Saturday, May 18, 2019

SAMPANTHAN WRITES TO SIRISENA ON A MONK’S ATTEMPT TO GRAB 3725 ACRES OF LAND IN KUCHCHAVELI, TRINCOMALEE DISTRICT.

16/05/2019

“A Monk lives in the area known as “Arisimalai” area within the Pulmoddai Grama Sevaka Division, and within the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretary’s – Division in the Trincomalee District. He has in recent times been claiming that various lands within the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretary’s Division belong to various Viharas and should be surveyed and brought under his control. The Viharas so claimed by him are ruins of structures claimed by him to be of archaeological value. Within the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretary’s Division he is making such a claim in respect of six (6) plots of Land in extent around 500 Acres each, one (1) plot of Land in extent around 320 Acres, yet another plot of Land in extent around 100 Acres, yet another plot of Land in extent around 53 Acres, yet another five (05) plots of Land in extent around 50 Acres each, and another plot of Land in extent around 02 Acres, totalling in all to about Three Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty Five(3725) Acres” says TNA leader in a letter to President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe.

The letter follows:

R. Sampanthan

Member of Parliament

Trincomalee District

Telephone No: 011 2 559787

15.05.2019

1)His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena

President Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Presidential Secretariat

Colombo-01

2)Hon Ranil Wickramasinghe

Prime Minister

Prime Minister’s Office

Temple Trees

Colombo-03

Your Excellency/Hon Prime Minister,

I desire to bring to your notice the following matter of urgent importance

A Monk lives in the area known as “Arisimalai” area within the Pulmoddai Grama Sevaka Division,

and within the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretary’s – Division in the Trincomalee District.

He has in recent times been claiming that various lands within the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretary’s Division belong to various Viharas and should be surveyed and brought under his control. The Viharas so claimed by him are ruins of structures claimed by him to be of archaeological value.

Within the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretary’s Division he is making such a claim in respect of six

(6) plots of Land in extent around 500 Acres each, one (1) plot of Land in extent around 320 Acres, yet another plot of Land in extent around 100 Acres, yet another plot of Land in extent around 53 Acres, yet another five (05) plots of Land in extent around 50 Acres each, and another plot of Land in extent around 02 Acres, totalling in all to about Three Thousand Seven Hundred and Twenty Five(3725) Acres

These Lands are situated in the following different ancient villages within the Kuchchaveli DS Division.

Thennamaravadi
Pulmoddai
Yan Oya
Sempi malai-Kuchchaveli,
Kuchchaveli
illakanthakulam
Salappai Aru

All these villages have been historically inhabited by the Tamil speaking, Tamil and Muslim people who have lived in these areas for generations and centuries. These people were displaced by the armed conflict from the Lands used by them for residence and farming and are now returning to these Lands, and endeavouring to take possession of same, so as to continue their residence and farming. Most of the lands not possessed or used for around 30 years are overgrown with jungle.

These activities of this Monk seem to be intended to prevent the Tamil and Muslim people from returning to their villages which they have historically occupied.

I am informed and I am aware that not even a handful of Sinhala Buddhist families lived in these areas.

There are ancient Buddhist places of worship in some parts of these area, which did not suffer any damage even during the armed conflict where people including visitors to Trincomalee worship.

There are also ancient Buddhist places of worship in some areas which have inscriptions in Tamil showing that even Tamil people followed Buddhism at some time in our past history.

This Monk is attempting to have all these Lands surveyed in order to fulfil whatever purpose he has in his mind. The Tamil speaking residents of the area both Tamil and Muslims are resisting these efforts, and are determined to prevent Lands in their ancestral villages being grabbed in this way.

If there were any ruins of archaeological value in this area needing preservation, these ruins would have been so declared and preserved during the several decades prior to the people being displaced.

This was not done obviously because it was not considered necessary that any such step be taken.

Regrettably the Tamil speaking residents both Tamils and Muslims are strongly of the view that some officials in the Archaeological Department are greatly influenced by the activities of persons such as this Monk.

Such a situation prevails not only in the Trincomalee District. There have been several complaints of such activities in the Vavuniya and Mullaitivu Districts. The activities of the Forest Department, the Wildlife Department, Mahaweli Authority pertaining to Land have been a severe impediment to displaced refugees returning to their Lands, and putting them to proper use and to also landless Tamil people receiving lands.

We have in several instances brought these matters to your notice at various meetings and it is also necessary that these issues be addressed on the whole.

The activities of this Monk are a severe impediment to ethnic and religious reconciliation. It is necessary that these activities should be curbed and terminated.

