Need to probe atrocities committed on Muslims during terrorism

by Manjula Fernando

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) General Secretary and former Member of Parliament Hasan Ali, explaining his demand for a Presidential Commission to probe atrocities committed on the Muslim community during the era of terrorism, said a proper count of the number of people killed should be taken while the magnitude of the effects of the LTTE's eviction of Muslims from the North within 48 hours needs to be assessed.

Speaking about the forthcoming Western and Southern Provincial Council Elections, he said the SLMC, this time too, will be contesting the elections solo. Adding that they were fielding candidates for all three districts in the Western Province, he said a decision about the Southern Province will be taken next week.

Q: Will you be contesting all six districts in the Western and Southern Provinces at the forthcoming PC elections?

A: The SLMC has decided to go solo in the PC elections. The decision that we will be contesting all three districts in the Western Province is final, but we are still discussing the Southern Province with our grassroots organisers.

At the moment, we are in the process of interviewing the candidates. The discussions with the grassroots level organisers will be completed in a week and then I could answer your question whether we are contesting all six districts.

The High Command of the party decided to contest whatever areas we will be contesting in alone. Since we are going solo, we will have to field the full number of candidates required by the Elections Secretariat.

Resettling Muslims

Q: You have proposed a Presidential Commission to be appointed to look into issues related to the Muslims in the country. Its purpose is to recommend ways to resettle the Muslims in the Northern province. Is it?

A: The country was gripped by violence for 30 years. The Government fought the LTTE and terrorism ended in 2009. Now, there is talk about war crimes. A Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was appointed thereafter. These mechanisms were put together to assess the situation and recommend measures to reduce tensions. However, it did not pay much attention to the atrocities committed against the Muslim community.

Although we were not partners of the battle, the Muslims too were affected by the violence. We need to put on record who was behind the atrocities committed against the Muslims and ensure that such things would not happen again.

Our community needs to be considered as an equal stakeholder in the reconciliation process because there are three communities in the Eastern and Northern Provinces. There is reference to only two communities.

As far as the Muslim community is concerned, the losses and trauma they suffered including the loss of life, have not been calculated in a systematic manner. There are some statistics available from some NGOs, they have done some research, and come out with figures. However, these figures differ from one another.

Q: There are several processes to assess what happened during the 30 years of terrorism and these processes are still ongoing. Isn't it too early to pass judgement on this?

A: Yes, the Government has set in motion a process to record what happened in the past. We think the Government must appoint a commission to ascertain the needs of the Muslim community and their sufferings.

It was the only community that was evicted by Prabhakaran from the province some 20 years ago, at 48-hours notice. These processes need time, it can't be completed in just one or two months. That is impossible. The Muslims were displaced in 1990, it is such a long time ago.

To make an assessment of the magnitude of its effects and how many were affected is not easy. Their original houses are no longer there and even some of the families would have migrated by now. No one has done a thorough investigation on the atrocities committed on the Muslim community.

The Government is putting on record happenings connected to terrorism with regard to other communities. We urge that the sufferings by Muslims too, be accounted for, their loss of life, livelihood and loss of property be taken into account.

We feel the rights enjoyed by Muslims before the battles began have now been pruned. This has been brought to the notice of the Government. There has been a lot of talk and the Ministers have acknowledged these issues, but the administrative heads are not willing to help.

Presidential Commission

Q: What purpose would a Presidential Commission serve? What are your expectations from such a mechanism?

A: Muslims who were displaced still languish in Puttalam. These Muslim families have no permanent residence. It is not conducive for them to go back either. Most of them have extended families.

These problems need to be properly addressed, but not in a haphazard manner. The mechanisms should be put in place to facilitate their well-being and restore livelihoods.

Q: How many Muslims are there in Puttalam to be resettled?

A: That is the problem; no one knows the exact figures. Some thousands are there. There may be Muslims in other areas who were evicted from the North and would like to go back. That is why a proper census is needed. Their basic needs have to be fulfilled for them to go back.

Q: You have said that over 20,000 Muslims have perished as a direct consequence of terrorism. How did you calculate this figure?

A: That is the thing, some say 20,000, others say 16,000 or 30,000. No one knows the exact numbers. This is because there has not been a proper census. Different groups talk about different figures. The Government must step in and do the needful.

The LLRC recorded things that happened after 2002. The major incidents that happened against the Muslim community started way back in the 1980s, in the late 1980s. I was a member of the Eastern Provincial Council in 1989.

There were atrocities committed against Muslims in 1988 and 1987. We suffered for a long time. If you allow sufficient time, the people will come forward and make representations.

Q: If the Muslims go back to the Northern Province, do you think their interests will be looked after by the TNA-dominated Provincial Council?

A: The SLMC is of the view that the PCs should be given powers under the 13th Amendment. We want full powers, then there will be no issues. They will manage their own problems, while staying under the authority of the Central Government.

False allegations

Q: Do you think that your people will be treated fairly by the NPC, if they are to be resettled in the North?

A: Up to now, there has not been any complaints from the Muslim community that they are being discriminated. Yes (they will be), we cannot make false allegations.

Q: The Northern Provincial Council's functions have come to a virtual standstill due to a tussle between the Government and the Chief Minister over the removal of the Northern Governor. What is the SLMC's stance on this?

A: The Northern PC is a civil government administration. There needs to be some sort of system for the civilians to manage their affairs. After all, the Provincial Councillors were elected by the people. There are nine such Provincial Councils. They must be given full powers according to the Constitution. This way, problems can be minimised.

Q: Dr. K. Vigneswaran, who served as Secretary to Chief Minister Varadaraja Perumal and most recently S. Chandrakanthan, maintains that the Governor being an ex-military man is no barrier to the smooth functioning of the PC. Your opinion?

A: I was also a member of that Council in which Varadaraja Perumal was the Chief Minister. That Council was not properly elected by the people, Northern Province elections were never held. All members returned uncontested. We were not allowed to hand over nominations, we were blocked. In the Eastern Province, elections took place. It was a manipulated election.

Q: What would you say about his claim that they did not have any problems with the Governor though he was an ex-military person?

A: I do not know. The administration then was fully controlled by some other force. They killed 42 Muslim police officers in Karathivu in 1990. They were killed by one of the constituent partners of the provincial government at the time. Our founder, the late M.H.M. Ashroff visited the East to speak to the then Chief Minister. The Chief Minister said he was unable to issue any statement or speak on this matter. I was there standing next to Ashroff. That was the situation the Chief Minister was in.

Q: Did he say he could not issue a statement due to LTTE threats?

A: It was not just the LTTE, the Council itself was controlled by armed groups at the time. You cannot say that there was a very conducive administrative environment at the time, as claimed by Dr. Vigneswaran.

In the council, Varadaraja Perumal had to declare Eelam and the SLMC walked out. We were brought to Colombo by IPKF helicopters. After opposing Eelam, we were unable to come out.