Friday, May 10, 2013

Salley’s FR application for support today

May 9, 2013,
By Chitra Weerarathne

Azath Salley’s wife and daughter leaving court

Pic by Ranjith Wimalasir
The Supreme Court yesterday fixed for support today, May 10, 2013, the fundamental rights violation application filed by the former Deputy Mayor of Colombo Azarth Salley.

The petition has alleged illegal detention by the CID since May 2, 2013. The issue was in respect of an interview said to have been given by Salley to a Tamil Nadu based magazine. Salley says the article is incorrect and he has asked for a correction but not received a copy of that correction.

The respondents cited in the petition are the

IGP, Director CID and the Secretary Defence. The petitioner has requested the court to direct the respondents to submit to court all the statements made by Salley and further to order that he be produced before the Magistrate and dealt with according to the law.

J. C. Weliamuna appeared with M. A. Sumanthiran, H. Hizbullah, Niran Anketell and Senura Abeywardene, instructed by Gowri Shangri Thavarasa for Salley.

Senior State Counsel Shanaka Wijesinghe appeared for the Attorney General.

The Bench comprised the Chief Justice Mohan Pieris, Justice Sathya Hettige and Justice Eva Wanasundera.

Peace and harmony cannot be established in Sri Lanka by words spoken alone - COSMOS UK

Friday, 10 May 2013

The Council of Sri Lankan Muslim Organizations United Kingdom (COSMOS UK), is the umbrella body of not less than seventeen leading organizations of the overwhelming majority of Sri Lanka Muslims in the UK.

COSMOS UK views with serious concern the arrest and detention of Mr. Azath Salley, former deputy mayor of Colombo, leader of the Muslim Tamil Alliance and National Unity Alliance.

According to media reports and information from other sources reaching us Mr. Salley is arrested and detained under the prevention of terrorism act (PTA) of Sri Lanka allegedly on a statement made by Mr. Salley in an interview given by him to the journal “Junior Viketan” during his recent visit to South India.

It is well-known that Mr. Salley is prominent in consistently championing the cause of all communities; Sinhala, Tamils, Muslims, and Christians, in the defence of their rights as citizens of Sri Lanka and engaging in various activities to promote peace and harmony among all the communities, which are being threatened by the disruptive activities of a few Sinhala Buddhist groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena, Sinhala Ravaya, etc. Mr. Salley is also in the forefront in countering and opposing the various hate campaigns that are being resorted to by the these communalist groups in particular against the Muslim community when the government of Sri Lanka continues to be inactive on such matters.

While the provisions of the PTA have not been given effect in connection with the hate campaigns of the disruptive Sinhala Buddhist Groups the arrest of Mr. Salley on the basis of a disputed statement casts doubts on the sincerity of the government of Sri Lanka in acting equitably under the provisions of the act in all similar instances. Targeting Mr. Salley in these circumstances is viewed by our organization as an act of the government of Sri Lanka indirectly intimidating the Muslim community, when issues of the community are voiced by concerned persons in the community, and suppress the democratic rights of the community who are a part of the people of the country with a history of over ten centuries that self-lessly contributed and continuing to contribute in the development and progress of the country in all spheres.

COSMOS UK wishes to emphasize that peace and harmony cannot be established in Sri Lanka by words spoken alone, and that it is honest and sincere behaviour on the part of the government in taking measures to prevent all forms of discrimination of the minority communities that is essential if such an objective is to be a reality.

COSMOS UK, therefore, urges our government of Sri Lanka to resolve Mr. Salley’s issue expeditiously and in an un-biased manner so that the Muslim community in Sri Lanka and as well as the expatriate Sri Lankan Muslim Community in the UK will be satisfied that the government is treating them fairly and equitably.

COSMOS UK

The Umbrella Organization

5th May 2013 - Press Release

Now duty free vehicles for ex-PC members

FRIDAY, 10 MAY 2013

Despite the general public reeling under the rising living costs, Cabinet endorsed a proposal yesterday to allow former provincial council members, who had served for more than two and half years, but were not elected this time, to import duty free vehicles, Daily Mirror learns.