I bring these matters to your kind notice and earnestly request that appropriate action be taken to prevent the peace being disturbed.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely,

R. Sampanthan

Member of Parliament – Trincomalee

Leader- Tamil National Alliance

Copies to: 1) Hon.Sajith Premadasa MP, Minister of Housing, Construction and Cultural
Affairs. Ministry of Housing, Construction and Cultural Affairs,8th Floor, Sethsiripaya,Battaramulla,

2)Hon.Gayantha Karunathilaka MP, Minister of Lands and Parliamentary Reforms, Ministry of Lands and Parliamentary Reforms, Stage – II, Sethsiripaya,Battaramulla

3)Surveyor General, Surveyor General’s Department, 150, Kirula Road,Colombo-05

4)Commissioner of Archaeology, Archaeological Department, Sir Marcus Fernando Mw,Colombo-07

5)Superintendent of Surveys, Survey Department, Trincomalee

6)District Secretary/Govt. Agent, District Secretariat, Trincomalee.

7) Divisional Secretary, Divisional Secretary’s Office, Kuchchaveli, Trincomalee

British opposition leaders commit to justice, accountability and Tamil self-determination

190516 Parliament Labour Mullivaikkal -Jeremy Corbyn.JPG

18 May 2019

A future Labour government would be committed to the causes of achieving justice and accountability for the Tamil people, as well as recognising their right to self-determination, the party’s leading figures said this week at an event marking the tenth anniversary of Mullivaikkal in Parliament.

“This is a sad occasion because we are commemorating the tenth anniversary of that terrible massacre,” said Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn MP.

“We need a recognition of the atrocities, an end to the ongoing human rights violations, accountability for the mass atrocities,” Mr Corbyn said adding that “a political settlement and acknowledgment of the right of self-determination of the Tamil people is crucial to a sustainable peace.”

“Human rights violations and the persecution of the Tamil people are ongoing in Sri Lanka,” he said. The ongoing use of torture as a common tactic in Sri Lanka was unacceptable, Mr Corbyn added.

A future Labour government would use diplomatic pressure and action on trade and arms sales to push for human rights, he said.

“Today we commemorate those who lost their lives at Mullivaikkal those years ago,” Mr Corbyn said. “In their memory and their honour, let’s get justice for those who have committed atrocities,” he said.

The Labour leader also condemned the Easter Sunday attacks as well as the anti-Muslim violence which followed.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell MP spoke on the need to recognise the right to self-determination, stating [we must] “recognise what the Tamil people have faced but also what they desire for their future.”

Speaking on the danger still faced by Tamil journalists in Sri Lanka and the silencing of ‘anyone associated with the fight for freedom and justice’, Mr McDonnell said “when we [the Labour Party] go into government, we will commit to ensuring that the UK is a leading light in the fight for justice.”

Responding to criticism from the audience about the UK government’s arms sales and military support of Sri Lanka, Mr McDonnell said that the supplying of arms to and training of abusive militaries, including Sri Lanka, would cease under a Labour government.

Speaking on the need to continue pushing for justice, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry MP said:

“We stand with you today in shared anger that no-one has ever been held to account for the disgraceful Mullivaikkal slaughter.”

“We can still give the victims justice. A future Labour government will demand justice for Mullivaikkal.”

“Sri Lanka can never truly rid the country of sectarian violence and terror and hatred until they face up to the violence and hatred that they themselves perpetrated on the Tamil people.”

“I stand with the Tamil community and calls for justice and accountability,” said Preet Gill MP, shadow minister for international development. “We have consistently supported the establishment of a fair and impartial tribunal to investigate war crimes and atrocities,” she said. Echoing her remarks, shadow foreign minister Liz McInnes MP said, “we need to have a full investigation and we need to start righting the wrongs and repairing the damage.”

The event was chaired by Siobhain McDonagh MP, who opened the evening with a minute’s silence. Several other Labour parliamentarians attended and made remarks in support of the Tamil cause for justice and accountability. Virendra Sharma MP said that the party’s commitment to the Tamil people was unwavering. Stephen Timms MP talked about the thousands of forcibly disappeared who remain unaccounted for, while human rights violations continue in the present.

Wes Streeting MP, a vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils noted the palpable concern among Tamils that the current security situation in Sri Lanka, following the Easter Sunday terror attacks, could be used a pretext to further clamp down on rights.

Luke Pollard MP stressed that the Labour Party must stand for truth and justice, while Stella Creasy MP said that there must be an international and independent process to investigate and prosecute war crimes and atrocities. Karen Lee MP said she had come to show solidarity with the Tamil cause and her Tamil constituents in Lincoln. “We will get the truth and we will hold the Sri Lankan government to account for it,” added Sarah Champion MP.

