The Hon Kevin Rudd, MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
Canberra.

14 April 2009

Dear Mr. Rudd,

Please do not spoil our young ones

I refer to yesterday`s protest in front of `Kirribilli House` by Tamils of Sri Lankan origin. It was painful for me to witness this because it shows lack of responsibility on the part of the Australian government as well as Tamil Community leaders in Australia. Those young ones are damaging their careers in Australia and at the global level. I would have been very critical of any of the young ones whom we support / have supported doing that. I am their first Tamil.

I learnt through real experience, what life is like for just and non-violent protestors in Australia. I have experienced the punishing effects of such actions by assembling peacefully in a Public Area of the University of NSW, to speak to the Vice Chancellor, after following all available Due Processes. But I did that at the peak of my career when I felt I could go no further as a migrant even though I had the credentials on merit basis. I would have needed to surrender my `independence` to get promoted to higher positions. That was my reality. I said to my three children that they were not to do what I was doing until they were 50 years old or have completed their responsibilities as parents, whichever happened first. Hence my pain for the above young ones fasting in front of your official residence.

I also forewent food whilst in prison, after I was threatened with enforced medication for alleged mental illness. If `waiting peacefully` to see the Vice Chancellor of a leading Australian University is `seen` to be due to mental illness, then assembly in front of your official residence by those who seek to enforce their thinking on you, is much worse. Yet, the Police just stood by and watched. I was waiting to `educate` / communicate the essence of my work which said that the University Administration was not practicing Equal Opportunity principles as promised. I feel strongly that even collectively the contribution to Equal Opportunity values by that protesting group would be less than mine. One who has contributed strongly would exercise those earned rights and not enforce his/her thinking on others.

The protestors were also carrying the Tamil Tiger flag and that was fine because they were representing their section of the Tamil community. But then to assemble on behalf of the Tamil community as a whole, carrying the Tamil Tiger flag was an enforcement which was accepted by SBS which referred to them as the `Tamil Community`.

Each one of us who feels for the whole, accepting the weaknesses and failures in the rest of the community, has the right to represent the Tamil Community at all levels including to the Australian government and the people through the media. But those who killed our own democratically elected politicians do not have that right. Hence it was inappropriate that the Tiger flag was carried during that protest in front of the Prime Minister`s official residence. It ought to have been carried in front of the Sri Lankan government`s representatives unless they thought you were representing the Sri Lankan government.

I feel strongly that they were seeking to influence you to use your status to support their group.

If the group had invested in Australia, at the government level then they would have earned the right to be heard. I did by practicing Equal Opportunity laws with faith, feeling that the government of Australia practiced it. Later I learnt that the government did not practice Equal Opportunity principles at the level I have been practicing. Then I filled the gap with myself which means that I am the person that connects to the issue at global level. That is how Australia as a whole earns the credit as a democratic leader. Otherwise we only hold the position for someone else to realize its full value.

It would be morally and ethically wrong of the Australian government to give recognition to a group with very low levels of investment in democracy. You need to add Tamils who have contributed to democracy at least in your mind, before recognizing such protestors.

The Tamil Tigers chose the military path to see the effects of their work here and now. Given that majority Tamils follow traditions and invest heavily in education which helps us include others in our thinking, the Tamil Tigers do not have the moral status to represent Tamils outside those military boundaries. The Sri Lankan government reacted only to physical retaliation and that was the only path recognized by international governments including the United Nations which is now referring to the Tigers as rebels. You get the behavior you reward. Hence the protests by Tiger supporters without any Police action.

As per our reality, those who raise arms against their own government are rebels until they use greater force than the government to hurt and kill. Then also they are criminals and not terrorists. I was listed as a criminal for peaceful assembly. The armed officers of the State of NSW enforced entry into our home and removed family assets assets bought out of my husband`s earnings because I have not been earning money since I got fully involved in upholding the Truth I knew, so fellow Australians would be protected. Truth is the only protector. The place where we share that Truth naturally is our home. The people with whom we share that Truth are our family.

It is that Truth that blocked your path and sent you back without participating in the South Asian Leaders conference in Thailand. I concluded that your karma in Democracy was not strong enough to have prevented you from leaving for the conference. You could not `sense` the problems currently in Thailand.

As stated previously, please help keep the balance of power between the two sides to this Sri Lankan war, until you know for sure that the war is over. The only avenue through which you ought to help is humanitarian services. If you promise to help push for a permanent ceasefire ask those who carry the Tiger flag for the promise that their side would not resort to arms to express themselves to anyone. That would be just participation.

Happy New Year to you and the nation. Today is the Tamil New Year

Yours sincerely

Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam
CC: All concerned