RIYADH: The first batch of Sri Lankan pilgrims arrived at the Haj Terminal in Jeddah on Thursday evening. Ambassador Ahmed A. Jawad, Consul General Adam Bawa Uthumalebbe and officials from the Lankan consulate in Jeddah received them.

It was President Mahinda Rajapaksa who ensured of the safety of the Muslims living in the Eastern Province and if he did not become the President in 2005 the fate of the Eastern province Muslims would have been similar to what happened to the Muslims who lived for centuries in the Northern Province districts.

This was stated by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Skillked Development Mr. Dallas Alahapperuma addressing a meeting in Matara Sunday. Mr. Alahapperuma said he accompanied Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa when he went to Akkaraipattu in October 2005 as a Presidential Candidate and at the meeting he addressed Mr. Rajapaksa gave only one promise to the Eastern Province Muslims and that was that he would never allow the terrorists to subjugate the Eastern province Muslims and he would make every step to ensure the safety of the Muslims, from the megalomaniac Prabhakaran and his terrorist forces.

The Minister reminded that before Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa became President the Muslims were subjected to inhuman extortions by the terrorists and they forcibly made them destitute by grabbing their properties and extorting huge sums from the wealthy Muslims in the Eastern province, and the UNP government of Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe did not take any measure to protect these harassed Muslims. He said that if Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa did not become President in November, 2005 the Muslims in the Eastern Province would have been forcibly evicted from the Province as it was done in the North by the terrorists with a short notice of 24 hours and allowing them only to take a few items of personal belonging in a polythene bag forcing them to settle down in Puttalam and Eastern Province Muslims would have got the option of coming to places like Weligama, and Galle in the Southern Province.

Mr. Alahapperuma said that it was with the objective of carrying out this forcible eviction the terrorists attacked places like Muttur and Sampur forcing them to flee to the nearby Sinhala villages such as Kantale and closed the Mavil Aru anicut denying water for the people. He said at this stage the President took the irreversible decisions for our security forces to attack the terrorists and get the Mavil Aru reopened. The Minister reminded that the UNP leader Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe opposed the direct fight with the terrorists, saying that it was meaningless to wage a war for the simple matter of getting water and wanted the government to hold talks with the terrorists without sacrificing the lives of the security forces. He said that the UNP leader was not concerned at all about the hardships the people had to face by the terrorist action and wanted only to protect the terrorists. He said that not only the Mavil Aru operation was carried out until the liberation of the whole Eastern province but the Muslims forced to flee from Muttur and adjoin areas were resettled in their original places within a short period of 40 days.

Referring to the Municipal Council elections in Matara, Mr. Alahapperuma said that UNP in the face of imminent defeat in the Matara Municipal Council has resorted to a mud campaign and espousing communal hatred within the Municipal Council area. He urged the UNP and those who carry out the UNP campaign in Matara to enter into clean politics and stop espousing communal hatred that could damage the peaceful amity existing between the Sinhala and Muslim communities since a long time. He said that it is a significant sign of this amity that the Sinhala majority Weligama Urban Council elected Mr. Mohammed, who is present at the stage as the Chairman of the Weligama Urban Council with over 6,000 preferential votes instead of resorting to communal politics and electing a Sinhala candidate for the Chairman’s post. He further said that it is a welcome sign about strengthening the Sinhala/Muslim unity in Matara to find a large crowd of Muslim women being present at the meeting despite UNP’s communal campaign.

Addressing the meeting the Deputy Minister of Road Development Mr. Nirmala Kotelawala said that Matara, being the birth place of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has a special preference and blessing from the President and plans have been drawn up to develop the City of Matara as one of the best cities in Sri Lanka. He said that a project of carpeting 14 by roads in Matara at a cost of Rs. 140 Million was launched Sunday morning as a part of this development plan.

The Parliamentarian of Matara district and the Chief SLFP Organisor of the Matara electorate Mr. Sanath Jayasuriya said that Matara has all the blessings of the President to develop the City as one of the best cities in the country and urged the people not to get misled by the communal politics of the UNP and rally round the candidates of the United People’s Freedom Alliance and ensure the historical victory for the UPFA that is imminent.

The Chairman of the Weligama Urban Council Mr. M.Mohamed, Provincial Councillors Mr. Anura Gunaratne, and Mr. Sarath Yapa Abeywardene, and the UPFA candidate Mr. Mohamed Zafar also addressed this meeting which was attended by a large crowd.

Asian Tribune

Saudi Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Abdul Aziz Al-Jammaz symbolically hands over the keys of 500 houses to Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a ceremony held at the Temple Trees in Colombo on Thursday. (AN photo)

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia handed over the keys of 500 houses of King Abdullah City for Sri Lanka’s tsunami victims, Saudi Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Abdul Aziz Al-Jammaz told Arab News from Colombo on Saturday.

