Putrefaction and end

 It appears that the intention of all main political leaders has been to maintain, in one way or the other, the instability that prevails in the country till the forthcoming Presidential Election – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

Friday, 7 June 2019 

As the President has abandoned his earlier decision to consult the Supreme Court opinion on the commencement of his official term, it is now clear that the Presidential Election will be held on 7 December.

While nearing a Presidential Election, the country is on the ebb of a volcanic eruption. Perhaps the eruption can occur before the Presidential Election or both can take place simultaneously.

The present situation of the country is not normal. It is on the verge of complete anarchy. Owing to anti-Islamic sentiments, in addition to two Governors resigning from their posts, the Muslim MPs in their entirety have resigned from their ministerial positions. It is evident that a certain organised group is intent on sustaining anti-Muslim tensions in order that the prevailing situation may not ease. The manner in which these things are currently unfolding is similar to the situation that prevailed in the aftermath of the death of Venerable Gangodawila Soma Thero. I wish to call upon those interested in knowing about the sinister program that was launched to create anti-Christian tensions in the country following the death of Soma Thero to read the book titled ‘Revolt in the Temple’ authored by me.

It would not be possible to implement a similar sinister program based on falsehood with similar success for the second time. The first program of this kind was aimed at creating an impression that the death of Gangodawila Soma Thero was not due to natural causes but an outcome of an assassination. It helped the unscrupulous sinister movement behind this move to reap successful results. Consequently, nine Bhikkus of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) were able to secure nine seats in Parliament at the general election held in April 2004. However, this political movement led by Buddhist clerics was not been able to sustain the power it gained through falsehood – so much so that it failed to bring about any lasting benefit, except for causing damage to the order of the Buddhist Sangha in Sri Lanka.

Those who are trying to repeat similar experiments for the second time may sometimes be able to ignite a much larger conflagration that could burn down the nation entirely. Yet, it will not help achieve their political ends, as happened in the first occasion in the aftermath of the death of Venerable Gangodawila Soma Thero, except that those who are engaged in the act shall be devoured fully, along with the nation, by the flames they themselves have fanned.
Making the country unstable 
The crisis created by the Easter Sunday attack by the Islamist terrorists aggravated the crisis that already existed in the country. It was a common calamity that the country had to face. In a situation like this, ideally, what ought to have happened was for all the leaders to get together, forgetting their differences for a moment and work towards restoring the country, as early as possible, at least to the level it was before the attack. But what really happened was that all the political leaders opted to work towards exacerbating the instability of the country for their narrow political gains, rather than containing the situation. It is rather unfortunate that even the conduct of media too was not different from that of the political leaders.

There is a discernible similarity between the conduct of President J.R. Jayewardene during Black July 1983 and that of the present-day leaders in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks. Jayewardene remained aloof, letting the fire that burst out in July ’83 spread. He addressed the nation only after five days after the incident. But he did not express a single word of regret for the victims among Tamil people.

Though JR survived the fire that he fanned, his most favourite close associates and confidants were killed before his eyes. It can be considered a much greater agony and a painful death than actually being killed. What JR did was afflict and injure ‘Mother Sri Lanka’ for parochial political gains. What the present leaders are doing is attempting to kill ‘Mother Sri Lanka,’ who is in a frail condition, by subjecting her to untold atrocities. It will be unavoidable that all the leaders will be compelled to pay a big price for their untoward act.

Society is not in a static state; it is in a rapid flux. While people will be able to understand the reality of the evil things happening around them, they might not tolerate it any longer and will come forward to mark the end of the old system which is evil and exploitative.
The route of history 
The modern history of Sri Lanka is moving in a spiral route. It has now entered into a historical crossroad which will probably mark the end of the dark and destructive period it has been passing through. There is high potential for defeating all exploitative leaders who were instrumental in the old wicked system and removing them completely from the political scene instead of defeating one party and empowering another party as has been done in the past.

The Yahapalana Government can be described as the most unfortunate, most absurd and superbly idiotic government ever produced by Sri Lanka at the tailend of its disastrous historical route. During the previous Presidential Election, the Leader of the Opposition (UNP), who had the potential to defeat the Rajapaksa regime and acquire ruling power, opted to select a candidate from the Rajapaksa regime itself and bring him to the scene as a common candidate to contest the Presidential Election, merely because he lacked self-confidence to contest against Rajapaksa and win.

Evidently, there had been no proper agreement based on a formal discussion on the issues concerned between the Leader of the UNP and the common candidate so selected. The UNP Leader might have thought that he would be able to manipulate the common candidate whom he had brought to the scene, according to his whims and fancies as a political puppet in his hand, as the victory of the common candidate depended not on the candidate’s political power, but on the support extended by the UNP, the political party headed by the UNP Leader.

Yet, following the victory of the common candidate, things took a different shape, upsetting his calculations. The consequent power struggle that arose between the President and the Prime Minister has eventually culminated in making the Yahapalana Government a caricature of a feeble, cranky and comical government.

The main aspiration of Prime Minister Rail Wickremesinghe was to appropriate all powers of the president for himself and reduce the powers of the president whom he brought to power to a nominal level. All changes and amendments required for this change had been made in a devious manner.

In this process he was more concerned about the reforms that would help consolidate his power and position than the reforms the country needed badly. By doing so, he let the crisis the country was facing stagnate and intensify. Though he was able to appropriate executive powers for himself through the 19th Amendment in an extremely devious manner, this amendment led to the entire system of governance and the constitution becoming disorganised confusion.

Consequently, the country which was in a big crisis was plunged into a bigger crisis rendering it a country without a formal constitution and a formal system of governance. The ugliest among the repulsive features of this disordered and confused constitution is the selection of a nominal president through a general election conducted by treating the entire country as one single electorate, incurring an exorbitant cost, rather than selecting him from a simple system like an election committee.

In his conflict with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the first thing the President did was sack him from his position and take the UNP into his control in an informal way. In doing so, using the controversial Central Bank bond issue as a reason, he asked the Prime Minister to step down from his position. However, the Prime Minister who had already lost his reputation over the Central Bank bond scam declined to resign from the post. In terms of the 19th Amendment the President did not have powers to remove the Prime Minister from his post either.

Following his failure to remove the Prime Minister, the President joined the camp of Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom he considered his arch rival. However, his anti-constitutional attempt to form a provisional government with the Pohottuwa party (SLPP) with Mahinda Rajapaksa being appointed the prime minister and dissolve Parliament failed because of the decision of the Supreme Court that declared the procedure adopted by the President was not in conformity with the Constitution.