Earlier, Cabinet approval had been given to issue permits for the importation of duty free vehicles to the sitting provincial council members who had served for more than two and half years. However, Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister A.L.M. Athaullah submitted a Cabinet memorandum yesterday seeking approval for the same benefit to be given to members who had served on the former provincial councils for more than two and half years, but not been elected to the current council.

The minister had also sought the approval to grant such benefits to members who had served in the present councils for a similar period, but resigned later for various reasons.

Cabinet had granted approval to this memorandum too.

The government issues duty free vehicle permits to parliamentarians once in five years. They are also given loans of up to US $ 50,000 to import such vehicles. In most cases, the MPs sell their vehicle permits at prices ranging from Rs.120 million to Rs.150 million. Recently, the government also gave approval for the MPs to sell their vehicle permits. (Kelum Bandara)

Electricity hike charges P’liment

May 10, 2013

UNP slams flawed tariff structure
CEB Annual Report not tabled since 2009
Says Rs. 6 b lost due to contracts with private power producers
Govt. says cheaper power in the future
Ashwin Hemmathagama Our Lobby Correspondent
The main Opposition staged a charged debate in Parliament yesterday over the recent electricity hikes, slamming the Government over a “flawed” tariff structure, the failure of the regulator and massive mismanagement within the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).
UNP MP Eran Wickramaratne making a detailed speech highlighted numerous oversights in the management of the CEB that has led to sustained losses exacerbated by little financial accountability resulting in the need to raise electricity prices increased exponentially.

“Electricity prices must be kept affordable and competitive through transparent open bidding processes. The Government has an obligation to ensure that a mafia is not profiting at the expense of the consumer. An uncompetitive electricity tariff will also make Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and services internationally uncompetitive. The recent price increases highlight the fact that corrupt practices and inefficient management contribute to the escalating tariffs as much as unpredictable oil prices in the international markets,” he stressed.
He pointed out that when a comparison is made between countries in South Asia, with the exception of the lowest consumer group of zero to 30 units of consumption, the new tariffs are the highest in South Asia.
Criticism was also levelled on the decision to move away from increasing block tariffs to volume differentiated tariffs, where the consumer pays the tariff of the last consumed unit of electricity for the entire consumption. Wickramaratne insisted that this would not lead to the anticipated gains when compared with the administrative costs.
“Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya illustrates that if the meter reader turns up in the afternoon instead of the morning and you cross the tariff slab, you may end up paying an increase of Rs.2, 500 on your monthly bill.”
The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) also came under heavy fire for ignoring the 270 submissions by public stakeholders with the UNP tagging it as being politicised and calling for a new set of officials.
“The Auditor General has issued qualified reports in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The CEB Annual Report has not been tabled in Parliament since 2009. The Audit Committee of the CEB has met only six times in 2011 and 4 times until August 2012. This is unacceptable for a Government institution running losses of Rs. 60 billion in 2012, which is more than twice the subsidy on fertiliser. The Audit Committee’s ineffectiveness is exposed.”
Unfavourable contracts signed with private power producers have also lost the CEB an estimated Rs. 6 billion while mismanagement within its 16 subsidiary companies have also contributed to the institution’s staggering losses, Wickramaratne remarked.
Electricity…
Moving the motion UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake described the recent tariff hike as being “unbearable” and an additional burden for the general public which is facing rising inflation as a result of the ever-increasing corruption.
“The highest tariff increase is paid by the lowest users and the lowest is paid by the highest electricity users. This is the nature of this tariff hike. The Government acts as if it is ignorant of the use of electricity for all matters in the country, which includes the general households, schools and hospitals. We would like to know the reasons for the tariff hike, the formula used to calculate the increased price, and the plans Government will use to compensate the poor,” he said.
UNP MP Sajith Premadasa also made his presentations to the House, during which he outlined the impact on small industries.
“This will have an adverse impact on small industries competitiveness. But this is not what is mentioned in the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ political manifesto. The electricity increase on the small businesses is 9% and the large businesses are enjoying a 5% increase. If you take the domestic increase, the ordinary consumer experiences an increase of 68% to 100% while the rich enjoys an increase of 1% to 8%. If you quantify, the consumers using over 300 units amounts to 1% of the total usage. The price for one to 300 units has been increased by Rs. 5 to Rs. 26 and the consumers above 300 units till 900 are subjected to an increase of Rs. 6. Those who use over 900 units will have a price increase of Rs. 2. The volume difference pricing formula is not used in any other country. In 2008 Supreme Court also held this unsuitable. The Ceylon Electricity Board has gone appeared before the Public Utilities Commission overruling what President pledged. We also need to focus and prepare a national plan on the renewable energy use,” he suggested.
Defending the Government stance, Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W.D.J. Senewiratne reminded the House of the burden placed on the country due to delayed coal power projects, which have been fast-tracked by the Rajapaksa administration.
“The available solution is to finish the second and the third stages of the Norochcholai, which will add 600MW to the grid. The cheapest source is coal when it comes to power generation. Each unit is produced at Rs. 7.75 at Norochcholai. We are also looking at constructing two additional power plants which will run using LNG. Adding more to it, Government has encouraged the renewable energy use. As a result by 2008 we have established 108 small hydro power plants, nine wind power generators, and two dendro powered plants,” he added.