A ferry service from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka, which was suspended 28 years ago, resumed on Monday.

The sea route was thrown open as a private cruise-liner left Thoothukudi in south Tamil Nadu on its maiden voyage to Colombo. The decision to resume the service was taken during the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India in June 2010.

Union shipping minister G. K. Vasan flagged off the service, launched after a delay of over a decade. This is expected to boost the sagging tourism industry in the southern districts of the state.

MV Scotia Prince, a luxury vessel operated by Flemingo Liners, set sail with more than 200 passengers on its inaugural journey. It will cover the 450 mile distance in 12 to 16 hours, depending upon weather conditions. The ship would sail twice a week.

Earlier, there were two ferry services to the island nation. While one was from Chennai to Mannar, the other connected Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar.

The service from Chennai was discontinued as Colombo lost interest in the sea link in the aftermath of the 1983 ethnic cleansing of Tamils. The other one had to be given up earlier after the tiny islet was washed away in the 1964 cyclone. Then, Thoothukudi port did not have the required depth to dock large vessels.

The resumption of the service has spurred the demand to revive ties with the Tamil-speaking north- eastern part of the island nation.

"To increase people-to-people contact, we need a ferry service between Point Pedro or Kankesanthurai and Chennai. It would be more beneficial," Col. R. Hariharan, who retired as the intelligence chief of the IPKF operations in Lanka, said.

Old timers still recall the steamer and ferry service which provided cheap connectivity between the two nations. Further, the boatmail train service from Talaimannar to Colombo offered excellent connectivity to the tourists.

The ship's ticket prices range from Rs 2,243 per single person in economy class to Rs 14,663 (for three persons) in first class cabin, the ship's agents said.

- With agency inputs

Once again talks are underway to deal with minority issues which had turned this paradise island, a proud role model for the third world during independence in 1948, into Asia’s worst killing field.

However, despite all destruction and killings, even today, talks are confined to issues facing the Tamils, ignoring the plight of the Muslims, the third largest community living scattered all over the island. This indicates even today the minority issue is not clearly understood.

The defeat of the LTTE has provided a rare chance to solve the ethnic problem in a peaceful, give-and-take and live-and-let-live atmosphere. Such a move will certainly help remove deep-seated suspicion, enmity and bitterness and bring about unity. The ordinary Tamils are not asking what the LTTE had demanded while the Muslims, who suffered immensely due to the ethnic war and shunned violence, are seeking a dignified peaceful solution to their legitimate grievances.

The minorities seek equal rights and equal opportunities to live in dignity and safety. These are legitimate demands in a country where all communities once lived in peace and harmony until communal politics, both in the south and the north raised its ugly head, leading to the pathetic state where we find ourselves in today. One of the obstacles is hard line politics.

Veteran leftist politician and National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara in the course of his Bakeer Markar Memorial Lecture last year said:

“In the aftermath of the defeat of the LTTE, the majority community is entrusted with a great responsibility to address the grievances of the minorities. There are two groups of people in the majority community. One group which is, the large majority, wanted to settle the minority problem and restore peace and harmony. The other group, though a minority, claims that this country should remain a pure Sinhala Buddhist nation and the minorities should learn to live with this reality”.

A few years ago, there were even suggestions that Tamils should go to South India and the Muslims to Saudi Arabia. Such hard line positions are a recipe for disaster. The people who advocate such ideologies have learnt no lesson from the three decades of war which killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, cost a staggering Rs 23 trillion, and caused economic destruction, untold misery and sufferings to all alike.

We cannot deny the reality that Sri Lanka is a multi-religious, multiracial, multi-language and multicultural society. However, what’s past is past and whatever happened had happened. The need of the hour is to learn lessons from past mistakes and explore every possible avenue to undo the damage to avoid yet another calamity which the country cannot afford.

Under the circumstances, a comprehensive package genuinely addressing minority grievances will certainly end outside interference in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs, restore its dignity and even weaken the pro-LTTE elements of the Tamil diaspora. The delay in coming out with such a package has created opportunities for external elements — of course there are plenty of them — to interfere and even preach on good governance. For example India, responsible for much of Sri Lanka’s misery and suffering, is insisting on the implementation of 13th Amendment as if it is a divine document.

In fact, more than the Tamil issue, India is keen on opening the Sri Lankan market for Indian big businesses under its long entrenched policy of political subjugation through economic expansion.
Time and again, Indian leaders from Congress Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to ministers and top government officials have emphasized on the grievances of Tamils.