Though the Pohottuwa party (SLPP) agreed to enter into a strategic alliance with the President, forgetting the sustained enmity it had with him, it was careful not to make him an acknowledged leader of the party. The President, upon realisation that the Pohottuwa party would not welcome him as an acknowledged leader of the party, fell into the level of a solitary elephant compelled to fight alone for his future political survival. The role played by the other political leaders and also the role played by the solitary elephant have aggravated the unstable situation of the country.
Avoiding essential reforms 
It appears that the intention of all main political leaders has been to maintain, in one way or the other, the instability that prevails in the country till the forthcoming Presidential Election. Its outcome can be extremely serious and unfortunate. The country now stands at the brink of a big economic tsunami. The instability that exists and is being persisted with in the country will invariably aggravate and expedite the situation. It can also lead to a complete breakdown of rule and create a complete state of anarchy. It can also affect the Presidential Election.

Before talking about the Presidential Election, it is important that we consider, at least briefly, a major issue at this stage, which is of paramount importance for the survival of the country, but is consistently being ignored and avoided by political leaders.

With the ending of the internal civil war, the social system and the State plunged into a state of deformity and frailty. The structural reforms required for healthy existence and for recreation of the social system and the State became an essential condition. But, the Rajapaksa regime which won the war defeating the LTTE did not make any attempt to fulfil this historic need. It was as a result of this failure that the country has fallen into a crisis which is greater than the crisis that existed when Prabhakaran was alive. That was the very reason why the Rajapaksa regime was een defeated in spite of its victory of the internal civil war.

The Yahapalana Government which came to power as a result of this crisis also did not attempt to introduce necessary structural reforms to overcome the deformities and the decline in the system. Instead, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe gave prominence to appropriating executive powers on himself, completely ignoring the structural reforms required to avoid the serious decline in the social system and the system of governance. This situation aggravated the problems the country was facing. The Easter Sunday attacks can be considered a punishment imposed by history for their negligence.
The ignorance of the leaders 
The Easter Sunday attacks can be considered as another opportunity provided by history to make our leaders realise the extent of putrefaction of the State and the social system. It is evident that the Government authorities received the necessary intelligence reports on the operation of an extremist Islamist organisation in Sri Lanka at its early beginnings through informants of the Muslim community itself. But, there had been no attempts to take action and implement the law against it.

Even after a haul of explosives was detected from Wanathavilluva area, security units had not made any positive attempt to chase after culprits and take adequate precautions. Not even the ruthless shooting incident, in which the Coordinating Secretary of Minister Kabir Hashim was shot in the head, did not wake up the security authorities from their deep slumber.

It was after this that the warning against the possible terrorist attack on Catholic churches on Easter Sunday had been passed on to the Sri Lankan Government, weeks before the incident, with all information about those who were attached to this organisation by India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing – RAW. Our security authorities miserably failed to realise the seriousness of the issue and act on it when all information including the names of terrorists was available.

In light of the facts being revealed so far, the Security Council which can be considered the most important institution of the security of the country seems to have come down to a pathetic level of a court of jesters. There wasn’t even a single formal meeting of the Security Council being held following the abortive attempt by the President to change the government. The Easter Sunday attack took place when the President was away from the country and an acting minister of security had not been appointed. After the attack, the Prime Minister had attempted to convene a meeting of the Security Council, but the senior security authorities had declined to abide by his request.

The extent of degeneration of the State of Sri Lanka in the sphere of security can be understood from this incident. It is not a situation confined only to the security units. It can be considered as a feature common to every unit of the State sector. This deterioration and breakdown in the social system can be understood from the disordered and confused state that prevailed in Tamil society following the end of the internal war as well as the current situation that prevails in Muslim society following the recent Easter Sunday incidents.

In fact, if Sri Lanka was an intelligent country, after the Easter Sunday attacks all the leaders ought have reached a common consensus and made a rational assessment of the massive deterioration and the decline of the State and the social system and orientated the country towards adopting an effective program of action to effect structural reforms which are conducive to recreating the State and society. It was only after that the country should have gone for elections.

Why can’t the political leaders of the country perceive the extent of deterioration of the State and the social system? How could Sri Lanka get over the crisis it is facing without effecting a profound change in this situation? Is it because they know that a policy leading to explore the way things happen in the country will not be to their advantage that the political leaders of Sri Lanka are not in favour of initiation of a program aimed at effecting structural reforms on society and the State?

All those who steer the ship of State, from the President and Ministers to MPs, are not engaged in a wholesome role. Ostensibly, it is a predatory role that they play. They don’t want to lose the opportunity they have received to amass wealth through undue means. That is why they are not inclined to initiate a program of structural reforms. Their main concern is their own survival and not that of the country.
Presidential Election 
It is not clear whether the incumbent President will contest or not for a second term. Even if he does not contest, he may not stop his political game. Probably he might find a member of the UNP or Gnanasara Thero as his candidate.

Though Gotabaya Rajapaksa has affirmed that he will contest the Presidential Election, it is doubtful whether he will be able to resolve the issue of the removal of his American citizenship. In this backdrop, the Pohottuwa party will be compelled to find a new candidate. While it is not easy to find a candidate as strong as Gotabaya, it will not be possible to prevent disputes arising in the party on the issue of selecting a suitable candidate.

Even the UNP will have to face with explosive problems in selecting its candidate. There is a rumour that Ranil Wickremesinghe had asked Dhammika Perera, a multi-billionaire businessman, to be prepared to contest as the candidate of the UNP. However, this selection may not be to the satisfaction of the members of the UNP.

Despite the JVP having made comprehensive preparations with the intention of contesting the Presidential Election, it is not clear whether it will field a candidate of its own in view of the depletion of its recognition in the face of the current crisis of the country.

Nagananda Kodituwakku and Rohan Pallewatta can be considered as two other contestants who have declared their intention in advance. Nagananda will have to give up his British citizenship if he is to contest the Presidential Election.

Whoever contests the Presidential Election, the contestants have to swim not in calm waters but in an unclear and disturbed sheet of water. It is questionable whether the winner will be able to exceed the 50% limit of the votes polled. Even if the election is won achieving the 50% mark, there is hardly anything effective and strong that the winner could do as the President would be only a nominal Head of State.

The elected President will not even have powers to dissolve Parliament and call for a Parliamentary Election immediately upon his election. In this backdrop, it is unavoidable that the winner of the Presidential Election will become a political joker in the eyes of the people.

If the people want to, they can deviate from the traditional system of casting their vote and defeat all the candidates contesting the election and make the forthcoming Presidential Election an opportunity to demand the adoption of a people’s constitution that would pave the way for a structural transformation in the entire system. In doing so, they can express their consent for such a structural transformation by invalidating the vote.