Police sergeant jailed for selling information to the Sun newspaper

THURSDAY 09 MAY 2013

A former police sergeant has been jailed for 10 months for trying to sell a story about celebrity Katie Price's daughter to the News of the World.

James Bowes contacted the now-defunct Sunday tabloid newspaper and told a journalist that police child protection officers had gone to the home of Price's former husband Peter Andre in Brighton.

This followed a report that the couple's daughter, Princess Tiaamii, then aged two, had been injured in 2010, the Old Bailey heard.

The team found no untoward injuries to the child and the matter was not taken further, the court was told.

But Bowes, who worked for in Brighton for Sussex Police, emailed the newspaper asking for money for the information.

A story was printed with information from another source and Bowes was never paid.

Bowes, 30, from Steyning, West Sussex, pleaded guilty last month to misconduct in public office.

The court heard that he passed information to the Sun newspaper about a child who was bitten by a fox and was paid £500.

And he passed on details of a psychic who had contacted police about a search for bodies in two former Brighton homes in 2010 of serial killer Peter Tobin, but was not paid.

Mr Justice Fulford told Bowes: "You have made available to the press confidential information concerning children."Your explanation is that it was a foolish attempt by you to be in some part associated with notorious or high-profile cases."

Bowes had abused his position of trust and undermined the relationship the police had with the public.

Stephen Wedd, defending, said Bowes had now given £500 to the Crimestoppers charity, and had been dismissed by Sussex Police.

Mark Bryant-Heron, prosecuting, told the court that Bowes had access to the police computer to get information about the three reports in 2010.

Andre and Price had separated and there was a report of injuries to the couple's daughter.

"The child protection team established no untoward injuries," said Mr Bryant-Heron.

The following day Bowes emailed the News of the World news desk but was told that the newspaper already had the information.

"Clearly, the News of the World had access to other sources for information," he added.

Bowes had emailed the Sun after a fox attacked a child at a birthday party and was paid after providing the contact details of the parents.

The father told the court he had to move his family away from their home until the fuss died down after the story was printed.

He also contacted the newspaper about the psychic who was later contacted by a journalist.

No story was published and Bowes was not paid, but the psychic said she had lost confidence in the police.

Mr Bryant-Heron told the court the child protection team "established very quickly that there were no bruises or injuries" to Tiaamii.

He said: "Peter Andre has made a statement saying he was hurt and embarrassed by the story."

Bowes was charged after investigations by officers from Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan Police investigation into police corruption.

