A contiguous Muslim unit will create ghetto mentality -Javid Yusuf

by Rukshana Rizwie

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress' call for the creation of a non-contiguous Muslim unit is nothing but rhetoric said, Javid Yusuf, Attorney-at-Law and former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He warned against efforts to ghettoise communities in this manner, for primarily going against current moves to foster reconciliation and build harmony.

Yusuf, the Founder Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat for Muslims and a member of Sri Lanka's first National Human Rights Commission, has also served as Senior Advisor to the former Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Excerpts:

Q:Calling for enhanced power sharing, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has proposed a non-contiguous Muslim unit. What is your view?

A:This is a totally unrealistic proposal which the SLMC brings up on and off. While this proposal is suggested at one time, at other times it proposes a South Eastern unit comprising the electorates of Kalmunai, Pottuvil and Sammanthurai. Both these proposals have not been thought out well by the SLMC and are often mere empty slogans. The non- contiguous unit that the SLMC speaks of is supposed to include all the Muslim areas/villages in the Northern and Eastern Provinces which are separated by areas/villages inhabited by other communities, hence the non -contiguous nature. The SLMC says it has been inspired by the Pondicherry model in India. However, the Pondicherry model is historically and in many ways different to the situation in Sri Lanka and merits no comparison. Since this is an unusual proposal, the least the SLMC can do is to prepare a document which lists out and explains the merits of the non- contiguous unit proposal so that the Muslims themselves can make an informed decision on its merits and demerits. The fact that for over 25 years the SLMC has failed to do so despite repeated requests by members of the Muslim community is in itself a clear indication that the SLMC cannot justify such a proposal to the Muslim community. The Democratic Peoples' Alliance manifesto of Sirimavo Bandaranaike at the Presidential Election of 1988 included the proposal for a non- contiguous Muslim unit at the insistence of the SLMC, despite the objections of Muslims in the SLFP. However, at the last moment, the SLMC worked against the proposal by switching its allegiance to the rival candidate Ranasinghe Premadasa. When Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the company of the late Dr. Badiuddin Mahmud and S. Alavi Moulana went campaigning in the Eastern Province. They were greeted by an SLMC- organized hartal and the helicopter carrying the three leaders was greeted with stones and prevented from landing in Kattankudy. That was the support extended to the non- contiguous Muslim unit proposal when there was a real opportunity for it to be realized at the time the SLMC was under the leadership of the late M.H.M. Ashraff.

Q:You mentioned that this proposal is likely to bring more harm than good to Muslims. Why?

A:There are several reasons. I can flag a few. Those more knowledgeable can add to this list. First: This will have the effect of ghettoizing the Muslims and reducing the interaction of the Muslims with other communities. Second: The proposal goes against the principle of devolution which is to bring the government closer to the people. The proposed non- contiguous unit will comprise areas like Pottuvil in the South East at one end and Mannar in the North West coast at the other end. Presumably, Kalmunai will be the Provincial capital and citizens will have to travel all the way from even Mannar to transact business in the provincial capital. Third: Education is a devolved subject and will cover teacher transfers within the province. So a teacher from Mannar can be transferred even to Kalmunai or vice versa. Fourth: Large amounts of land owned by Muslims are located in Tamil dominant areas. Will these remain in the Tamil dominant province or will they have to be brought into the Muslim dominant province, which will mean, effectively including the Tamil areas in the Muslim areas. Fifth: The majority of the Muslims who enter the Universities are from the Eastern Province, and more particularly, from the Digamadulla District. The large numbers of admissions from the Digamadulla District are helped by the low cut- off point of marks for admission to the universities. The low cut- off point is due to the schools in the Sinhala areas not being of such a high standard whereas most of the Muslim Schools have much higher standards. When a non- contiguous Muslim unit is formed , the Sinhala areas will be detached from the Digamadulla District and the cut-off point in the Muslim area will rise. This will result in the admission of Muslims to the universities reducing. These are just a few of the drawbacks of the SLMC proposal. A more in depth study will undoubtedly show how disastrous such a proposal is for the Muslims.

Q:Do you consider it an anti-reconciliation proposal?

A:After the end of the armed conflict, the previous government failed to take steps to heal the wounds of the different communities and to bring about reconciliation. The present government has reversed this trend and is giving top priority to building trust between the different communities, which is essential, if we are to create the climate for reconciliation. This proposal of the SLMC does exactly the opposite. This will have the effect of distancing the Muslims from other communities and create mistrust, in addition to creating the environment for extremists to target the Muslims. It will compel the Muslims to live in ghettoes and create a ghetto mentality, particularly among the youth.

Q:With regard to delimitation, what do you think the effect would be on minority Muslims?

A:Delimitation has to be done in a way that it helps different communities, different shades of opinion and political ideologies, to be represented in the legislative and local government bodies. Delimitation of wards and electorates must be done keeping the above in mind so that the country will benefit from the different perspectives and opinions that will be reflected in the deliberations of such bodies.

There have been allegations that in the delimitation of wards for local bodies, boundaries have been carved out in order to serve political objectives rather than the needs of a representative democracy. If these allegations are true, it is unfortunate because in the long run, it will not serve the best interests of the country and its people. It is salutary that the government is looking into these allegations and trying to find solutions to same.