Patrick Lewis, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers, spoke of his extensive experience representing Tamil asylum seekers. Criticising the British Home Office for its lack of ‘humanity’ in its discounting of evidence of torture in deciding asylum cases, Mr Lewis stressed the importance of reforming the Home Office, including acknowledging the ongoing violence inflicted on Tamils in Sri Lanka. Gareth Thomas MP also spoke on British asylum policy, referring to the ‘shameful’ collaboration of the Home Office with Sri Lankan authorities which has resulted in the arrest of returned asylum seekers in Colombo.

Chief executive of Freedom From Torture Sonya Sceats emphasised that Sri Lanka’s torture apparatus did not wind down at the end of the war, and that the Sri Lankan president and his government had gone to extreme lengths to discredit torture survivors.

British Tamil activist Krish Sabapathy asserted that ten years after the genocide, the Tamil people would continue to remember and to resist. Student activist Vithya Nandakumar, who was 9 years old in May 2009, spoke on the enduring trauma of the genocide and the next generation’s resolve to continue the fight for justice. Tamil activist and member of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) S Yogalingam also urged the Tamil community to continue the struggle for justice and self-determination. Sen Kandiah of Tamils for Labour stressed that no progress had been made in accountabulity and said the group was calling for the Labour Party to recognise that what happened was genocide.

“The British government must send a message that it stands in solidarity with its Tamil people in their struggle for justice and accountability,” said Tamil Guardian co-editor Thusiyan Nandakumar, questioning the UK’s military support and engagement with Sri Lanka. “It is time we look beyond the UN Human Rights Council, and the UK and Labour Party must take the lead on that, including recognising that what happened was a genocide,” he added. Academic at City University Dr Madurika Rasaratnam also referred to Sri Lanka remaining a key beneficiary of western military aid, stating “because we have not had any accountability for the atrocities of the end of the war, the spectre of violence continues to haunt Sri Lanka again.”

WAR ON CIVILIANS EXHIBITION

This is a photo exhibition the ITJP and TEMPLO put together for the tenth anniversary of the end of the war in Sri Lanka. It was exhibited in May 2019 in the Wolfson Gallery at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University and will tour thereafter. Included are many photographs not seen before, collected from survivors of the 2009 war. These are mixed with excerpts from testimony taken by the ITJP from survivors abroad and quotations from key United Nations reports. The six boards are designed to be hung on the wall but the images can also be printed out on A3 card and used as visual aids for advocacy.

Sri Lankan Army Reinstates Official Suspected In Lasantha Murder And Other Attacks: Rights Groups Condemn

The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed alarm that a Sri Lankan military intelligence official–who, according to news reports and court documents, is linked to attacks on at least three journalists–was restored to active duty.

Army Commander Senanayake

Prabath Bulathwatte‘s reinstatement as a major was announced on May 11 by Army Chief Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake in an interview with news broadcaster Ada Derana.

MAY 16, 2019

In 2017, authorities arrested five military intelligence officers in relation to the 2008 abduction and assault of columnist Keith Noyahr, CPJ reported at the time. Maj. Bulathwatte was among the suspects, according to the Centre for Policy Alternatives, an independent think tank in the capital, Colombo. During the investigation, police found evidence linking the men to the 2009 murder of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, according to news reports.

Ahimsa Wickrematunge, Lasantha’s daughter, filed a civil case in April in U.S. court against former Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, alleging that Rajapaksa operated a clandestine military intelligence unit known as the “Tripoli Platoon” that was responsible for her father’s assassination as well was attacks on Noyahr and Rivira weekly editor Upali Tennakoon.

Bulathwatte was the leader of that platoon, according to news reports citing police investigations. He was released on bail from the Noyahr investigation, according to Colombo-based newspaper Daily FT. No charges against Bulathwatte have been disclosed.

“Promoting to active duty an intelligence officer who has been implicated in the killing of one journalist and the torture of two others severely undermines Sri Lanka’s claim that it is fighting impunity for crimes against journalists,” said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler in Taipei. “Instead, the move creates new threats to journalists in Sri Lanka, who are not safe to do their jobs.”

CPJ’s emailed requests for comment to the Sri Lanka army did not receive a response. CPJ reached out to the army, local civil society groups, and journalists in Sri Lanka in an attempt to obtain contact information for Bulathwatte, but was unable to contact him. Rajapaksa did not respond to a CPJ message in April seeking comment on the U.S. lawsuit.

