periodically in public places, trains, buses and so on, and to live under emergency rule for the duration. Furthermore, Tamils will continue to be subject to a special level of discrimination and harassment that other sections of our society will not have to face. This is hardly the kind of peace for which the people of this country have been tightening their belts and enduring so much misery over the decades.

The Citizens’ Movement for Good Governance (CIMOGG) believes that, whatever means are employed to bring the war with the LTTE to an end, and whatever negotiations follow, with whatever parties, the peace that is necessary for national unity and rapid national progress will not materialise unless a favourable environment is created beforehand for the credible and effective implementation of the agreements which one hopes to reach during such negotiations. We should not repeat the mistakes of the past where accords were concluded and laws were passed without a sound legislative and executive substructure in place to ensure that there would be foolproof compliance.

CIMOGG is of the view that the solution to the national question can be divided into two components. The first component includes whatever needs to be done to solve the problems of all citizens in general and to set up properly empowered non-political institutions which will safeguard the public interest. This component of the solution would not address any specific minority problems but would help remove the more serious constraints that all citizens face, irrespective of their background. Much of this phase of the solution can be completed unilaterally by the government without waiting for the war to end because existing laws already give the government considerable rights and powers to do so without waiting for anyone else’s approval.

Apart from the subsisting laws on which the government can rely, there are other important new laws which are known to be in a high state of preparedness for processing by Parliament. Indeed, there are also older laws which have been well studied and which could be improved suitably at short notice. Among the critical items to be taken up are the implementation of the 17th Amendment (upgraded, if possible), the passing of the Right to Information Act and plainly worded laws conforming to the various UN Covenants and Protocols that Sri Lanka has ratified (without trying to avoid the issue by presenting convoluted legal arguments about how all the rights conferred on the citizen by these “foreign imports” can be derived from some obscurely worded parts of the present Constitution).

Public Interest Litigation should also be facilitated by appropriate legislation. The protection of Free Speech and Media Freedom requires specific and clear legislation (without having to rely, once again, on far-fetched interpretations of existing laws).

If the Government is sincerely interested in peace, it will not hesitate to commit itself to take these first steps. The next step would be to persuade all non-Governmental parties to extend their support, particularly to those legislative processes which require a two- thirds majority in Parliament. The more cynical of our readers would justifiably start guffawing uncontrollably at the idea that the Government and the Opposition would cooperate on anything other than getting their salaries and privileges enhanced, and securing yet more duty-free car permits. These readers would argue quite rightly that, if the Opposition parties help the Government to achieve peace, they (the Opposition) would thereby surrender their chances of ever again winning any elections against the incumbent party or coalition. The question is how to get over this hurdle.

The logical way to get the Opposition, the media and the general public to cooperate would be to get them to support all laws which will benefit not only ordinary citizens but also establish powerful independent institutions to provide a level playing field for political activity, both during elections and at other times. Cooperation on the first component would not involve committing the Opposition to dividing the country or giving power to any particular group, armed or not. Hence, the Opposition would have a lot to gain by cooperating to make a success of the first phase as described above. All these things can be done very quickly if there is sufficient political will, principally on the part of the major parties, to extricate Sri Lanka from the mess that it is in socially, politically and economically, particularly in respect of the many areas in which our freedom to speak, and to act, are so rudely circumscribed.

If we do not have the first component firmly finalised before negotiations commence, we would get dragged prematurely into the second component of the solution to the National Question, without the ground being properly readied beforehand. The second component would automatically get confined only to negotiations in respect of contentious regional issues such as land, police powers, electoral boundaries etc and not to matters which affect the freedom and well-being of all citizens. Providing the first phase is completed honestly and speedily, the second phase would become much less confrontational because the mechanisms would already be in place for successful implementation of whatever is agreed.

Once we have a sound foundation on which the second phase can be founded, the UN, the EU, India, the International Community and others will have little excuse for getting involved in problems which we ourselves could solve with just a little goodwill, a little more intelligence and lot more hard work.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

PERMANENT PEACE IN SRILANKA! WITHIN 7DAYS!

On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 3:55 AM, Sithamparapzillai Kathieravelu wrote:

June 28, 2008
Permanent Peace on Sri Lanka in Less than 7 Days without Weapons
Posted by Ranjith Wijewardene under South Asia, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka
Politics, World News

Peace talks had their chance. Weapons had their chance. Both failed.
For years. It seems fair to give a third and more profound path to
peace a chance.
Sri Lanka needs a systematic method to establish a profound,
unshakeable, and permanent foundation on which to build a healthy
society. There is such method, a long forgotten, but proven technology
of peace, in the ancient Vedic tradition of India.
The Advantages:
• No killing, no bombing
• Risk free
• Inexpensive
• Fast results
• Stable peace
• Supports talks
• Positive side effects: Economic growth and crime reduction
• Verified by 23 published research studies and 50 demonstration projects
As all Vedic techniques, it is a technology of consciousness,and it makes relevant a key belief of the UN: "War begins in the minds of men". UNESCO
Certainly, peace must be born in the same place. Consciousness is the basis of both peace and war, yet no leader seems to have any clue about how to make consciousness harmonious. Vedic science and technology on the other hand, has focused on this for thousands of years.