Myanmar army continues to live in denial over abuses

Posted on 2013/05/09

Myanmar’s rapidly evolving political landscape produced another symbolic event at the recent Armed Forces Day parade.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi attended for the first time, sitting alongside generals in the viewing stands as thousands of troops, tanks, and missiles passed by.

An open question is who needed who more — a deeply unpopular military seeking the aura of an international icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner, or a newly minted politician seeking to change constitutional provisions that currently bar her from running for president in 2015?

To the surprise of many, despite the fact that she and the rest of the country suffered 50 years of brutal military rule that devastated every sphere of the country, Mrs Suu Kyi has decided that her future lies in making friends with and perhaps co-opting the military, or the Tatmadaw.

This makes political sense, as the military still holds ultimate power, with 400,000 troops and an array of constitutional and legal tools at its disposal, including the right to dismiss its appointed civilian government. And it has the money to try to divide and rule its opponents.

Yet saying that she has always “admired” the army and appearing chummy with its widely reviled leaders, while refusing to stand up for its victims, has struck a sour note with many in Myanmar and abroad.

But it was less the symbolism than the words of the armed forces commander in chief, Lt Gen Min Aung Hlaing, that indicated the military was not completely on board with the reforms that have garnered so many plaudits for President Thein Sein’s government.

Exhorting the troops to defend the country (which the army has long thought is synonymous with defending its own prerogatives) and taking credit for bringing stability to the country after decades of civil war (when it is the army that is chiefly responsible for the continuing instability and ethnic conflicts) are standard Armed Forces Day messages from previous commanders. But it was the military chief’s defence of his institution’s performance that shows just how far the reform effort still has to go.

“We are a military that adheres not only to civil and to martial laws and regulations, but also to the Geneva Convention. Since we train our Tatmadaw men to acknowledge and adhere to the Geneva Convention, our Tatmadaw have never committed any war crimes and soldiers who [committed punishable acts] have had effective action taken against them according to military regulations.”

It is hard to imagine a less accurate statement.

The general’s mendacity ignores the army’s well documented role in decades of war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder, torture, burning of villages, abductions, forced labour, child soldiering and other serious abuses.

In eastern Myanmar, half a million civilians from the Karen, Karenni, Shan, Mon, Kachin and other ethnic communities have been displaced, often not knowing whether their village would be the next one burned down as the Tatmadaw stormed its way across the country’s hinterlands.

In Thailand alone there are an estimated 140,000 war refugees and two million migrant workers, many having fled conflict and abuses, most wishing they had never had to leave their homes.

The Tatmadaw’s crimes are hardly a thing of the past. Its deeply entrenched culture of abuse has been demonstrated anew in the past two years during the conflict with the rebel Kachin Independence Army, which has resulted in the displacement of more than 70,000 civilians, mostly along the border with China.

All of this has been carried out with complete impunity. Military abuses against ethnic Rohingya Muslims in two horrifying mass expulsions in 1978 and 1991 from Rakhine State have never been investigated by Myanmar authorities.

The knowledge that when it comes to the Rohingya the attackers can get away with murder has contributed to the recent mass violence in Rakhine State, where state security forces, including some Tatmadaw units, supported Buddhist Arakanese mobs attacking Rohingya and Kaman Muslims in June and October 2012. These were crimes against humanity committed in a campaign of ethnic cleansing, resulting in what is today an ongoing life-threatening humanitarian disaster that could easily flare up again at any time.

Min Aung Hlaing is no city-bound staff officer. He served in Mon State as an infantry officer, and succeeded President Thein Sein as the commander of the army’s Triangle Regional Command from 2002 to 2007, an area which is still a hotbed of professional Shan insurgents, and a major drug-producing area bordering Thailand, Laos and China.

Min Aung Hlaing then commanded the push against the narcotics dealing Kokang enclave astride the China border in 2009 that drove 30,000 refugees across the border into China’s Yunnan province. As a field officer, he knows exactly how his troops operate and the abuses they commit.