In his televised interview, Senanayake said that Bulathwatte had been aware of one of the suspects in last month’s bombings in Sri Lanka, which killed more than 253 people, and that sidelining the major had resulted in intelligence setbacks, according to Daily FT. Senanayake said that Bulathwatte had been placed on a special team that functions directly under him, according to the paper.

Emergency regulations remain in place in Sri Lanka after the deadly Easter bombings. On May 13, Sri Lankan internet providers blocked Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, YouTube, and Snapchat for the third time this month, according to international digital rights group NetBlocks and news reports. Twitter was blocked on May 13 for the first time, according to NetBlocks.CPJ has reported how these blocks limit journalists’ ability to do their jobs safely and securely.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka working Journalists Association has also strongly condemned the decision taken to restore Major Prabhath Bulathwatte. We publish below the statement in full:

Editorial: Next Chapter

17 May 2019

Ten years since the end of the armed conflict, Sri Lanka remains divided. Far from the promise of stability and unity, the fractures that have plagued the country since independence, continue to define the relationships within the island. In the North-East, each year gone has seen Tamils become more vocal in their calls demanding justice for the genocide committed against them, return of land from the military and the right to self-determination. Across the island the bombings by Islamist extremists on Easter Sunday and the subsequent anti-Muslim violence by Sinhala mobs have laid bare wider ethnic tensions. Sri Lanka has failed to become what the international community expected it would, when the war ended ten years ago - a stable, peaceful, pluralist state founded on liberal, democratic principles. The end of the armed Tamil resistance movement, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - touted by liberal orthodoxy to be the answer to the island’s ills - did not lead Sri Lanka down the path of reform. To the Tamils this is unsurprising. The failure to ‘fix’ Sri Lanka begins with the failure to acknowledge the toxic Sinhala Buddhist ethnocracy in its core.

Far from using the end of conflict as an opportunity to address the grievances that led to it, Sri Lankan leaders and military used the absence of the LTTE as an opportunity to strengthen Sinhala Buddhist hegemony and tighten its stranglehold on the Tamil people. The mass killings of Tamils by the military during wartime were followed by mass incarceration, systemic rape and torture of Tamils by the security forces even after ‘peace’ was declared. Tamils released from military run camps, returned home to find the very same soldiers deployed across the North-East in numbers that resemble a military occupation. Whilst families demonstrated for their homes and land to be returned, new military camps, Buddhist viharas and state sponsored Sinhala settlements have swept across the North-East. Pledges made in international arenas have been consistently quashed by the unanimous rejection of key Tamil demands by the entirety of Sri Lankan leadership: no international inquiry, no military out of the North-East and no federal Tamil state. The result of this is that ten years later, the Tamil people feel no more part of Sri Lanka than they did before 2009. The military is not felt to be their military, the flag is not their flag.

Since independence, Sri Lanka’s leaders have responded to any perceived threat to its Sinhala Buddhist identity with heightened oppression, from draconian laws, to direct violence by the security forces, paramilitaries and state sponsored mobs. The current government is no exception, responding to the Easter Sunday bomb attacks by conducting far-reaching search operations across the island, banning the burqa and niqab and allowing anti-Muslim violence by Sinhala mobs, in which there is mounting evidence of military collusion. The president and military were swift to blame the bombings on the relaxing of war-time security measures, and even on the UN inquiry on accountability for mass atrocities. This could not be further from the truth. It is instead the very nature of the Sri Lankan state, which remains highly militarised, habitually fosters violence between ethnic groups, and ensures total impunity for its armed forces, that makes it fertile ground for perpetual violence.

These endemic cycles of violence and the state’s entrenched role in fuelling ethnic tensions in order protect Sinhala Buddhism’s primacy, cannot be allowed to continue. As Sri Lanka goes through yet another crisis, the government’s routine call for the need for heightened securitisation and relaxing of human rights scrutiny must not be heeded. Indeed the country’s current pervasive militarisation, use of torture and draconian anti-terror laws failed to stop the attacks. More of the same will not prevent future ones. Now should be the time for greater scrutiny, not less. A complete structural rethink of the very nature of the state is needed, with accountability and justice for mass atrocities at its core - and Sri Lanka must be dragged through it. It is beyond doubt the international community’s approach of encouraging incremental reforms has failed to deliver on its promise. The next ten years cannot be more of the same. The past decade has made clear Sri Lankan polity and the state at large will not deliver structural change from within. It must instead be forced to act from outside through time bound measures linked to firm punitive measures.