Perhaps such a program can be used as an effective platform that will pave the way for inspiring the people for larger and far-reaching changes that will help transform the entire system of the country for good.

SRI LANKA RESPONDS TO ISLAMIST TERRORISM BY TERRORISING MUSLIMS

The police are doing little to prevent mob attacks.

07/06/2019

(Jun 6th 2019| COLOMBO/Economists.)  The charges sound silly but the consequences are not. One Muslim lady’s crime was to wear a shirt printed with a ship’s helm. Her accusers said it looked like the wheel of dharma, so she must be mocking Buddhism, the religion of the majority. A young Muslim man was nabbed for having three sim cards in his pocket, and a broken memory card. True, he worked in a phone shop, but police insisted he must have snapped the memory card to hide nefarious contents. A rich Muslim doctor was accused of having secretly sterilised 4,000 women by pinching their Fallopian tubes. More than 700 of the supposed victims have complained, enraged by rumours of a fertility “jihad” against non-Muslims.

Just over a month ago, on Easter morning, jihadist terrorists killed more than 250 people around Sri Lanka in a series of suicide-bombings. It is not surprising that since the attacks, jittery police have arrested more than 2,000 people, nearly all of them Muslim. But with suspicion among the public running high, calls for extra vigilance soon morphed into harsher demands. A Buddhist monk threatened to fast to death unless three prominent Muslim officials, accused of having links to terrorists, resigned. Instead, on June 3rd, all nine Muslim ministers, as well as two Muslim provincial governors, quit in protest.

 Rauff Hakeem, one of the ministers and the head of a largely Muslim political party, describes his constituents as “petrified”. He fears that in Sri Lanka’s fragile and polarised state it is all too likely that cynical politicians will exploit the nasty mood. Some may want to distract attention from the security services, which failed to heed repeated warnings of a looming terror attack. “The vast majority of right-thinking people cannot be held hostage by a radical fringe,” he says. “The problem is when the radical fringe has political patronage.”

After decades of civil war (which pitted the ethnically Sinhalese, Buddhist majority against largely Hindu Tamils), one might expect Sri Lankans to be wary of demonising minorities. Alas, many are doing just that. Since the bombings in April, police have not just randomly arrested Muslims, who are about 10% of the population, but responded lackadaisically to repeated mob attacks against Muslims and Muslim-owned businesses. Facebook groups have organised boycotts of Muslim-owned shops; fake pictures of huge weapons caches “found in mosques” have circulated. Landlords have evicted Muslims because of their faith. A taxi firm advertises that its drivers are Sinhalese; that is, not Tamils or Muslims. A big poultry company has destroyed its stocks of packaging, so it can roll out a new version, proudly stripped of halal certificates.

Muslim leaders point out that they had for years warned authorities about the emergence of cult-like radical groups. After the bombings, it was local Muslims who led police to what was believed to be the jihadists’ lair. Co-religionists also took it upon themselves to demolish one of the radicals’ mosques with sledgehammers.

Some Muslims have called for introspection. The prosperous Muslim elite, they say, has for too long turned a blind eye to creeping extremism. This is partly a product of widespread migration to the Gulf, and partly a reflection of a global trend among Muslims to abandon “diluted” local forms of Islam in favour of a “purer” Arabian kind. At the same time Buddhist groups with similarly narrow-minded inclinations have also gained ground. And just when Sri Lanka needs strong leadership to steer clear of such obvious dangers, its leaders stand disgraced.

 

Story behind the mass resignation

During a news briefing held at Temple Trees in Colombo recently, Minister Rauff Hakeem announced that all Muslim ministers including cabinet, state and deputy ministers have decided to resign from their portfolios.
Pix by Nimalsiri Edirisinghe

 7 June 2019

Days after the barbaric Easter Sunday terrorist attack on innocent Christians, the authorities announced that the next target of the terrorists was “Hubbu” mosques, the mosques with graves of Islamic saints. Apart from the announcement possibly having been based on the intelligence reports, the logic behind it was that the terrorists were Wahhabis, who were against Muslims respecting graves of saints.   
The Dawatagaha mosque at Town Hall in Colombo is also one with a grave of a saint and Riyaz Salley, the brother of former Western Province Governor Azath Salley, is the Chief Trustee of it.   
Therefore, the logical conclusion one has to arrive at is that Salleys are targets of terrorists instead of being terrorists or supporters of terrorists, who killed more than 250 people at churches and leading hotels on April 21.   
Azath Salley may be a corrupt politician -- as majority of politicians in the country are. He is also well-known for his summersaults from one political party to another, seemingly for personal gains.   

"The ball is in the court of agitators against Hizbullah, Salley and Bathiudeen"

However, with facts we have thus far, identifying him with terrorism is illogical.   
Former Industries and Trade Minister Rishad Bathiudeen in his capacity as a minister or his associates seemed during police investigations to have had business dealings with the family of Mohamed Ibrahim of Dematagoda, the father of two Easter Sunday suicide bombers.   
Also, Ibrahim was a National List nominee of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) at the last parliamentary elections.
Yet, for media and opposition politicians, Bathiudeen is an espouser of terrorism even before the news reached them that he had allegedly exerted a mild veiled influence on Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake to release a suspect, whereas the JVP is not.   
M.L.A.M. Hizbullah who resigned as the Eastern Province Governor on the same day Bathiudeen and Salley did so from their posts is a resident of Kattankudy, the hometown of National Thawheed Jama’ath (NTJ) leader Zahran Hashim and where the NTJ terrorists seem to have been based in. Therefore, it is inferable that Hizbullah and Zahran knew each other for a long time. As such, the pictures of Hizbullah shaking hands with Zahran do not suffice to prove the allegations against the former that he supported terrorism.   
Hizbullah once in 1989 came to Parliament on a motorbike and it is said Bathiudeen had come to Colombo as a refugee with his belongings in a “silisili” bag after the LTTE evicted Muslims from the North.   

"Muslim leaders are now accused of being racist by resigning as ministers, en masse"

However, now these two are said to have amassed vast wealth, thanks to the political system of the country! Nevertheless, their wealth cannot necessarily be attributed to any support by them to terrorism, until it is proved.   
Hence, following the public outcry against these three prominent Muslim politicians, the government, without arresting them right away, had to appoint a special three-member police team for those accusing them of espousing terrorism to submit evidence to prove their point.   
Muslims in the country who hate the NTJ as the entity that brought the current misery to their lives also subscribe to the government’s stance on these three men and view the campaign against them as racism with political motivation.