Consciousness Is Fundamental
The Vedic perspective is simple: Action is based on thought, thought
is based on consciousness. When consciousness is harmonious, action
will be harmonious. The same applies to a group of people or a nation.
If tension is allowed to build up in the collective consciousness, it
will be expressed in the actions of this group, like the color of
ocean is expressed in the waves.

Tension Accumulates
From this perspective, the problems of any government has one
fundamental cause; the accumulated tension in the collective
consciousness of its people. Tension accumulates when the connection
between the people and the source of harmony is lost. It's like
disconnecting the light from its source of power. The whole room goes
dark, and in the dark it is easy to go wrong. For lasting peace and
harmony, look for a lasting source of peace.

The Source of Peace
Anyone who has seen tall buildings in construction knows that the
project starts by making a deep, unshakeable foundation. Nothing is
more lasting, and nothing more unshakeable than existence, the state
of Being. Nothing exists outside. It unites all diversity on the
deepest, most silent, and least excited state of nature. It is
absolute peace, unshakeable and eternal. It is the simplest form of
awareness, known in East and West as the Self, the essence of the
mind. And yet it is outside the daily experience of most people.

The Mechanics of Peace
In their meditation, experts on the TM-Sidhi program of his holiness
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi allow their minds to settle down and experience
pure Being. Acting from this most powerful level of nature, they stir
the field of peace and generate waves of harmony into the
surroundings.

The Field Effect
When dropping a pebble on a quiet surface of water, rings will spread
to every corner. Like that the harmonizing effect of the TM-Sidhi
Program spreads through the most silent, least excited level of nature
to every corner of the collective consciousness. When consciousness
becomes more harmonious, actions become more harmonious, including
actions of a nation. It's like changing the color of the ocean;
spontaneously the waves will change color.

Proven, Fast Results
The TM-Sidhi program is a thoroughly tested technology of
consciousness. The results of large groups of experts practicing this
technology has been measured by social indicators and published in
leading scientific journals, like the Journal of Conflict Resolution:
Bomb shelling, war deaths and casualties decrease, crime decrease, and
economic indicators turn positive. The results start appearing in
statistics hours after reaching the magic number of experts.

Peace Is Inexpensive
Only 1000 experts the TM-Sidhi program are needed to create a
permanent influence of harmony in the collective consciousness of Sri
Lanka. It will cost 1 million dollars a month. Next year, Sri Lanka is
to spend more than 100 million dollars per month on defence (1.4
billion in 2007 according to BBC News).

The Spiral of Violence
The greatest military power in the world has proven thoroughly that
bombs and bullets do not solve the underlying problem. Iraq is costing
the US 11 millions dollars per hour. It was supposed to be a short
war. Look what they got: They create more terrorists than they are
able to kill and more enemies and hatred than they are able to remove.

Weapons Don't Grant Safety
Tense people with weapon in hand, don't need more reasons to hate.
They need peace, within. Weapons cannot create this peace.
Consciousness CANNOT be managed with weapons. Consciousness is managed
with technology of consciousness. This is why any type of military
defence systems only give illusory safety. Unlike military defence,
Vedic technology has a basis in reality, in Being. Sri Lanka can have
permanent peace for only 1% of their defence buget. Prevention is
always cheaper than cure.

Wise Tradition
Sri Lanka has a long tradition of looking within for wisdom. This is a
chance to demonstrate that Sri Lanka has a deeper and wiser mind than
the US, and that it does not have follow the superficial way of the
west, a way disconnected from Being, disconnected from the underlying
field of eternal peace and harmony. No wonder talks are fruitless.

Water the Root
Sri Lanka is better off enlivening peace in the collective
consciousness and in every individual, like a gardener who enlivens
the sap in every part of the tree by watering the root. Talks can only
be successful AFTER peace is created in consciousness, for speech is
based on consciousness. The sequence is critical: FIRST create harmony
in the collective consciousness, THEN talk. Water the root, to enjoy
the fruit. Talks will carry fruits within 7 days of establishing 1000
peace experts in Sri Lanka. Darkness backs off quickly when the sun
rises, and when in peace mood, people change their mind even faster.

Prevent the Danger Now!
It is up to the wise and wealthy people of Sri Lanka to make the first
move, for the government will only express the collective
consciousness. When tension is high, leaders may not have the clarity
and depth of mind to act on this offer of permanent peace. And when
the leaders fail to do their duty, protect yourself: Give yourself an
armor of peace by investing in Vedic peace technology, for your
personal safety. Action equals reaction: An action creating peace
gives a reaction of peace, it's a risk free investment. Preventing the
danger that has not yet come, is the way of the wise. Now is the time
to speak up!

What You Can Do.
• Commit to funding peace experts!
• Tell your politicians, now!
• Write to the President of Sri Lanka
Wishing permanent peace and prosperity to Sri Lanka,

Christer Olsen
Peace Technologist
Norway
www.invinciblepeace.org