As Tamils, in the homeland and across the world, come together tomorrow to remember the genocide that took place in Mullivaikkaal, the nation’s loss remains raw. Adding to the visceral horror at the slaughter which took place, was unspeakable sorrow at the destruction of the de facto state of Tamil Eelam and the defeat of the Tamil armed resistance movement. Such was the magnitude of this loss that critics predicted it marked the end of Tamil nationalism. Yet as the nation’s journey over the past ten years illustrates, 2009 was not the end. It was the next chapter in seven decades of Tamil resistance to Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism. From the diaspora protests that brought international capitals to a standstill; to the defiance of protesting mothers in the homeland; and to the pan-nation efforts which led to the UN report into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka, the Tamil nation did not implode in grief. It renewed its resolve, joined by a new wave of activists, bourne out of witnessing the massacre that unfolded. Tomorrow, as the nation - replenished once again by new generation forged from fight for justice for 2009 - stands ready to write the next chapter in this protracted struggle, the need to safeguard it from the ongoing violence of the Sinhala Buddhist ethnocracy that is Sri Lanka remains its goal. The Tamil nation’s answer to this remains unwavering - justice for genocide, demilitarisation of the Tamil homeland, and ensuring the Tamil right to self-determination.

'Sri Lanka's economy remaining vulnerable to downside risks'

Manuela Goretti

By Hiran H.Senewiratne-May 17, 2019, 8:00 pm

Sri Lanka's economy remains vulnerable to adverse shocks and the economy is expected to recover gradually in 2019, while downside risks remain, the International Monetary Fund Chief for Sri Lanka said.

"Real GDP growth is projected to recover to 3.6 percent in 2019 compared to 4.5 percent at the time of the fourth review in June 2018, driven by agriculture and manufacturing and to gradually reach 5 percent over the medium term, IMF Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Manuela Goretti told the local media from the IMF head office in Washington via a video conference on Thursday. Its staff report was released on the same day following the Fifth Review under the Extended Fund Facility.

"Nevertheless, important downside risks remain, stemming from a tightening of global financial conditions and weaker external demand, as well as domestic uncertainty after the recent terrorist attacks and in the run up to the elections, she said.

She said that inflation is expected to rise to 4.5 percent by end-2019 as economic activity recovers and food prices stabilize, following weather-related supply disruptions in 2018.

The current account deficit is projected to narrow to 2.8 percent of GDP in 2019, driven by export growth, supported by the exchange rate correction and recently-signed free trade agreements and lower oil prices, Goretti said.

According to Goretti, a tightening in global financial conditions and capital flow pressures could raise refinancing risks. Trade tensions in key economies, coupled with weaker global growth, could reduce export growth, FDI and remittances.

"On the domestic front, political uncertainty in the run up to the elections poses risks to program implementation, while security concerns following the terrorist attacks might negatively affect tourism and investor sentiment. On the upside, stronger external demand and FDI, an easing of trade tensions and global financial conditions could support growth and facilitate the adjustment, she said

Lower energy prices would reduce the current account deficit and support the implementation of energy pricing reforms, she said.

'The prudent monetary policy by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka should continue, together with greater exchange rate flexibility, consistent with the road-map towards flexible inflation targeting, Goretti explained.

She added - "The lender noted that renewed efforts to improve transparency, accountability and cost-efficiency of large state-owned enterprises are needed.

'While the implementation of the fuel pricing reform has been a major step to mitigate fiscal risks from Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the authorities should move forward with plans to bring SriLankan Airlines on a sound commercial and financial footing and complete energy pricing reforms to address remaining risks from SOEs.

'Sri Lanka has requested the IMF to extend the EFF arrangement by one year to allow for adequate time to complete the government's reform agenda, and accordingly, the EFF arrangement has been extended until June 2, 2020.'

Wahhabism, Salafism: The good, the bad and the evil

A madrasa or religious school in Kattankudy: Many Muslims here follow the traditional Islam recognized by the All Ceylon Jammiyyatul Ulema. AFP

17 May 2019

As investigations continue into the gruesome terror attack on April 21 Easter Sunday, with the people asking questions as to what drove the terrorists to commit this heinous crime on the innocent people, Wahhabism is often cited as the basis for the terror ideology.

But as blameworthy as the terror ideology is the monumental blunder -- the authorities’ failure to act upon the intelligence they had received from India.

While the colossal failure raises questions on the involvement of deep state or external elements, little is known about the outcome of the committee President Maithripala Sirisena appointed to go into the aspects that led to the massacre. One wonders whether there will be anything on Wahhabism or any other jihadi ideology in the committee’s final report.

Whenever a terrorist attack is carried out by a jihadi group, many assume that the problem begins and ends with Wahhabism. Without understanding what Wahhabism is all about and how it has evolved into different versions today, they project it as an evil ideology that is hell bent on promoting violent jihad to kill or convert the non-Muslims. They are only partly correct.