"The resignations can be treated as a collective defence against a racist onslaught"

It is against this backdrop that Parliamentarian Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thera who was not in the scene since the Easter Sunday attacks launched a fast at the Sri Dalada Maligawa premises in Kandy all of a sudden last Friday, demanding the removal of the three Muslim politicians from their posts; interestingly, not the arrest of them.   
The perception by Muslims that the agitations against the controversial three men were not merely against them but against the whole community was vindicated by increasing possibility of violence targeting ordinary Muslims around the country, leaving the three men concerned intact.
That was further vindicated by the announcement on Sunday by Bodu Bala Sena Chief Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera whose “Abasaranai” threat is said to have triggered anti-Muslim violence in Aluthgama, Beruwala and Welipenna in June 2014 that “Senakeli” (Carnival) could be seen throughout the country, unless the three Muslim politicians are out from their posts by Monday noon.   

"Many Muslim leaders have not been community conscious when it came to political power or ministerial portfolios"

Frustration and fear came to a peak among Muslims with no Buddhist political or religious leader voicing against the mounting anti-Muslim rage or not criticising, leave alone condemning the “Carnival” announcement or calling for restraint.
There was a situation where there was no government in the country. Nothing was heard from President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on the situation.   
In some Muslim areas, people are learnt to have had a sleepless night on Sunday and some people are said to have left for safer areas.
The situation became more dangerous as a procession was also announced to be conducted on Monday from Kandy to Colombo in support of the demands of Ven. Rathana Thera.   
Being sacked or resignation by the three politicians became inevitable when Ven. Gnanasara Thera’s deadline for the removal of them was approaching on Monday and Muslims were waiting for downright humiliation on top of the frustration and fear that had already engulfed them.   
Heat was felt by at another level by the Muslim ministers irrespective of their party affiliations which led Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader and Minister Rauff Hakeem to criticise his Sinhalese colleagues except for Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera at the Cabinet meeting on Monday morning for letting down the entire Muslim community, while they were being targeted as a community.   

"In some Muslim areas, people are learnt to have had a sleepless night on Monday and some people are said to have left for safer areas"

It also forced the Muslim ministers to take a collective decision to ease the sense of humiliation among their targeted community and the isolation of the three politicians, who in their eyes had become sheer racist targets. This was the story behind the mass resignation by the Muslim ministers, deputy ministers and State ministers from their portfolios on Monday.
The Muslim leaders told the media they were resigning from the portfolios in order for the authorities to conduct investigations against the three politicians without being influenced and for the masses to see that they are being conducted independently.   
Despite this being a secondary reason, in fact, there is a situation in the country that Muslim ministers would be accused of having interfered if the accused politicians were cleared of the allegations.   

"Ibrahim was a National List nominee of the JVP at the last parliamentary elections"

Now Muslim leaders are accused of being racist by resigning as ministers, en masse, without letting only the three politicians who had been accused to step down.   
However, it must be recalled that many Muslim leaders have not been community conscious when it came to political power or ministerial portfolios. There have been instances in the past where some of them had even openly justified the attacks on mosques, to gain political mileage.   
In fact, the mass resignation can be treated as a collective defence against a racist onslaught against the entire community.
They will go their own way even throwing acid at each other when electoral power struggle starts.   
Now the ball is in the court of the agitators against Hizbullah, Salley and Bathiudeen.   
They have to use the opportunity to place the evidence they have before the special police team that has been appointed to investigate the allegations against the trio.   
It is also the onus on the part of the government to make arrangements for an impartial judicial probe on the complaints that might be lodged with the special police committee, without giving in to the pressures of the electorate that is to vote at the presidential election in about five months.   
On the other hand, Muslims must be prepared to accept the outcome of the probe, if it is seen not manipulated by people with a vested interest. 

Bathiudeen threatens to take their case to UN, Islamic world

June 7, 2019, 9:08 pm 

Bathiudeen addressing the media outside police headquarters yesterday

In a dramatic turn of events, local Muslim leaders, who resigned from their Cabinet portfolios, are now preparing to internationalise the issues they are faced with. They will shortly be meeting the United Nations (UN) Resident Representative in Sri Lanka and also the powerful Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – the world’s second largest inter-governmental organization after the UN.

"We decided to take several collective actions within the next few days ...to meet  members of the diplomatic community in Sri Lanka, to meet the UN Resident Representative in Sri Lanka and we will also meet Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – the world’s second largest inter-governmental organisation after the UN" said the Leader of ACMC Rishad Bathiudeen MP yesterday (7 June) in Colombo.

Bathiudeen MP, accompanied by MPs and members of his party, was addressing the media after he visited the Police HQ in Colombo to lodge his complaints with the IGP.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is the collective voice of the Muslim world. OIC has membership of 57 countries in four continents and works to protect the interests of Muslims across the world.

"MP Wimal Weerawansa has been irresponsibly and falsely accusing me and is creating an inter-ethnic issue by his actions. His conspiratorial accusations are divisive and creating ethnic hatred by their very nature" said Bathiudeen MP.

"Today I complained to the IGP against this, calling for an immediate inquiry and legal action by Police. We had no dealings with terrorist Zahran. I never met Zahran. I never saw him. Therefore, MP Weerawansa’s allegations that Zahran used vehicles belonging to SATHOSA, which was under me, for his terrorist activities, is totally false. It is also irresponsible. Also SB Dissanayake is exacting political revenge from me now since I did not extend my support to them during the 52-day coup in October 2018. Today, we also lodged a complaint against Dissanayake MP for the false accusations he is making against me and his malicious propaganda. We Muslims have coexisted with all other ethnic groups of Sri Lanka and we never supported ISIS or any form of terrorism. Therefore, statements by Weerawansa and Dissanayake MPs are creating a new rift in our country where Muslims were attacked in places like Minuwangoda and Kuliyapitiya by some other terrorists.

"Muslim religious leaders, political leaders and Muslims in areas such as Sainthamarudu extended their fullest support to wipe out terrorists as well. We are also of the firm belief that ISIS terrorism should be wiped out from Sri Lanka. At a time we are trying to voice this consensus and helping to eradicate terrorists, it is very sad that such allegations are levelled at us by these MPs, and therefore we have filed our complaint today. Muslim Ministers did not step down just because the Opposition asked us to do so; we did so out of out of our concern for the country. We respect the call by Most Ven Mahanayakes to former Muslim Ministers to re-join the government portfolios and see it as a slap on extremists. We met yesterday  and decided to take several collective actions within the next few days. We will meet Most Ven Mahanayakes, the Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, Leaders of Political Parties including the JVP and TNA and other leaders –Mona Ganesan, Radhakrishnan, Digambaram, all diplomatic members in Sri Lanka, UN Resident Representative in Sri Lanka, and we will even go and meet Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) –world’s second largest inter-governmental organization after the UN."

