Yahapālanaya Has Betrayed The Muslims

By Hilmy Ahamed –October 25, 2015

Hilmy Ahamed

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe nexus Government that the Muslims voted overwhelming (believed to be over 95%) to cause the astonishing regime change from the decade long rule of Mahinda Rajapaksa has totally betrayed the Muslim community by ignoring the plight of the Northern Muslims. These unfortunate Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were forcibly evicted from their homes in 1990 by the fascist Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam (LTTE) with 48 hours notice and in the case of the Jaffna Muslims, it was just a mere two hours notice.

Deed of Muslim ownership of land adjoining the Uppu Aru issued under the seal of king Edward the Seventh

As we remember yet another anniversary this October of the brutal eviction and displacement of the entire population of the Northern Muslims once more, there seems to be no redress to the plight of this unfortunate patriotic citizens who refused to betray the Sri Lankan nation by siding with the LTTE’s Eelam quest. It is 25 years since this tragedy dawned on the unsuspecting Northern Muslims. Why is it that no government in power since 1990 has offered a reasonable solution to the Muslim IDPs, while all other war affected are being adequately addressed. The Tamil population with the support of the Government, the Tamil National Alliance, the International Community and the United Nations Mechanisms seems be heading in the right direction towards their full resettlement. 1055 acres of land that was under armed forces control has been returned to them in Sampur in the Trincomalee district. The Geneva process and the Sirisena-Wickramasinghe administration’s resolve to address the war affected through an internal mechanism does not seem to extend to the Northern Muslims. While addressing the suffering of the Tamil population needs to be appreciated as they suffered for over 30 years under the LTTE brutality and the domination of the Sri Lankan armed forces, it is regrettably that the Northern Muslims who sacrificed their lives by being patriotic Sri Lankans, are not offered any reasonable consideration by the Sri Lankan state or the international community. It is unfortunate that even the Muslim political leadership has been divided over this issue due to their political rivalry. In the absence of state or the international community’s support for their resettlement, even Muslim initiatives to seek financially support from Muslim nations for their resettlement has been challenged by some extremist Buddhists. The Sri Lankan civil society, who would have screamed at the drop of a hat if this had happened to another community, is silent on the Muslim resettlement to say the least. Is this due to Islamaphobia, or is it due to the politics of the land.

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