In the wake of the Easter Sunday massacres, the eastern city of Kattankudy was sullied as the hotbed of Wahhabism, whereas a majority of its people call themselves Sunnath Jamath Muslims who follow the guidelines of the Colombo-based All Ceylon Jammiyyathul Ulema.

Of Kattankudy’s nearly 70 mosques, perhaps only about 12 are identified as Thowheed mosques.

But all Thowheed mosques do not follow Wahhabism. Thowheed Jamath adherents would say they are not blind followers of any ‘isms’ or imams. They insist that to define what Islam is, they do their own research, perusing the Quran and what they claim to be ‘authentic’ Ahadeeth.

Thowheed groups and the Wahhabis promote monotheism with equal zeal. While the Wahhabis follow the Hambali school of thought, the Thowheed groups do not identify with any of Sunni Islam’s four schools of thought – the Shafis, the Hanafis, the Malikis and the Hambalis. This position brings the Thowheed groups closer to Salafism, which is also blamed for the so-called jihadi violence.

To understand Salafism, we need to understand Wahhabism, which emerged as a reform movement in the late 18th century. Founded by Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, it flourished in the Najd province of the Arabian Peninsula. His reforms were aimed at reviving monotheism— Thowheed — and cleansing Islam from superstitions and new rituals introduced largely by Sufis and their blind followers. He saw ignorant Muslims becoming saint worshippers, instead of supplicating directly to Allah. He had the support of a powerful tribal leader, Muhammad bin Saud. Together, they established an emirate in Diriyah, close to Riyadh, with the aim of bringing the Arabs of the peninsula back to the “true” principles of Islam.

Abdul Wahhab was greatly influenced by the teachings of Ibn Taymiyyah, a 13th century Islamic scholar who lived through the holocaust the Mongolian invaders under Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, brought upon the Muslim world. Though Ibn Taymiyyah was a reformist, he was less tolerant of Islam’s other strains, especially the Sufism, the Shiism and the Alawism. The problem with Ibn Taymiyyah and Abdul Wahhab is that they did not adopt intellectualism as a methodology to prove their point. Instead, they justified violence. At least, in Ibn Taymiyya’s case, violence was promoted in the context of the geopolitical upheaval that engulfed the then Muslim world.

It is said in 1802; ten years after Abdul Wahhab’s death, a Wahhabi army marched into Karbala in Iraq and ransacked the gravesite of the prophet’s grandson, Imam Hussein, who is revered by the Sunnis and the Shiites alike. The Wahhabi soldiers killed thousands whom they condemned as ‘grave worshippers’. The Ottoman caliph saw the rise of Wahhabism as a rebellion and wanted it crushed. In 1811, the task was given to Muhammad Ali Pasha, the caliph’s viceroy in Egypt. The war went on for seven years. In 1818, Ibrahim, the son of Muhammad Ali, defeated the rebel emirate of Diriyah. Its emir Abdullah ibn Saud was sent to Istanbul where he was executed
by the Ottomans.

The Ottomans believed Abdul Wahhab was a British spy and he was working for them to destablise the Ottoman caliphate. Decades later the Ibn Sauds were to betray the Ottoman Caliph again -- this time decisively turning the tide of World War I in favor the Western powers led by Britain. The Arab rebellion eventually ended the Ottoman caliphate.

The Middle East was carved up and among the new states that were created by Britain and France in terms of the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 was Saudi Arabia. Abdul Azeez Ibn Saud became the country’s first king. Like his forefathers, he adopted Wahhabism as state religion.

In the meantime, Salafism emerged as a reform movement in the late 19th century. Initially, Salafism was a name given to the modernists. The name is derived from the term Salaf as-Saliheen or the righteous predecessors. These modernists promoted religious freedom, inter-faith dialogue and emulating the West in science and technological development. Among the famous modern Salafists were Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abdul and Rashid Riza. They deplored the blind acceptance of traditional doctrines and customs and called for the revival of the pristine faith as practised by the early Muslims in a bid to regain the glory of the Muslim world.

But in parallel to this movement, conservative Salafist groups also emerged. They saw the West as a problem and promoted their interpretation of Islam as a response to end Western imperialism and prevent the diffusion of what they called the ‘decadent’ Western culture into the Muslim world. They became more popular while al-Afghani’s and Abduh’s rationalist Salafism gradually lost its sheen.

Like the Wahhabis, the conservative Salafists are also zealous promoters of Thowheed or monotheism and vehement opponents of bid’ ah or any innovation in religion, while they also disapprove Shi’ism and Sufism. They are accused of relying heavily on the literal meaning of the Quranic verses and the Prophetic sayings while paying less attention to the spiritual meaning.