Unsubstantiated claims Muslim doctor sterilized women raise tensions in Sri Lanka

A general view of a hospital where women wait to make statements and complains against Muslim doctor Segu Shihabdeen Mohamed Shafi, who was arrested after accusations of secretly sterilising Buddhist women during their caesarean deliveries inside a hospital in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka May 31, 2019. Picture taken May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

Alexandra Ulmer, Omar Rajarathnam-JUNE 6, 2019

KURUNEGALA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - On May 23 Sri Lankan newspaper Divaina, known for its nationalist stance, published a front page article alleging a Muslim doctor had secretly sterilized 4,000 Sinhala Buddhist women after caesarean deliveries.

The doctor, who was not identified in the article, was also described as a member of the National Thowheed Jamath, one of two local Islamist groups blamed for bombings that killed more than 250 people in hotels and churches on Easter Sunday.

Reuters has no independent evidence to support these claims.

The article was produced roughly a week after Buddhist mobs in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka had destroyed Muslim homes, stores and mosques in rioting triggered by the coordinated bombings in the capital Colombo and two other towns.

Divaina’s editor-in-chief, Anura Solomons, told Reuters the paper’s story was based on police and hospital sources, whom he said he could not identify.

Allegations a Muslim doctor might be forcibly sterilizing Buddhists are particularly incendiary on an island where hardliners within the Buddhist majority have accused Muslims of seeking to use a higher birth rate to spread their influence.

Two days later, a doctor, Segu Shihabdeen Mohamed Shafi, was arrested. Police said he was accused of acquiring properties with money of a suspicious origin. Police are also probing the sterilization claims and have called on any potentially affected women to come forward.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera told Reuters Shafi was charged under a money laundering act, but declined to provide further information on the financial charges he faced or the sterilization claims.

Shafi’s lawyer, Faris Saly, said the probe was flawed because the authorities did not call for evidence of sterilizations until after Shafi’s arrest, adding that all the allegations were unsubstantiated.

Shafi is a prominent physician in the province’s Buddhist heartland of Kurunegala, a district with a high concentration of army personnel and the constituency of nationalist ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, now the leader of the opposition.

The case has further raised the temperature in the area, with monks from the majority Sinhala Buddhist community protesting against Shafi in front of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital where he works.

“If these allegations are proven, it will show that they want to destroy the Sinhala race,” said Pradeep Kumar, a 38-year-old driver waiting in a crowded hospital hallway as his wife lodged a statement detailing how Shafi had delivered their daughter by C-section 11 years ago.

He added the couple were concerned after hearing about the case as they had been trying unsuccessfully to have a second child for six years.

FAMILY SAYS ALLEGATIONS FALSE

Shafi’s family said he was being framed.

“He is being targeted because of political problems and jealousy. I cannot exactly tell who it is, but there is a group,” said his wife Fathima Imara, 43, a kidney doctor at the same hospital.

In an interview, Imara described her husband as a devout Muslim and caring physician. He has not been a member of a militant group, she said.

Shafi was also a smart investor, she said, using earnings from his hospital work and a family-owned medical testing center to amass stakes in some 10 properties.

It would be impossible to surreptitiously block women’s fallopian tubes during caesarean sections, when a half-dozen staff members were on hand, she added. The hospital’s director, Dr A.M.S. Weerabandara declined Reuters’ request to interview Shafi’s direct colleagues, saying they were busy.
Meanwhile, Imara has stopped working and pulled their three children from school. She said her husband, whom she visited at the Colombo Criminal Investigation Department on Saturday, was being treated well, but that his mood was dark.

“From time to time, he is crying,” said Imara.

Weerabandara said the hospital started investigating the allegations of mass sterilizations following media reports.

Slideshow (6 Images)

More than 600 women have lodged statements about Shafi, that hospital authorities refer to as “complaints,” since the accusations were made public. Several told Reuters they simply wanted to be checked.

“I saw Shafi was arrested and people were complaining so I thought I would also,” said homemaker Amali Konara, 32, whose son Shafi was delivered by C-section in March.

Weerabandara said the women who have come forward had not been medically examined yet because the hospital was still receiving statements. He was unable to provide a timeline for the testing, which he said was complicated and required planning.

POLITICAL UNDERTONES?

The newspaper article was amplified on the day it was published when a pharmacology professor in North Central Province, Channa Jayasumana, wrote about the allegations of Buddhist women being sterilized without their knowledge in a Facebook post alongside a picture of Shafi - the first time he was publicly linked to the claims, his wife said.

Jayasumana told Reuters he spoke to 20 doctors who identified the doctor mentioned in Divaina as Shafi. Jayasumana declined to provide the doctors’ contact details but said he passed on their information to police.

The post, which was shared more than 1,200 times, had a photo of an article in which Shafi said he had performed some 8,000 caesarean sections in his career. The post also highlighted that Shafi had stood for office for a Muslim party.

Shafi did unsuccessfully run in a 2015 parliamentary election with All Ceylon Makkal Congress, a Muslim party allied with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party.

Jayasumana told Reuters he was a health policy advisor to the party of former President Rajapaksa, who is a rival of Wickremesinghe. But Jayasumana, a professor at the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, stressed Shafi’s case was not political.

Rajapaksa, the local MP, has called on authorities to compensate potential victims.

Hilmy Ahmed, vice president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, said the Shafi accusations were largely “stage-managed” by Rajapaksa supporters to create anger at the government ahead of this year’s presidential election. He was not able to provide evidence to back his statement.

Rajapaksa rejected the accusations, stressing that complainants were speaking out independently.

Neither Wickremesinghe nor President Maithripala Sirisena have publicly spoken about the case, which has provoked a media storm in Sri Lanka. They declined to comment for this article.

Learn lessons from Sri Lanka attack to prevent future attacks

Saturday, 8 June 2019

‘Israel never hesitated to share intelligence with the

relevant authority’ – Schweitzer
Yoram Schweitzer is a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an Israeli think tank. Before he joined the INSS, he was a researcher and head of Educational Curriculum at the International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT) at the Inter Disciplinary Center in Herzliya.

He has specialised on internationalisation of suicide terrorism; Schweitzer’s writings include ‘An Expected Surprise; The September 11th Attack and its Ramifications; Al Qaeda and the Internationalization of Suicide Terrorism; and editing and contributing to ‘Female Suicide Bombers: Dying for Equality’.