Governments around the world also know what the Tatmadaw has done. It was only two years ago, ahead of the 2010 elections that ushered in the new system, that many governments supported a push by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, to form a UN-led commission of inquiry into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity, a campaign endorsed by a dozen countries that only dropped the idea when political and economic reforms began taking shape in 2011.

But the international failure of political will to insist on accountability does not mean the crimes documented for years are moot, or are not continuing.

The army has taken none of the necessary, systemic steps that would transform it into a professional army instead of a predatory, kleptocratic institution that has for decades devoured the country’s resources while failing to provide even the basic necessities of food, healthcare, education or infrastructure.

Min Aung Hlaing’s attempt to airbrush the past 50 years of brutality from the public discourse represents deep-seated thinking within the military. While the Tatmadaw is keen on engaging and improving ties with militaries in the West, particularly Australia, the US and the UK, his comments are a telling indicator of the Praetorian entitlement this institution has long enjoyed.

While some in the West are in a hurry to engage in training and normal military to military relations with the Tatmadaw, not least to compete with China for the affections of the Myanmar leadership, this would be folly. No amount of training or friendly interactions with a military this deeply involved in, and even committed to, human rights abuses can make a difference without a prior commitment from both military and civilian leaders to reform.

Part of this reform will have to include a commitment to justice for past and future crimes carried out by the military.

Last July, the government and, crucially, the military signed a landmark agreement with the International Labour Organisation to end forced labour by 2015. The agreement is intended to address a roll-call of exhaustively documented abuses such as widespread use of child soldiers, forcible use of civilians and convicts as porters, and a predatory “self sufficiency” policy that made pillage a duty for army units.

The government received plaudits for this agreement with little acknowledgment that for years the Tatmadaw denied such rights abuses were taking place. Western militaries would do well to see how this process goes before jumping in bed with an institution that has been unrepentant about its long, grisly record.

Min Aung Hlaing and his subordinates should understand that improving ties with Western militaries will need more than nice words and paying lip service to international humanitarian law.

It will require a sweeping internal reform of the military that removes the culture of abuse the institution has developed over decades of authoritarian rule without civilian oversight. It will require amending the constitution to make the military subordinate to an elected civilian government. It will require relinquishing the 25% of seats it has reserved for itself in parliament. It will mean that soldiers will be subject to the rule of law.

Min Aung Hlaing should start by apologising to the Myanmar people and admitting that the army has committed widespread abuses. Then the people of his country may start to believe that the army can actually play a role in the reform process instead of being the institution that grinds it to a halt.

Brad Adams is the Asia director of Human Rights Watch

An open challenge to the President of Myanmar, U Thein Sein

Friday, 10 May 2013

As you know, I am a Rohingya victim. 1000s of our houses were burnt down, all our belongings were looted, 1000s of #Rohingya were killed, we lost everything and came to the dire refugee camps, you are forcing us to rob our name, Rohingya, now, but don’t forget that we have spirits. Dictators can kill us but our spirits will remain forever in the history of human journey.

“Our spirit is unbroken. In fact, it is stronger than ever. Today, we reaffirm our faith in the essential dignity of every individual, what we share as Americans and as human being, is far greater than what divides us” (James Earl Jones, Sept 23, 2001)

USA, EU, and ASEAN think that you are a good reformer like Mikhail Gorbachev, everyone praise you as a great reformer of Burma.

You have a problem called Bangali threat which halts your democracy process and you allege us as Bangali even though there are 100s of Bangali Buddhist monasteries and hundred thousands of Bangali who worship those monasteries.

“Freedom works miracles. For free men everything is possible. I called for an alliance for freedom and democracy in the America. I said then, and I repeat today, that we cannot ally ourselves either politically or economically with Governments which oppress their people. Latin America has never known a single war between two democracies. That is reason enough for every person of good faith, for every Government with good intentions, to support the effort to stamp out tyranny”” ( Oscar Arias, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech)

A person, who is sincere and honest, can easily confess his mistake in front of the whole humanity. We know ourselves as Rohingya, the world know us as Rohingya ethnic but you and all dictators in Burma have been forcing us to be Bangali. I would like to challenge you and all dictators regarding Bangali issue. Let’s call a free and fair international commission to investigate who are Bangali in Burma. If I can’t prove who real Bangali are, then let the whole humanity to punish me. I am not writing this challenge only for on line pleasure, I am not afraid of death, I know everyone must taste death, I am neither a politician nor involve any organization, I haven’t taken any penny from anyone to raise my voice and I don’t have a hope of fame, whatever I am doing, is for the sake of reality, and to save innocent people. I request you to accept my challenge and solve Bangali problem forever, or you will be responsible for all future problems regarding Bangali issue.

