Maithri-Ranil’s Wisdom Of Creating A Muslim Diaspora
Latheef Farook
The senseless violence unleashed on peaceful Muslims by a group of Sinhalese racist mercenaries, perhaps backed by powerful local and international forces, has opened up a second hostile front ,after Tamil diaspora, to the island in the international scene.
Ever since the carnage began in Digana on 4 March 2018 and spread to other Muslim villages around Kandy there has been numerous processions, protest marches, meetings and demonstrations all over the world demanding Sri Lankan government to ensure the safety and security of the island’s Muslims.
It is the sole responsibility of any elected government to protect its citizens, their properties and their legitimate rights. In this respect Maithri-Ranil government has miserably failed to protect the island’s Muslims whose votes played crucial role in Sirisena becoming the President and Wickremesinghe the Prime Minister.
However the two have dismissed and discarded the Muslims and joined hands with global anti-Muslims forces not realizing the serious local and international consequences.
Sri Lanka is loved by Muslims worldwide, Muslim countries and their governments. Around a million Sri Lankans were employed in the Gulf countries and beyond. Their remittances, around eight billion dollars a year, remains extremely inevitable to sustain the country’s collapsing economy.
However neither the President Sirisena nor the Prime Minister Wickremesinghe both of whom travel worldwide signing bilateral agreements never thought it fit to visit these Gulf countries. This was their mindsets towards Muslims and the Muslim world.
With the change of government Muslims thought they would enjoy peace and justice.
However their hopes were dashed within months as both President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesingjhe virtually abandoned the Muslim community as proved later.
When sporadic attacks on Muslims began to intensify and the government turning blind eye delegation after delegation brought the rising racist attacks to the knowledge of President Sirisena. Instead of bringing the culprits to book President Sirisena dismissed saying” this was Mahinda Rajapaksa’s conspiracy to topple the government”.
Muslims did not know what to do. These attacks intensified until the attacks on Gintota Muslims when the police and the STF were accused of involvement followed by the burning of Digana and other Muslim villages around Kandy.
The prompt response was demonstration and protest meetings worldwide by Sri Lankan Muslims living abroad. The irony is that this happens at a time when the country has not fully recovered from the July 1983 attacks on Tamils, 30 year ethnic war and the alleged atrocities and human rights violence.
Sinhalese and Tamils joined hands with Muslims to express their anger at the government in numerous cities in the United Kingdom, New York, near United Nations office, Canada, Geneva and Paris where Sri Lankan Muslims from all over France gathered in freezing cold to Australia.
They were given widespread publicity in both print and electronic media tarnishing the image of the island. President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe should take full responsibility for this calamity on the country.