Recently, I had an opportunity to catch up with Schweitzer and listen to his views on global terrorism, counter-terrorism, importance of intelligence, and Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka.

While denying the recent press reports that Mossad had foreknowledge on the September 11 attacks by Al-Qaeda in the United States of America, he says, “As a former intelligence officer, I could assure you that we never hesitate to share the information and prevent any sort of adversaries, not only against the friendly nations, but also other state parties. Mossad did not have any foreknowledge on the September 11 attack.”

“Manufactured lies by enemies,” he added.

Schweitzer formerly served as Chief of the Israel Defence Force’s Military Intelligence Division’s Foreign Terrorism Section, and private consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel. With extensive experiences in counterterrorism, Schweitzer demonstrates his views on Salafi Jihadi terrorism, Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, and how Israel could support in eradicating Jihadi terrorism.

While commenting on the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka he says, “Vulnerable communities can be easily infected by the germs and spread the terrorist ideologies than others. If you look at the background of the ringleader and his motive behind the attack, it demonstrates the vulnerability of this community.”

“The military defeat of the Islamic State does not herald the destruction of the organisation, or the end of its activity – quite the opposite. The Salafi jihadist ideology and the modus operandi represented by the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, and their affiliates continue to inspire terrorists, whether they are directly or indirectly linked to them, or see them as a model for imitation,” he said, while quoting his recent analysis on terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka.

The “attack demonstrated anew that the lack of effective cooperation and intelligence sharing between the intelligence, security, and enforcement agencies is a central factor in the success of terror groups to carry out their plans,” Schweitzer observed.

“These details and the lessons of bombings in Colombo, if properly learned, will help prevent or obstruct future terror plans of the Islamic State and its supporters – plans that are expected to challenge many countries in the years to come,” he said.

Meanwhile, answering why the terrorists targeted Sri Lanka although it doesn’t have any political impact, he said, “This is how the Salafi jihadist terrorism strikes. Terrorising society and targeting anywhere vulnerable, and killing as much possible, are the aim of these terrorists.”

Meanwhile, responding to the allegations against State parties that are targeting civilians in warfare, Schweitzer is confident that not a single State which is bound by the law of war and ratified international law purposely targets unarmed civilians.

“There are a few fatal incidents, but not a single law-abiding government purposely targets civilians in warfare, but terrorists’ prime target is unarmed civilians. No matter what ethnicity or what religious belief you follow, terrorists will eliminate you to propagate social fear and attract attention,” he said.

“Countries ruled by dictators are different scenarios,” he added.

Challenges are ahead: “Israel is helping to eliminate Salafi jihadist terrorism, and we will always share intelligence with the State parties to support counter-terrorism. Most importantly, intelligence gathering, analysis, and sharing with the correct authority is a need of the hour. We have engaged via third parties or directly with countries to fulfil this need. I have done this before and I’m confident Israel is always standing with the state, not with terrorists,” Schweitzer further said. 

Why Muslims are gelling during a crisis

6 June 2019 

If Ven. Gnanasara Thera boasted about priests in the island uniting in the face of meeting the challenge of extremists, he only has to look just a little far ahead to see another group working in similar solidarity. The Muslim politicians in Sri Lanka have come together in a move to protect their race and for this purpose they have tendered their resignations as state and Cabinet ministers.

Muslims are largely traders and are a well-to-do community in the island. But after the ‘April 21 massacre’ their businesses have been hit badly because the majority Sinhalese customers shun doing business with them. This blow to them is a victory for some, but unhealthy to the country in the long-run.

The two Governors and Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, who resigned following the pressure exerted on them due to a fast by Ven.Rathana Thera, helps two things. One is that the investigations against the trio can be carried out to figure out whether they aided Muslim extremists in the country. The other is that it relieves tension in the society thereby protecting the lives of innocent Muslims.

Rauff Hakeem, one of the key individuals among this group of Muslims and the Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, has said that he wishes the investigations to be carried out by the CID and not by the parliament Select Committee appointed for the task.

President Sirisena has assured the Muslim community that those arrested would be freed soon if existing charges against them that can’t be proved

These Muslims coming together also means that two minority parties-the SLMC and the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC)- would ‘auction’ their votes given that many elections are to be held in the coming two years. The key person among those who resigned from their portfolios is Bathiudeen who heads the Ministries Industry & Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons and Co-operative Development and Vocational Training & Skills Development. This is one reasons why the Government didn’t want to support a proposed No Confidence Motion (NCM) against him. However the proposed NCM will now not be moved against Bathiudeen because he has now resigned from his ministerial portfolios.

The problem with Sinhalese parliamentarians is that they don’t think far and aren’t united. The Muslim parliamentarians coming together can form a formidable combination. In fact this is what the late lawmaker and one of the founders of the SLMC

MHM Ashraff underscored time and again. He was disgusted with Muslim politicians being lured in by the UNP and SLFP for incentives. Ashraff wanted a Muslim identity in Sri Lanka politics and created the SLMC in 1981.

Ashraff saw Muslim politics from a wide angle. His eyes went far and wide to all nooks and corners of the island. But his roaming eyes stopped in the East where he saw enough potential for a base to be built for the Muslims. In the East he saw a lot of strength for this minority community because here the Muslims comprised 35% of the population at that time. The figure could be more at present.

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• Ashraff saw Muslim politics from a wide angle
• Already Sirisena has appointed a Muslim as the Governor of the Western Province

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This is the province which Bathiudeen represents and that’s why he is so important for any political party wishing to form a government.

The Muslim minority will always prefer a major political party which accepts their culture and entertains their problems. The news that’s circulating that President Maithripala Sirisena is likely to forge ahead with the United National Front after reconciling differences with the ‘Green Party’ will have the effect of sweet music on the Muslims. This is because Sirisena is far from being a hard-liner and is considered as a politician who entertains the minorities. Already Sirisena has appointed a Muslim A.J.M Muzammil as the Governor of the Western Province. Also the minority Muslim political parties would find it easy to work with a UNP led Government because the ‘greens’ are considered to be more liberal compared to the ‘blues’ in Sri Lankan politics. For the record President Sirisena has affirmed during a recent National Ifthar ceremony held for Islam devotees at President’s House that “As long as we regard each other with hatred and suspicion there is no hope for peace in the country’.

The Muslim parliamentarians coming together can form a formidable combination. In fact this is what the late lawmaker and one of the founders of the SLMC. MHM Ashraff underscored time and again

The bottom line to all this is that the Muslims in general are pissed off with the Government authorities. They believe that they are a harassed community and the regime has done little or nothing about it. There is so much hate speech being posted on social media against Sri Lankan Muslims. Wearing the Burqa has been banned and apart from that as many as 559 Muslims are in custody for allegedly being involved in or aiding terrorist activities. President Sirisena has assured the Muslim community that those arrested would be freed soon if existing charges against them that can’t be proved.