I request you to release all innocent #Rohingya arrested recently in Siittwe, please stop torturing them in the custody. If you agree my challenge, all your problems and our problems will end soon.

You and your police are treating us as animals. Let me remind you a source:

“We the people of the United Nations determined…….to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of human person, in equal rights of men and women and of nation large and small…….have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims”

(From Preamble to the UN Charter)

In 1948, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but Myanmar dictators have been continuously abusing rights of Rohingya, Christians and Muslims during dictatorship period and now, with a license of democracy process.

Thank You.

Courtesy - Twitlonger.com

Court orders full probe on mass grave

May 10, 2013

The Matale Magistrate today ordered a full investigation on the Matale mass grave and instructed the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to submit a comprehensive report to court by the end of this month.

The Magistrate also ordered the CID to record statements from 13 petitioners in the Matale mass grave who had claimed that their relatives were believed to have been buried at the site.

The lawyer appearing on behalf of the petitioners, Sunil Watagala, said that the Magistrate had also ordered a DNA test on the skeletal remains found in Matale.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had last month decided to appoint a special commission to investigate the mass grave at Matale. The investigations by the commission will be in addition to the investigations being carried out by the police.

Over 150 skeletal remains and human bones have been unearthed from the mass grave in Matale. Forensics had determined that the remains were of those killed sometime in the late 1980′s and the area has now been marked as a crime scene.

At least 10 skeletal remains were first found from the site near the Matale hospital in November last year by construction workers when land near the hospital was being dug-up to construct a new building. Following police investigations excavation work began to look for skeletal remains at the site and more remains were found.

The JVP had demanded that the government carry out investigations on the mass grave following fears the remains maybe that of JVP members or supporters killed during a 1987-89 insurgency.

The UNP, which was in power during the 1987-89 period, said it will back an independent investigation into the mass grave. The UN had also been called to assist in the investigations into the mass grave.

In a written statement submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, ahead of the 22nd session last March, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a nongovernmental organization, had said that the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances should, through their experts, study the situation and the conduct of inquiries relating to the remains of the 200 or more persons found in Matale and assist the Sri Lankan government to ensure that these inquiries meet international standards. (Colombo Gazette)

Religious freedom in Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia

May 10, 2013

Against the backdrop of religious violence in Burma and growing pressure against Muslim minority in Sri Lanka, an incident of grave concern occurred. This is none other than whipping and subsequent deporting of a Sri Lankan migrant worker in Saudi Arabia on charges of idol worship. A quick walkthrough through some popular Sri Lankan websites made me realize that whipping a person for idol worshiping in Saudi Arabia is used by some in order to justify the recent attacks against Muslim community. They seem to practice tit for tat. This is my own interpretation of the incident.

Population of Saudi Arabia is 100% Muslim. Every non-Muslim happened to be in Saudi Arabia is either a migrant worker or a tourist. This makes every Saudi a Muslim. On the other hand, Sri Lanka is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic country. Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, and Muslims for long have been citizens of Sri Lanka. The government is responsible for the protection of its citizens. By the constitution, a government binds itself to protect its people.

This contrast makes it unfair to compare Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government also has the responsibility to protect its own people. With all citizens being Muslims, it completely bans any idol worship. Building and worshiping idols is a crime under their law irrespective of what religion or belief is associated with it. Such a law in nothing wrong for a country with a 100% Muslim population. But if at least one non-Muslim happened to be a citizen, such a law will certainly be wrong.

