Electoral alliance 'sheer opportunism':

SLMC, UNP alliance will spell doom

by P. Krishnaswamy

The electoral alliance that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) recently forged with the Opposition UNP and its other move to forge a 'non-electoral alliance' with political parties of the minorities came under strong criticism from other Muslim political parties who termed it as "sheer opportunism".

The Sunday Observer spoke to the leaders of the All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) represented by four MPs, the National Unity Alliance represented by two MPs and the National Congress (NC) represented by one MP. The ACMC is led by Minister Rishad Bathuideen, NUA by Minister Ms Ferial Ashraff and the NC by Minister U.L.M. Athaullah.

The proposed alliance with the minority political parties is an effort to show the international community that all minorities are against President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The electoral alliance with the UNP is with vested interests is detrimental to the minorities, they said.

Eastern PC Minister and National Organiser of the ACMC M.L.A.M. Hisbullah said that President Rajapaksa has rid the country of terrorism and people of all communities were now living in an atmosphere of brotherhood, amity and security. The alliance should be rejected because it will bring doom again to the country. There were 22 checkpoints on the Batticaloa-Polonnaruwa highway prior to the victory over terrorism and all these checkpoints have now been disbanded, making travel time between Batticaloa and Colombo five hours instead of the earlier 12 hours, he said. Rs. 15 billion has been allocated for road development, with all main highways now being carpeted and Rs. 6,500 million has been allocated to the Eastern province for road development under President Rajapaksa's administration.

Commenting on the proposed non-electoral minority alliance, party Secretary General Y.L.S. Hameed said that attempts to form a minority alliance was not with any common objective of resolving issues confronting the minorities but to harness the minority votes to be turned in favour of the so-called common candidate at the behest of some Western parties. SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem refused to join the Chandrika Bandaranaike Government in 2004 on the ground that she was going to form a Constituent Assembly which in his view was unconstitutional and harmful to the minorities. He has now allied with the UNA whose main propaganda is a Constituent Assembly, aimed at abolishing the Executive Presidency.NUA Deputy Leader Abdul Kalam, Attorney-at-Law, said that the SLMC earlier openly said that their main concern was to forge an alliance among the minority parties and an electoral alliance with the UNP was a secondary matter. But they have now signed an alliance with the UNP while still holding discussions on the minority alliance. The UNP patronised the February 2002 CFA, to which the SLMC was a party, was a total sellout of the Muslim community. Their current alliance with the UNP will also certainly prove to be of a similar nature.

Leader of the National Congress (NC), Minister U.L.M. Athaullah said that the SLMC power base in the East was now eroding with many of its local representatives and supporters joining the NC. Their alliance with the UNP was devoid of support from the Eastern Muslims and will not have any impact on them.

Following the SC order nullifying the North-East unification and the consequent setting up of a separate Provincial Council for the East, people of all communities are living in harmony and development work on a massive scale is being implemented for the province.