When compared to the Sinhala voters, the Muslim voters have something to lean on during a crisis like this; the brotherhood that Islam promotes among its devotees. 

A crisis like this gels a community and the Muslims are fully aware of it. Ven.Gnanasara expressed this same sentiment during the drama when Ven.Rathana Thera staged the fast. But before even a day was up after the Thera gave up on the fast Ven.Gnanasara has accused Rathana Thera of taking prevailing issues into his hands. The firebrand monk, associated with the Bodu Bala Sena, has also blamed Rathana Thera claiming that the fast had swept main issues ailing the country under the carpet. This shows how frail unity can be whenever it is formed among whatever sections of the Sinhalese community.

The Muslim politicians don’t fear Ven.Gnanasara’s gab. If there is anything that they fear it is the law of the land. 

Our Biases (How They Guide Us)

By Kasun Kamaladasa –JUNE 5, 2019

Kasun Kamaladasa

Events that took place after the Easter bomb blasts may seem as counter intuitive/ intuitive/ rational/ irrational depending on a person’s belief. People who were killed while praying, prayed harder. Peoples traditions that seemed to instill fear on others seemed to be more strong in holding those traditions, People who spread hatred from shadows came out to spread it in broad daylight, Extremist supporters started believing in extremism even more than before, Political supporters started backing their political parties more than ever. I myself refortified my stance as a person who is strongly against institutionalized religion.

My reasons for writing this article isn’t to change those people who act with fear and prejudice, because most of them will never sit-down and read anything. This article is for those who wish to understand why we all can easily behave the same way, if we are unaware of our own biases. Especially in times we feel threatened, even knowing these biases might not be enough to guide ourselves to see clearly. However, knowing them and knowing the limitations of our primitive minds, could give us a slight hope in recovering and understanding.

Backfire effect

When our core beliefs are challenged, like God, Karma or Allah, we start believing in those even more blindly. When god allowed bombs to go out in his place of worship or when many generous and good people died tragically with no apparent Karma to deserve such a fate or how Allah would allow his name to be used to create such terror, each person of each religion would somehow justify these flaws. They will convince themselves of having a deeper understanding of their religion that no other-religious person would actually understand (only blind belief, conveniently hidden with the 2500-year-old claim “not everything can be proven”)

Sunken cost fallacy 

We all have those things that we don’t let go of, an old car, a broken down house, an ex, a depressing profession. Even though clinging on to these things cost us heavily, we cling on because of what it cost us to get to them in the first place.

That is the same reason why we hang on to our beliefs (religious or otherwise) even though sometimes we know they are bad for us, that they misguide us. We have spent our whole lives building our identity upon it, we have spent countless hours listening and learning scriptures, traditions, philosophies and narratives. We have “invested” in them. It’s not easy to let go.

Confirmation bias

When we hear a news story we agree with, we might search for the same story and we might come across many articles confirming our suspicion, erasing our doubts. But we only look for confirmation of the story, not the denials or evidence against it.

This is one of the hardest biases we encounter today. Probably, that is what politicians, astrologers and marketers use most to fool people. With the internet, the number of stories/campaigns have skyrocketed.

During the past few weeks, so many such stories were shared, a story about Putin telling Muslims to leave the country if they don’t accept “Russian traditions” (When the real story was complete opposite and Putin acknowledged the great contributions of Muslims towards Russia), a story about China being a peaceful country (Chinese people wrote the book titled Art of War, they have been involved in many wars and had rulers who killed more people than Hitler), a story about how Japanese not allowing Muslims to get Visa (again published in many Islam phobic sites but was found out to be false)  

Dunning-Kruger effect

Bertrand Rustle once said “The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt”

No wonder people who have barley read a history book in their lives have come out as History experts explaining how Islamic States were formed invading other faiths, and how governments with religious ideologies were raised. There is lot to learn from world history. Not from a single book or a single teacher but from a multitude of them and we can understand that all religions (and groups that demanded loyalty and faith, like communist parties around the world) have done their part in violent acts if/when they had such power to do so.

Read More

The Cardinal Truth

- By Mangala Samaraweera

(Lanka-e-News - 05.June.2019, 11.00PM) For as long as Sri Lanka has been an independent and sovereign nation, our people have been torn between two opposing political forces. This is the battle between the politics of unity and politics of division. To unite peoples across religious, ethnic and geographical lines requires moral courage and national vision. Unfortunately, many who have aspired to leadership roles in politics, the clergy and business have, far too often, taken the short cut of trying to gain or retain their power and influence by seeking to divide our people.

Some like the LTTE have tried to carve our country in two among ethnic and geographical lines. More recently, the radical Islamic cult of Zahran Hashim and ISIS sought to set the country on fire by igniting themselves, hundreds of innocent civilians and communities. All Sri Lankans condemn this unspeakable brutality. Our country owes the victims of these attacks an incalculable debt. Their grief is eternal, and the UNP will stand with them until the end of time.

Sadly, these terrorists are not the only forces who have succumbed to the temptation to lead Sri Lankans by dividing and not uniting. In 1983, several national leaders were guilty of, at minimum, turning a blind eye to heinous persecution of innocent Tamil civilians who were made to pay the price for crimes committed by the LTTE. During the 1989 insurrection, extremists ruthlessly killed civilians of all faiths and ethnicities. The government’s crackdown on their brutality was so heinous that none other than Mahinda Rajapaksa went to Geneva to seek international intervention to protect the human rights of Sri Lankan citizens.

In recent years, Sri Lankans have made many strides towards a more united country. For every step forward we take, the stark reality is that there will always be those whose political survival depends on dragging the country backwards and trying to divide us along sectarian lines.

It cannot be said too many times that most Tamils had nothing to do with the LTTE, most Sinhalese did not support the JVP insurrections, most Muslims abhor and denounce radicalization of their Islam, and most Catholics and other Christians are disgusted by the attempts of a few to legitimize a racist and religiously motivated witch hunt.

At the forefront of this witch hunt, attempting to hijack our criminal justice system with sectarian fairytales about forced sterilizations and terrorists lurking under every kufi, are the same men of the cloth who before 2015 led mobs to burn innocent shopkeepers alive. Standing in solidarity with this hatred are those who committed the cardinal sin of remaining silent while these same mobs attacked and set alight evangelical churches with the tacit blessing of the last regime. These laymen and clergy do not represent the vast majority of followers of their faith, who want only to live together in peace and harmony.