I would like to extend this whole matter of protecting the citizen even further. It's a well-known fact that in Saudi Arabia, women should entirely cover themselves when in public. Due to that matter, female migrant workers arriving at the Saudi airport wear hijab covering them. Once when the Queen of England visited, she was also seen wearing a hijab. When one migrates for work, he or she is just a worker under an agreement. It's hilarious to see that some don't realize the difference between a contractor and a citizen! A citizen is bound to be protected by the government. A contactor signs an agreement and comes to work. He is deemed to be aware of the conditions laid down by the agreement. On what grounds can one say "If wearing hijab is compulsory in Saudi Arabia, we are going to ban hijab in Sri Lanka"? Muslims for long have been citizens of Sri Lanka and our constitution clearly states of the freedom to follow any religion and the government's obligation to protect its citizens.

It is noteworthy that in countries like Bahrain, where non-Muslims are also citizens, there is no such a ban on idol worship. This scenario can't be generalized as that of Muslim countries or even as that of the Middle East. It just happens in Saudi.

Countries which call themselves "Islamic republic", for example Pakistan and Iran don't prohibit religions other than Islam. They don't even impose laws on hijab. There is a Buddhists minority in Iran and they are not bared form practicing Buddhism. What happens in Saudi should not be generalized as Islam.

Finally my point is, Government of Sri Lanka should not by any means curtail the right to practice any religion. Government is obliged to protect its people by the constitution. All Saudis may be Muslims. But all Muslims are not Saudis. We are Sri Lankans by all means. We deserved to live as Sri Lankans. Muslims may be a minority religion here. But still, we are citizens. Not tourists or migrant workers.

Sri Lankan Muslims are SriLankan and not Arabic.

SRI LANKAN MUSLIMS ARE LOW CASTE TAMIL HINDU CONVERTS NOT ARAB DESCENDANTS

By Rifat Halim -May 6, 2013

The recent execution of Rizana Nafeek in Saudi Arabia has underlined the bogus claim of Arab ancestry by Sri Lankan Muslims (formerly known as Ceylon Moors). Ms. Nafeek, a domestic worker from a poor family in the East of Sri Lanka, spoke no language but Tamil. She requested a Tamil translator but was provided with a Malayalam-speaking minor employee whose command of the Tamil language was said to be insufficient. The Saudi authorities showed no clemency. Also, they refused to recognize her as a person of Arab descent. Her status was indistinguishable from that of any foreigner in that country.

M. Nasri Zuhair (@MNasriZuhair) commented on Sri Lankan Muslims Are Low Caste Tamil Hindu Converts Not Arab Descendants

Sri Lankan Muslims are SriLankan and not Arabic. That's why we have immense difficulty in obtaining visa even to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. It's not because we are low cast or any thing else. Simply we are not arabs any more. When our brothers and sisters visit middle east, they are nothing more than migrant workers. We don't deserve any special attention.

It's some sinhala politicos trying to prorate Muslims as Arabs and not Sri Lankans. And subsequently treat us as outsiders.

Commenting on the origin, Ceylon Moors are of two groups
1. Shona – decedents of Arabs
2. Shamman – decedents of Tamil converts

Shona people dominate Colombo to Southern province. They speak "Arabu thamul" a wired language with tamil, persian, arabic and urdu. They write and read "Arabu tahmul" written in arabic script.
Shamman dominate North and East and central province. They speak, read and write original tamil.

As far as I know, many early muslim scholars were Shamman while those who dominated trade were Shona.
Being shona or shamman will not make one more or less "Arabic" it remains purely due to origin. Now no matter to who we belong we are all Muslims. Sri Lankans. We belong to Srilanka and SriLanka is ours.

This attribution of muslims to arabs and not Srilanka is the result of some wicked sinhalese wanting to grab the whole Island and make it a stupid "Sinhalunge Rata"

If you want more clarification on this matter, http://www.mnasrizuhair.blogspot.com/2013/05/religious-freedom-in-sri-lanka-and.html

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