Buddhist Extremists Threaten “The Forgotten People”

By Hilmy Ahamed –May 8, 2015 

Hilmy Ahamed

The Internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Muslim origin from the Northern province who have been branded as the “Forgotten People” during the last 25 years, continue to be intimidated and harassed by some extremist Buddhist forces and a section of the ill informed media. These Muslim IDPs who were forced out of their homes with less than 2 hours notice by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1990, had to leave their villages leaving behind their worldly possessions and lifetime savings. They paid this price because they refused to support or be part of Velupillai Prabaharan’s Eelam quest.

Today, the assault on these innocent Muslims continue to be a politically motivated campaign targeting Minister Rishard Bathiudeen and his fight for justice for his fellow Muslim IDPs. This has the full blessings of the Sinhala extremists, the Catholic church in Mannar and some sections of the political leadership.

Rishard Bathiudeen, who is himself a Muslim IDP from the North was also evicted from his home by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1990. This eviction of the Muslims from the Northern province has been recognized as the worst ethnic cleansing exercise ever undertaken in Sri Lanka. Minister Bathiudeen is being continuously targeted for voicing his disapproval of successive governments’ failure to address the just grievances of his fellow IDPs. The failure of the Government to provide the same opportunities to the Muslim IDPs as the returning Tamil IDPs is a violation of their basic right to return. They were branded as old IDPs and the international community too who champion human rights discriminated against these unfortunate people. The pressure on the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to resettle the Tamil war displaced during the final stages of the battle made these Muslims to be a forgotten people.

The crisis for the Muslims started off from the day they were evicted in 1990. Upon eviction of the entire Muslim community from the North, the LTTE started resettling Tamils, especially the families of LTTE cadres on Muslim lands that the Muslims were forced to abandon. This strategy of colonizing Muslim lands was undertaken as a strategic move to permanently displace the Muslim population from the northern province and has been fully supported by the noted LTTE sympathizer and anti-Muslim crusader of the Northern province, the Bishop of Mannar, Rev. Rayappu Joseph. This had the blessing and support of the Tamil administrative officers who held important government positions. This land grab and the resettlement of Tamils in Muslim lands continue to be a major cause of conflict between the returning Muslim IDPs and the Tamil population who had been settled in the Muslim lands.Read More