But there is a clear and present danger in ethnic peace and harmony. It is not a danger to the country or to its people, but a danger to certain politicians, media institutions, political movements and clergymen. In a united Sri Lanka, where Muslims don’t fear Buddhists, where Sinhalese don’t fear Tamils, and where Christians can worship in peace, they would become irrelevant.

When a political party, media organization or religious leader depends for their survival on one group of Sri Lankans becoming afraid of another, we must be wary of them. When their survival depends on highlighting what divides us and undermining what unites us, we must be wary of them. What role is there for them in a Sri Lanka in which Sinhalese women were not afraid of lurking Muslim doctors waiting to sterilize them, and instead choose their doctor without regard to religion. What role is there for them in a Sri Lanka where a Christian need not be tempted to convert to Buddhism to succeed in politics?

What role is there for them in a Sri Lanka where your religion or ethnicity does not play a role in your employment, housing or marriage prospects?

What these people do not want you to know is that in such a Sri Lanka, they would have no role. No one would vote for them. No one would worship with them. No one would advertise with them. No one would listen to them. That is why they try to frighten us. That is why they try to divide us. That is why they mercilessly and ruthlessly target anyone who would try to unite us. They don’t care what faith a person belongs to, or whom they support, so long as you are on their side.

Everyone should know how Rishard Bathurdeen earned the ire of the Podujana Peramuna and its minions among the media and the clergy. When they tried to illegally overthrow the government last October 26, they pleaded with this very same so-called terrorist Rishard Bathurdeen to join their government. They tried bribing him. They tried threatening him. But Rishard Bathurdeen refused to support an illegal government.

Mark my words. Had he supported Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament last year, there would not have been a no-confidence motion against him. He would not be called a terrorist. There would be a new target. Even today he is being cajoled to join the other side in exchange for the removal of his “terrorist label.” This is a man who served as a Cabinet Minister under them for almost a decade, who we are supposed to believe suddenly became a terrorist overnight after he stood by the UNP and by democracy.

The irony of the no-confidence motion being brought against this man is that it is being championed by Parliamentarians who clung to power for a whole month after their illegal government last year was defeated in not one, not two but three consecutive no-confidence motions. When they saw that they could not get their way, the whole country and the world watched as they tried to terrorise Parliament on 16 November 2018.

Every elected and appointed official in our country has sworn an oath to uphold and defend a Constitution that does not give power to politicians, priests or social media platforms to decide who is guilty or innocent of any crime, including terrorism. That is a sacred duty left to our judges, after a police investigation and fair trial.

In a country with such a proud tradition of justice, where all citizens were once entitled to be considered innocent until proven guilty, people including a cabinet minister have been declared guilty without evidence, and the police have literally invited public complaints against these targeted four individuals in order to find them guilty of something – anything. Racists and xenophobes have hijacked our justice system and literally turned it upside down.

If Rishard Bathurdeen or anyone else has committed a crime, there is a process for a criminal investigation to commence, for evidence against them to be presented before courts and for justice to take its course. If they are guilty, they should be punished. Especially in the current context, our police and security forces have unprecedented autonomy to investigate and prosecute anyone remotely connected to these attacks.

But never in the history of our country have people first been declared guilty by the press and in Parliament, only to thereafter have the police call for evidence that they may have committed a crime. Today the targets are Muslim leaders being accused of terrorism. Who will tomorrow’s targets be? What will they be accused of? If this becomes the new norm, no one will be safe from this kind of mob lynching.

In a way, we must sympathize with those Sri Lankans on the street who have taken the bait fed to them by their political and religious leaders and are driven to violence by fear and a carefully nurtured sense of hatred. Even those people who cursed my parents for my actions must be doing so because they have been programmed to be afraid of anyone who dared question the leaders of their tribe.

These leaders who bait and whip them into a frenzy do not deserve our sympathy. Whether they sit in Parliament, call themselves clergymen, print newspapers or use our airwaves, they know what they are doing when stir up mobs against each other. Especially at a time when our marshals, generals and admirals are appealing to us to keep the peace, it is devastating to see politicians, religious leaders and media moguls trying to incite racial and religious hatred that could drive us into another war.
I have no doubt that my parents would be proud of me for standing on principle and fighting for a united Sri Lanka. As for those who are trying to set our country on fire, it is their children, and great grandchildren who will one day be forced to reckon with and disavow their dirty deeds. No lie can live forever, and someday the whole country will see through their self-serving duplicity.

To the vast majority of Sri Lankans of all faiths, ethnicities and political orientations, it is our turn to speak up before it is too late. If you abhor terrorism, the act of using violence or the threat of violence to achieve a political objective, you must speak up. If you believe that evidence of a crime must be put before a judge by the police and prosecutors before someone can be pronounced guilty, you must speak up. If you want your children to grow up in harmony within a peaceful and united Sri Lanka, you must speak up. If you believe that extremism, whether radical Islamic extremism, radical anti-Islamic extremism, and other forms of racially charged hatred have no place in our motherland, you must speak up.

Do not try to appease extremists or seek middle ground with them. They will make use of you and then move the goalposts further to the extreme. I have often criticized Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike for reneging on the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam pact and giving in to the extremists of his day. In the end, he did not go far enough to appease them, and paid for it with his life.

Even with his abdomen shredded by bullets and with every reason to give in to hatred and vengeance, he found the courage and humanity to try and unite his country. In the truest sense of Buddhism, he appealed for his murderer to be shown compassion. “I appeal to the people of my country to be restrained and patient at this time,” said the dying Prime Minister. Those closest to him, he implored “to be calm and to face the present situation with courage and fortitude.”

I am a devout Buddhist, not because I say so, but because I believe deeply in the tenets of Buddhism and the teachings of Lord Buddha. I believe that when our Constitution calls upon our country to “give to Buddhism the foremost place” and to “foster the Buddha Sasana”, this means defending the values Lord Buddha preached, such as compassion, tolerance and peace.

At the very outset of the Dhammapada, we are told that “hatred is never appeased by hatred. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased.” This week, Muslim Ministers let by Rauf Hakim and Kabir Hashim gave life to this teaching of Lord Buddha by bravely standing in solidarity with their colleague who became the target of hate. I applaud their bravery and stand in solidarity with them.

But I believe that as the guardians of Buddhism, all Sri Lankans, especially Buddhists, have an especial and sacred duty to stand up to those who seek to preach hatred, intolerance and violence in the name of Lord Buddha.

Mangala Samaraweera M.P.
2019.06.05

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by     (2019-06-05 21:35:57)