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| Sunday, 17 July 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Sequel to CFA, P-TOMS : Muslims fear ethnic cleansing by A. H. G. Ameen
Muslims of the North East have suffered for several decades at the hands of the LTTE and now with the signing of the Joint Mechanism all actions of the LTTE against Muslims and others will be legitimized. If P-TOMS is implemented in the present form the greatest betrayal of the Muslims by the Government of Sri Lanka will take place creating a Bosnia - Kosovo style ethnic cleansing of 500,000 Eastern Province Muslims for which the President, GOSL, Norway, and the International community should take full responsibility. Probably Norway, USA and EU knowingly or unknowingly has pressurized GOSL to give into LTTE demands totally ignoring the Muslim community who form the majority with 40% in the Eastern Province. The International Community is fully aware of the ethnic cleansing of 100,000 Muslims carried out in the Northern Province in October 1990. "Immediately after signing the CFA on 23.3.2002 at Kokkadicholai a Senior LTTE Leader Mr. Karikalan said the Muslims must be evicted from our land. (reported in the Daily News of 23.3.2002) All LTTE actions to date proves this statement. He may not have been aware that the Muslims were settled by King Senerath in 1526 in the Eastern Province which was part of the Kandyan kingdom and that the Tamils settled much later." Mr. Karikalan later lost his job as the political leader of the Eastern Province for divulging a confidential policy matter. It is noteworthy that though Muslims are the majority in the Eastern province they are being dominated and subject to inhuman treatment by LTTE in the North-East. Eastern Province population ethnically is as follows in 2001 (Source-Divisional Secretaries of Amparai, Batticaloa, Trincomalee) Muslims Sinhalese Tamils 496,015 338,063 417,506 39.6% 26% 33.2% Ethnic cleansing of the Northern Province was carried out in the most barbaric manner in October 1990 by giving the Muslims two hours to leave everything and run for their lives from Jaffna not sparing the old, children and women nursing babies. Later all their houses, businesses and properties estimated at Rs. 10 billion or US $ 100 millions were distributed among Tamils. In addition about 100,000 acres of lands belonging to 30,000 families in the North and East were seized and given to Tamils. At the International Press Conference at Kilinochchi on 10.4.2002. Dr. Anton Balasingham confessed that the expulsion of Muslims was a political blunder that could not be justified and tendered an apology. Further Mr. Prabhakaran said Muslims would be allowed to return to their homes in the North, but the ground situation for the past 15 years is that these refugees are living in abject poverty in huts lacking basic amenities, forgotten by their own elected MPs and all successive Governments. When they try to return they are threatened and chased away. In the Hakeem/Prabhakaran agreement signed on 13.4.2002 Muslim lands were to be returned, but when owners tried to occupy their lands some were killed and others assaulted and driven away. Later Prabhakaran unilaterally abrogated the agreement without any reason. The council of Muslims conducted an opinion poll when a delegation visited the East in 2004. In the poll 100% was of the opinion that the North and East should be demerged and that they were not at all satisfied with the security provided by the then UNF Government. Under these circumstances the GOSL and the International Community are guilty of deliberately paving the way for the ethnic cleansing of the 500,000 Eastern Muslims. A good example is the case of the 22 Muslim medical students forcibly sent to Jaffna University disregarding the three criteria applicable to all Sri Lankan students. Z Score Distance from Jaffna Students' choice of the first five preferences of other Universities Of the total intake of about 928 Medical students to all Universities only a meagre 48 were Muslim students. Of this 46% i.e. 22 students (17 girls and 5 boys) were sent to Jaffna University by the UGC after rejecting their appeals. These students have been harassed and humiliated in Jaffna and now sent from pillar to post by the politicians and all concerned officials from UGC downwards. Minister Ferial Ashraff who is very close to the President and the other Muslim ministers should have resigned on the P-TOMS issue and the Jaffna Medical students issue. The two GOSL members in the vital decision making Regional Council in the P-TOMS in reality will be endorsing all LTTE decisions and it is a well devised plot to mislead the Muslims. Hence LTTE will have seven members and Muslims three members so that every Muslim proposal can be rejected if LTTE decides that way. Selecting Kilinochchi as the administrative center for the Regional Council is a conspiracy to legitimate the N/E merger and deny the Muslims, Sinhalese and the Tamils opposed to a fascist rule a referendum on the merger issue as provided in the Indo/Lanka accord. The Council of Muslims has made representations to President Kumaratunga and to Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding the following. To ensure the security of the Muslims in the Eastern Province with additional police and armed forces. Recruit 2,000 Muslims to the police to deploy in mainly Muslim populated areas. Demerger of North and East. Independent delegation of Muslims to take part in the peace process. Muslims of the North who were evicted forcibly by the LTTE to be resettled, rehabilitated and their dwellings reconstructed with full compensation with adequate security. LTTE camps in Muslim areas in the East like Majeed Nagar (Kurangupanchan), and Muthur which cause threats to the Muslims be removed. Set up Municipal Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas for Kinniya with a population of 73517 consisting of 15514 families and 31 Grama Sevaka Divisions. Discrimination in the establishment of Divisional Secretariats and appointment of Divisional Secretaries. Samanthurai a Muslim majority area with a population of over 50,000 was divided into two and an area with 5327 Tamils carved out to bring in an additional Divisional Secretariat as Navithanweli. Similarly, Ninthavur a Muslim majority area with a population of over 30,000 Muslims was divided into two and Karativu with a population of 5951 Tamils was made an additional Divisional Secretariat for the Tamils. However Muslims have been discriminated against by denying Divisional Secretariats for Muslim majority areas on the same basis as given to Tamils and Sinhalese. In Ampara District a new Divisional Secretariat for Muslims should be established as Kalmunai North Division consisting of Maruthamunai and Natpattimunai. In Batticaloa district out of four Muslim majority Divisions only Kattanakudy Division (population 39,569) is under a Muslim Divisional Secretary while Eravur Town (pop.33,670), Koralaipattu West (pop.25,394) and Koralaipattu Central (pop.26,258) are under Tamil Divisional Secretaries. In Trincomalee district out of four Muslim majority DS Divisions only Kinniya and Thambalakamam are under Muslim Divisional Secretaries. Muslims are demanding three more DS Divisions. One separate Division for Kurinjakeni from Kinniya Division (Pop.59,459) One separate Division for Thoppur from Muthur Division (pop.31,372) One separate Division for Pulmoattai from Kuchcheveli Division (pop.13,893) Discrimination of Muslims in Education. There are three Educational Zones in the Batticaloa District with 36.13% Muslims but not a single Educational Zone for Muslims for over 66 Muslim schools. It was reported that envoys from UK, Canada, European Union, United States and Japan had met Mr. Rauf Hakeem and requested him to reconsider SLMC party's stand against serving in the three committees to be set up under the P-TOMS agreement. In doing so what these Envoys are really asking is for the 500,000 Eastern Muslims to commit "HARAKIRI" by not taking into consideration the future events that will follow as a direct consequence of the P-TOMS. The writer is President, Council of Muslims of Sri Lanka. |
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