Today there exist may Salafi movements and analysts have identified three main categories: the quietists, the activists and the jihadists.

A vast majority of the Salafis are either quietists -- scholarly Salafists -- or political activists (like the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt). These versions are spreading fast across the Muslim world. The adherents of the dangerous version -- jihadi Salafism -- form only a small minority and they include terror groups such as al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram and Al-Shabab. Many Muslims believe these groups are handled by one intelligence agency or another.

Famous Salafi Imams such as Sheikh Nasiruddin Albani, Sheikh Muhammad bin al-Uthaymeen and Sheikh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz are promoters of non-violence. They have declared suicide bombing as unislamic and sinful. Condemning suicide bombings, ibn Uthaymeen wrote a book titled ‘The Suicide Bomber is not a Martyr and is in Hellfire.’

But the jihadi Salafis have denounced these respected Salafi scholars as Shiekhists – meaning they have become vassals of oil sheikhs.

To combat the spread of violent Salafism or Wahhabism, in countries such as Britain, the mainstream Salafis have at times been encouraged to play a part in countering terrorism. Perhaps, Sri Lanka can think about this, as the saying goes, we need a thorn to remove a thorn.

Let sanity prevail

As happens always, the rumour mongers are now in full spate. Your water will be poisoned, schools will be attacked, even locations of the targets are being given; foolish days are here again. When the nation should remain calm, ensure the stability of the economy, attend to their work and let the law enforcement get on with their onerous task, various elements are being roused to break the law – Pic by Chamila Karunarathne

Saturday, 18 May 2019

To those of our generation it will appear that Sri Lanka is in a near permanent state of conflict; now hidden, now open, citizen against citizen, brother against brother. There are interruptions to the theme of violence, these breaks are mistaken for peace. In fact, this is the time for feverish preparations, indoctrination, and gathering of weapons for the next round of blood-letting.

With the passing of years, the challengers change; they age, giving way to younger malcontents; yesterday’s rebel ends up as today’s status quo. Every round of violence is deadlier than the last, advancement in technology and crueller methods enables the attacker to wreck greater havoc. While each rebellion leaves its particular scars, overall, the country is left poorer and hopeless.

Although very young then, many of us carry memories of April 1971, the first abortive insurrection of the JVP. Living in Colombo we didn’t have first-hand experiences of the carnage let loose by the insurrection, but from the radio, talk among adults and the general atmosphere of fear, realised that terrible things were happening in the country.

Listening to adults talk about military operations was exciting, we watched with admiration armoured cars of World War 2 vintage (gifted by the British army) being driven with precision along Colombo roads, maintaining a regulation gap in between the vehicles. To our vocabulary were added unfamiliar words: insurrection, curfew, confessions, search operations, shoot on sight; words we boys too began to use in our chats, liberally and imprecisely.

If I remember right, the April school holidays were extended until late June by which time the Government decided the situation was under control. For us, the curfew and the extended holidays were not such a bad thing; there were endless soft ball cricket matches with the boys in the neighbourhood, sharing of comics and even more serious reading like Enid Blyton and Biggles adventures to keep us going.

The attack on the State apparatus, mainly the Police stations, took place on 5 April (1971) or soon after. Now, with greater awareness, we realise that the JVP had no hope in the world of success. Once the armed forces had recovered from their initial shock, the rag-tag JVP was bound to collapse in a matter of days. What appeared to be a spectacular offensive looked menacing only because of the wretchedness of our State structure. Within a few days the momentum had been lost and the JVP were on the retreat, suffering huge casualties in an unequal battle.

But in the minds of a considerable segment of the population, the JVP had infinite resources, and were going to launch several new attacks, there was thus a need for an extended defensive posture; of course, this meant no work, no school. There was a portentous sounding tale doing the rounds about a meeting between the beleaguered Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and the tormented Rohana Wijeweeera, the JVP leader, captive, and in extremely harsh remand conditions for a few months then. It was said mostly by young adults, without reference to the source, none with first-hand evidence, as we realise now.

As the tale went, the rebel leader with a show of drama demands a glass of water, which is immediately offered. Dipping his forefinger with a flourish into the glass he produces a drop of water and declares theatrically “I have thrown only this much of my forces at you”. No wonder there was fear in the hearts of our timorous citizens!

By the time the July 1983 riots came we were in our adulthood, possessed of better judgment, able to view the horrific events unfolding before us with greater awareness and maturity, with an idea of the history as well as the consequences of such happenings. This time the epicentre of the destructive madness was Colombo, many were murdered, buildings torched and thousands made homeless in front of our eyes virtually.

