By A.A.M.NIZAM, MATARA

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Part III By A.A.M.NIZAM, MATARA The continuous and brutal murder of Iraqi population by the United States and its allies are known even to a Muslim child in this country and need no elaboration. The whole world sans Western countries condemned these massacres.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is indeed shame not only for Sri Lankan Muslims but for Sri Lankans as a whole to have a person to lead the main opposition party who went to the United Nations and justified the massacres of Iraqis by the Bush Administration. Muslims in the Eastern Province experienced the worst atrocities from the tiger terrorists during the Ranil Wickremasinghe government from 2001 to 2003.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The infamous agreement signed by Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe with the megalomaniac terrorist leader Prabhakaran without any concern for the majority population of Muslims in the Eastern Province, and handing over a vast extent of land areas of the Eastern Province and the Northern Province including the districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, made life of Muslims in the Eastern Province nightmarish.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The complete transfer of government powers to tiger terrorists under this wicked agreement forced Muslims to become slavish to terrorist diktats.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Cultivable lands of the Muslims were forcibly taken over, rich Muslims were forced to pay huge amounts as extortions, to pay taxes on all earnings, to provide huge portions of their produce or fish and many other intolerable conditions were imposed on Muslims forcing many of them to sell whatever the property or wealth they had and flee to places like Dehiwela, Mt. Lavinia and other parts of the country.

Muslim youth were harassed and subjected to horrendous mistreatment by the terrorists on the strength of power vested on them by Ranil WickrremasingheƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s treacherous agreement.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The terrorists in order to gain control of the strategic positions in Muttur and its environs attacked the Muslims in Muttur town which resulted in clashes between the terrorists and the Muslims in the Muttur and Vlachcheenai areas during the Ranil Wickremasinhe government. 27 Muslims were killed and several millions worth of Muslim properties were torched. Rauf Hakeem being a powerful Minister of the government did not take any action either to prevent these clashes, to condemn the terrorist atrocities, to protect the Muslims or at least demand compensation to the victims or victimized families.

Representations made by Eastern Province Muslims to the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe against these terrorist atrocities failed to provide solutions since Ranil valued his new found relationship with the terrorist outfit more important than the victimized Eastern Muslims. Racist Hakeem failed to support a No Confidence Motion against the Defense Minister Tilak Marapana brought in the Parliament by the SLFP led opposition, on account of his failure to prevent terrorist atrocities in the East against the Muslims.

When terrorist atrocities against the Eastern Province Muslims became unbearable and reached its zenith and pressure mounted on the government, Ranil Wickremasinghe without exercising his constitutional authority to quell these atrocities directed Hakeem to meet the terrorist leader and sort out the problems as Ranil Wickremasinghe knew that his machan Terrorist leader will buy over this man and make him a dutiful obliging puppet. A bogus agreement was signed between the two individuals and before long it was disowned and snubbed by the terrorist Tamilselvan and others.

How can one expect this hypocrite to represent and safeguard the Muslim community since he was a person who addressing a public rally in Kalmunai during this period urged the Muslim youth to carefully and diligently study the mindset of Prabhakaran, emulate him and mould themselves taking him as an idol.

Mr. Ashroff who realised the hazardous nature the SLMC could lead the Muslim on the basis of communal politics, few months prior to his untimely death, formed the political party National Unity Alliance incorporating all segments of the Sri Lankan polity, with Ven. Watareka Vajira Thero as its Chairman.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The late Mr.Ashraff also vowed that as long as Ranil Wickremesinghe is the driver, he would never get into the UNP vehicle. Unfortunately, the racist Rauf Hakeem who hijacked the SLMC upon Mr. AshroffƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s death has become the worst communalist in this country betraying the Muslim community, destroying the national harmony that existed for several centuries, and becoming a henchman of the UNP, the very adversary of the community that prompted the need to form SLMC as a political party.

During the race to 2005 Presidential Election the treacherous UNP and the racist SLMC made a huge effort to portray Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse as a Sinhala racist and claimed that if voted to power he would impose a ban on Azan calling, pilgrimages to Mecca, slaughtering cows and so on.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It was made to look like Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse as a worst enemy of Muslims than the despicable George Bush who was hailed as a great person by Ranil Wickrremasinghe. These hypocrites were deliberately attempting to hide the fact that Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse had always been a dear friend of the Muslims who closely associated many Muslims in the South and other parts of the country.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He has functioned as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka-Palestine Friendship Association from its inception and this Association was formed by him when others (the Western puppets) dared even to mention the name of Palestine. Also, President Mahinda Rajapakse was a close personal friend of Palestinian leader late Mr. Yassir Arafat and he was one of the world leaders who attended the funeral of Mr. Yassir Arafat.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is in gratification for his friendship, and long service to the cause of the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Government named a major highway in Palestine as President Mahinda Rasjapakse Highway, the only Highway named after a Sri Lankan in the whole world.

Another fact they were deliberately trying to hide was that it was the SLFP led government of Mr. S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike that made possible to relay Azan call using loudspeakers through the country. Surpassing this gesture, and nullifying the bogus allegation made by the UNP/SLMC hypocrites President Rajapakse had made Azan call to be relayed five times a day through the SLBC commercial service and through Lakhanda Radio. Every year the President has made special effort to get the quota of visas issued for Haj by the Saudi Arabian government to Sri Lanka increased.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Also, without any restriction whatsoever, Muslims are being allowed to travel to Mecca for performing the Umrah pilgrimage and finding Sri Lankan Muslims proceeding for Umrah pilgrimage is a common sight in all flights bound to Saudi Arabia, and Middle East. Even the ban on cattle slaughter they predicted was a blatant lie which has boomeranged on them. The treacherous UNP leadership and their associates of bankrupt politicians attempting to rise from their political dustbins, the dollar slavish NGO vultures, and the perfidious elements in the media and other clandestine outfits nurtured and sustained by reactionary western nations and terrorist Tamil diaspora are making every attempt to mislead the masses against this patriotic government and freeze its people friendly development activities. To be continued ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