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| Sunday, 4 January 2004 |
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Do Muslims demand a separate state? by Kamal Nissanka The Muslims of Sri Lanka can be termed as the trading caste in the Sri Lankan social composition as there is no specific trade caste in the Sinhalese and Tamil communities. In recent times, the Muslims immensely benefited from the 'open economic policy' of the late President J.R. Jayawardene. (In fact JR only opened the trade). Resurgence of Middle East countries as oil powers drew a considerable section of Muslim males as well as females to Middle East jobs and most of them in return to Sri Lanka invested the money earned successfully in small business. Being comparatively backward with regard to education standards, with full dedication of a former minister of education, Mr. Badiudeen Mahamud, the Muslim community was able to raise the levels of education gradually during the space of last four decades. With the introduction of international school system it is evidenced that a section of the Muslim children attend these schools and receive their education in the English medium. The Muslim community is numerically large as a population in the eastern province. Although with the introduction of the 1972 constitution the Tamils suggested a federal solution for Sri Lanka, the Muslims did not ask for devolution. Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike's friendly policy with Arab nations within the non-aligned movement has also contributed to the harmony between the Muslims and the SLFP governments. However the UNP governments also followed this policy. Tamil nationalism The rise of Tamil nationalism set the Muslims between the Sinhalese and the Tamil power blocks. The Tamil separatist agenda includes the eastern province within their Eelam project and to justify the argument for this inclusion they put forward the idea that the Muslims of the east speak the Tamil language and therefore the northeast constitute a Tamil linguistic region. Thus, the northern separatists hypocritically push into the corner the anthropological differences and the differences in the mode of worships between the two communities. The one god worship form of the Muslims and various social patterns, which have developed within generations, have resulted in a different Muslim culture as distinct from Tamil Hindu culture or Sinhalese Buddhist culture and also from Christian culture. Therefore the Eelam project that categorizes eastern Muslims into one entity on the basis of linguistic equality to justify the demand for unification of the north and east is not a sound argument. Yet the eastern Muslims have never asked for a separate state or they have never asked to merge the eastern province with the northern province. The rise of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress as a political party basically from the east evidenced this dilemma. The significance of the Muslim Congress is that it has proved it could work amicably with other communities and political parties (as the CWC). Thus, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress cannot be termed as a nationalist extremist party as the Liberation Tigers of the North or Sihala Urumaya of the South. The charismatic founding leader of the Sri Lankan Muslim congress Mr. M.H.M. Ashraff improved his political agenda by forming the National Unity Alliance visualizing the future threats to the process of national integration in the island. (As opposed to secession). The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress was able to work in alliance with the administration of Late President Ranasingha Premadasa and also with President Kumaratunga's administration of 1994-2000. It presently works in alliance with the UNP administration of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe. Muslim grievances In the Norwegian initiated peace talks, there was a demand from the Muslim politicians on behalf of the Muslims especially in the east to have delegation to represent at the negotiations. But the Tamil tigers of the North blatantly rejected the idea. However the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress was able to sit at the negotiating table as a delegate of the UNP administration. The rejection by the northern tigers and inability of the Norwegian facilitators to convince the tigers to have a Muslim delegation in the peace talks and the tiger appeasement policy of the UNP leadership has generated a powerful faction within the Muslim Congress who stand for Muslim grievances. High intensity of attacks towards the Muslims around Trincomalee has resulted in self-defense measures taken by the Muslims. The UNP administration was helpless and it was unable to respond to this human security problem of the eastern Muslims in recent times owing to the policy of tiger appeasement. Those academics and activists who involve in the arena of human rights would know that there has developed a field of human rights called human security. In number of countries this idea of human security has entered into the political agenda owing to war between parties, drug trafficking, and human trafficking etc.The tragedy of the eastern Muslims who never asked for a separate state (Eelam) is an issue of human security. Tigers of the North in their official declarations maintain the view that in peace initiatives only conflicting parties would sit at negotiating table and therefore the Muslims of the east should not be given a chance to sit at the negotiating table. In a recent press conference the political wing leader of the northern tigers stated that a third party cannot be allowed to participate at negotiations. If the modern 'Chamberlains' of the UNP administration are going to follow the political wing leader of the northern tigers how do they respond to the fate of the eastern Muslims and Sinhalese? Liberal political thought as well as the jurists specializing in international law has recognized the question of minority within the minority in dealing with the question of power sharing. Those who are interested in the Sri Lankan peace initiatives including the international community should take up this question of human security concerning the eastern Muslims and come forward openly with suggestions. A 'Chamberlain' policy of negativity would never bring a peace with honour. As the great contemporary liberal thinker Fukuyama has stated in his prize-winning book 'End of History and the Last Man' 'for man as a social being 'recognition's also as important as food, cloth and shelter. Those who are involved with the peace process should recognize the Muslim grievances. If not disastrous consequences should be expected. If we neglect the Muslim aspirations and the human security problems of the eastern Muslims, and be submissive ourselves to hard line tigers of north, we would never achieve peace. One theory with regard to the build up of Manirasakulam camp by the northern tigers is that tigers wanted to prevent the return of the Muslim farmers who have been chased out of paddy fields sometime ago but wanted to return to their lands to cultivate under the peaceful environment. It is interesting to see how the leaders of the two main parties respond to these twin questions of minority within the minority in devolving power and question of human security of the eastern Muslims. D. P. A. manifesto It is important to remember the Democratic People's Alliance manifesto of 1989, which was drafted with the assistance of The Liberal Party of Sri Lanka, All Ceylon Tamil Congress and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, stated that the Muslim concentrated areas might be excluded from the northeast entity. Accordingly; (a) The concept of devolution is accepted to Sri Lanka. (b) There shall be a predominantly Tamil unit comprising what is the combined Northern and Eastern Provinces but excluding the area covered by the predominantly Muslim unit. (c) There shall be a predominantly muslim unit comprising the predominantly Muslim areas in the Amparai district as the base and identified predominantly Muslim areas in the Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts. (d) The rights of Sinhalese and all other persons in each unit shall be on the basis of absolute equality. "(Programme of the Democratic People's Alliance - Part II - The Resolution of the Ethnic Problem - 1. Unit of Devolution) The Indo-Lanka accord of 1987 also maintained the view that in case of merger of the northern and eastern provinces a referendum would be held in the east as determining factor. In conclusion, it is suggested that if the Muslims of the east do not want an ISGA, Eelam secession or a combined North-East why do we force them to accept such an entity under a Polpotist one party rule ? (The writer is the General Secretary of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka). |
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