Rioting broke out on 24 July after the funeral for the 13 soldiers killed in a terrorist ambush in Tinneveli, near the Jaffna University. While the Government fiddled around with palliatives, the violence unleashed by mobs spread like an inferno out of control. Both to the economy as well as the social fabric the damage done was profound, in some aspects unrepairable.

It was not all grim, there was comedy within the tragedy in the form of the ‘tiger day’ when the word went around that tigers (LTTE terrorists) were coming to Colombo to seek vengeance. The city dwellers panicked, many fled for their lives, getting on to all types of vehicles driving off at break neck speed on both sides of the road, as well as the pavements, escaping what they thought would turn into a battlefield.

As usual, the truth was very different. At the time the nascent LTTE was perhaps only about two dozen strong, and after their daring ambush they were in hiding. Leave alone coming all the way to Colombo, the LTTE could not even raise their heads in Jaffna then. A time would come when they would unleash devastating attacks in Colombo, but in July 1983, those were far in the future.

1983 seamlessly slid in to twin insurrections both in the north as well as in the south. In the south it was the JVP which led the bedlam, while in the north the LTTE, after annihilating the other rebel groups, reigned supreme in terror. Undoubtedly, both groups were formidable, but as later events proved, not unbeatable. As usual, the scare stories abounded, when cool rationality should have prevailed, it was the mythology of the obtuse that came to the fore.

It was common to hear fearful assessments; that the LTTE was the world’s most fearsome terrorists outfit and that Rohana Wijeweera (JVP) was fiendishly clever, a Marxist theoretician with an unerring grip on all matters (for that honour, here there is no need to produce treatise of world-wide interest as Lenin, Trotsky, Mao, Gramsci, Sartre did).

Apparently, the mediocrity so obvious in all our other endeavours, disappears when a man takes up a gun, in death and destruction at least, we claim international ranking! When true greatness eludes, bombastic piffle gives satisfaction. Weak assessment leads to faulty approach. Confronted by a threat completely outside of their narrow confines, confused and harried, our governments ran around in circles.

And now, this Easter Sunday abomination. On that blood splattered day, some Islamic extremists, without warning, without presenting any demands, blew up hundreds of innocent people, they too perishing in the process. The civilised world shuddered in horror at this barbarism committed in the name of religion. Once again we were the focus of world attention, for the wrong reasons.

It must be said that the Muslim establishment, profoundly embarrassed by the heinous crime carried out in their name, quickly condemned the suicide bombers, denying them even funeral rites. Perhaps there was also a sense of remorse, for like many other communities, they too had for long, mistaken madness for fervour, taken intellectual backwardness for strong faith. But that does not make the whole community terrorists, or even promoters of terrorism.

As happens always, the rumour mongers are now in full spate. Your water will be poisoned, schools will be attacked, even locations of the targets are being given; foolish days are here again. When the nation should remain calm, ensure the stability of the economy, attend to their work and let the law enforcement get on with their onerous task, various elements are being roused to break the law.

There is hardly a need to remind the reader of the contribution of the Muslim community towards nation building. Having been domiciled in this country for centuries, they belong, as anybody else. Many a Muslim soldier gave his life to keep the country together, when a protracted civil war was waged in order to break the country. There are many professionals, teachers and other service providers from that important community whose contribution cannot be ignored.

Striking a personal note, a few years back I had occasion to consult Professor Kamal Dean at the Asiri Hospital. His concern, commitment and the professional manner was of the highest calibre. In my own profession, I recall with respect the late Shibly Aziz who during his tenure as Attorney General, by his impeccable conduct, enhanced the prestige of that office. As a young State Counsel I was privileged to appear before former Supreme Court Judge Ameer Ismail, when he was a High Court judge. His efforts to do justice, while maintaining the decorum of court left a lasting impression on my mind. To him, the law was a search for justice, and the legal profession, a calling, not a mere licence to rake in the shekels.

These are but a few of the Sri Lankan Muslims that I have had the honour of meeting. True, they stand at the highest level of that community. Between them and those pathetic terrorists there are millions, with varying attitude, culture and intelligence. This is so with every community.

For the crimes of a few, let not the innocent suffer.

There is hardly a need to remind the reader of the contribution of the Muslim community towards nation building. Having been domiciled in this country for centuries, they belong, as anybody else. Many a Muslim soldier gave his life to keep the country together, when a protracted civil war was waged in order to break the country. There are many professionals, teachers and other service providers from that important community whose contribution cannot be ignored.