However they all conveniently ignore the rights of the other minority — the Muslims. Perhaps this stems from the Indian governments’ policy of ignoring around 160 million dehumanized, terrorized and brutalized Indian Muslims. Indian interference is something which Sri Lanka has brought upon itself.

India and Sri Lanka maintained excellent relations during the time of Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Srima Bandaranaike. Those were the days when Sri Lanka’s voice was highly respected at international level, especially at Third World forums. The two countries peacefully sorted out disputes over Kachchativu and the Indian plantation workers’ citizenship issue. The relationship was so warm that there were even talks that Mrs. Bandaranaike’s proposal to declare the Indian Ocean a Zone of Peace in the early 1970s was an Indian proposal spearheaded by Sri Lanka.

These glowing relations were shattered by late President J.R. Jayewardene whose policies put the two countries at unnecessary loggerheads. To prick Jayewardene’s pride, Mrs. Gandhi, on return to power in 1979, financed, armed and trained Tamil militants.

What happened subsequently is common knowledge. The country was devastated by an unwanted ethnic war which led to a situation where India dictated terms to Sri Lanka, once an independent country. It is worth mentioning that politicians who created the ethnic havoc did not pay the price. Instead some of them flourished while innocent people paid for it with their lives while the country suffered.

In the midst, the Tamil National Alliance spokesman Suresh Premachandran stated the TNA planned to request Russia and China to urge the Sri Lankan government to work out a lasting political solution to the national question. This potentially devastating move may further internationalize the country’s minority issue.

Meanwhile the Muslim community today is not represented by any party or group as the Muslim political leadership has virtually collapsed. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, a by product of communal politics, came with the slogan of unity. However, almost a quarter century later today the SLMC, divided into numerous splinter groups and absorbed individually and collectively by the government, has ended up like the Greek Tragedy. Muslim parliamentarians toe the government’s line and do not wish to take up issues faced by the community. Thus the Muslim community is like a ship without a captain in a stormy sea. Now that almost all Muslim parliamentarians are with the government what is preventing them from getting together and jointly seeking to enter the talks as equal partners?

Meanwhile Premachandran’s statement to the Daily Mirror Tamil online edition that the SLMC can talk to the TNA leadership, rather than participating in the current talks between the government and the TNA, not only is ridiculous but insults the Muslim community. The audacity to make such a remark is shocking. It shows that the TNA’s mindset is no different from that of the LTTE. This is a clear indication why the 13th Amendment cannot be delivered.

The home truth is that the Muslims are a separate ethnic community and memories of the past few decades remain fresh in their minds. It is the duty and obligation of the government to pay heed to the grievances of Muslims whose steadfast refusal to support the LTTE prevented the division of the country. Muslims paid a heavy price with their lives and property. They underwent ethnic cleansing in the North for not siding with LTTE in its effort to divide the country.

Where were the Tamil parliamentarians, civil society and the Tamil community as a whole then? Unfortunately this fact has been conveniently forgotten by all.

The country is missing the golden opportunity to solve the burning minority issue and lay the foundation for a genuinely democratic and liberal society. Isn’t it time that we sort out the minority issue, with a comprehensive solution which will address the problems of all ethnic and religious groups and help develop the nation?

President fetes best O-L students

Chaminda PERERA

The government yesterday recognized over 134 students who performed outstandingly at the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination last year. These students received certificates and gift packs including a pass book with a deposit of Rs 5,000 from President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat.

The Principals and teachers of the respective schools were also present.

W H Yashoda Vithanage of Visakha Vidyalaya was placed all island first place at the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination last year while R Mohammed Atilf of Maliyadeva Vidyalaya, Kurunegala was placed all island second place.

Vithanage who became all island first lauded President Rajapaksa for recognizing the exceptional performances of students who sat for the G.C.E. O/L students last year.

She said that recognizing the outstanding performance of the students will help encourage them to ascend greater heights in the field of education.

Vithanage noted that the students are blessed with a Head of State who focus on the improvement of the education sector in the country.

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that 62 percent of students who sat for the G.C.E Ordinary Level examination last year qualified for the Advanced Level compared to the number of students who qualified for Advanced Level in 2006.

The Minister said that 62 percent of students passed mathematics last year compared to 42 percent recorded in 2006 due to the Government’s immense focus on the improvement of education sector.

Over 47 percent of students passed English subjects last year as against 36 percent recorded in 2006. The Minister said the

Government declared year 2009 as the year of English and Information Technology and launched a number of programs to improve English knowledge among the school students.

By Ustad Syed Ali, 
Founder Member, Researcher and Trainer-Discover Islam, Bahrain