By A.A.M.NIZAM, MATARA

The second structural change in the life of Sri Lankan Muslims and enormous service to the community took place during the reign of the late Prime Minister Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who dearly valued cordial relationships with Middle Eastern and Muslim countries all over the world. It was in gratitude to her cordial relationship that President Nasser sent several oil shipments to Sri Lanka when western countries imposed sanctions on oil supplies to Sri Lanka following the bold step taken by her to nationalise the oil companies in Sri Lanka and establish the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. In gratitude to this friendly gesture, Mrs. Bandaranaike declared one weekƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mourning on the death of President Nasser, and his funeral proceedings were broadcast live through Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation(currently SLBC). Such a respect to President NasserƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s funeral was not accorded even in several Middle East and Muslim countries.

The late Prime Minister Mrs. Bandaranaike was the only non-Muslim world leader who severed Diplomatic relationship with Israel, for invading Arab countries and occupying their territory. Mr. J.R.Jayawardene, the UNP hierarchy and the pro-UNP press severely criticised her for taking this bold step.

When Mrs. Bandaranaike made arrangements to host the 5the Non-Aligned Summit in Sri Lanka, the UNP not only condemned her decision but also opposed it intensely. Pro-UNP media severely criticised the late Prime Minister Mrs. Bandaranaike for holding the Summit and boorishly slandered many Muslim leaders who were scheduled to attend. The Summit, however, provided the opportunity for the leaders and Heads of State of almost all Muslim countries to visit our motherland and obtain a first hand knowledge about the country, about the Muslims in this country, and also to interact with them. In spite of UNPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s criticism and vilification the Summit opened a new vista for Muslims and other Sri Lankans to find employment, particularly in the Middle East countries.

Thus began the era of foreign employment for Sri Lankans and it has now become the leading source of foreign exchange earning for Sri Lanka, and a means of alleviating poverty throughout the country. Many Muslim families in Sri Lanka live without feeling the hardships of poverty because of this step taken by Prime Minister Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. People who went for employment in the Middle East countries in the early phase would recall that the general public in the Middle East were not aware of the existence of a country called Sri Lanka and they knew Sri Lanka only as Madam Bandaranaike country.

Despite the enormous service rendered to the community by the Bandaranaike governments, Sri Lankan Muslims beguiled by the hollow promises, misled by deceitful and aggressive propaganda joined the reactionary forces and helped the western slavish dictator J.R.Jayawardene to win in the 1977 General Election.

Under the UNP governments from 1977 to 1994 Muslims faced many hardships and the UNP Ministers and MPs numbering 11 persons were utterly powerless to do anything to help the Muslims. If it was not for the Middle East employment avenue opened up by Mrs. Bandaranaike the pathetic situation Sri Lankan Muslims would have faced is horrific even to imagine it.

During this Adarmishta period of 18 years Sri Lankan Muslims living in the North and East and in the districts of Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura and Puttalam were continuously subjected to LTTE atrocities. Unable to withstand these atrocities when a delegation of Muslims led by Dr. Badi-ud-din Mahmoud met President J.R.Jayawardene, to request him to provide protection to Muslims, they were bluntly asked to meet the LTTE leadership and sort out their problems. Ultimately they were compelled to go to Chennai, South India, meet the LTTE leadership and negotiate an agreement under which LTTE promised to desist from harming the Muslims. Contrary to this agreement the atrocities continued and the UNP government completely failed to protect the lives and property of Muslims.

When J.R.Jayawardene, obliging the Americans allowed Israel to re-establish diplomatic relations, Muslim Ministers and MPs of his government went in a delegation led by Speaker Mr. Bakeer Markar to meet him and object this move they were warned that they could resign from the government if they cannot agree with his policies.

In the Eastern Province, when the atrocities of Tamil terrorist elements against the Muslims, particularly by the LTTE continued to increase and when more than 500 houses were set on fire by the LTTE in Kalmunai, Sainthamaruthu and Maruthamunai areas within two or three days and the Muslim leaders in the then ruling party failed to press the JR Jayewardene government to act, in order to bring peace to the area, Mr. Ashraff converted the SLMC, a voluntary social organization based in the Eastern Province into a political party in November 1986, only to use it as a tool to fight against the terrorist atrocities and against the UNP governmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s complete neglect of Muslims.

President Mahinda Rajapakse (then Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) writing a highly commendable appreciation on Mr. Ashroff to Daily News on 24.09.2000, praised Mr. Ashroff for saving the Muslim youth from terrorist conscriptions and preventing the spread of war to our doorstep.

When Rajiv-JR agreement was signed in 1987, following the Parippu Invasion, interests of the Muslims in the North and East were totally ignored and they were left to the mercy of the Indian Peace Keeping Force who desecrated Muslim mosques and shrines by entering these holy places wearing boots and also taking dogs into the premises.

The terrorist LTTE who wanted to chase the Muslims out of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, and make the areas a mono-ethnic territory, started massacring Muslims in the Eastern Province. These massacres which started in the latter part of the J.R.Jayawardene government increased to a horrendous level during the Premadasa administration. In the Kattankudy massacre carried out on 3rd August 1990, Muslims who were performing Isha Prayers were sprayed with bullets and 103 Muslims got killed on the sport and 71 were injured. Premadasa government which was having a honeymoon with the tiger terrorists feasting them at Hilton Hotel, Colombo did not take any action against these massacres or provide adequate protection to the Muslims. Even the families and the widows of the dead were not compensated. Over 550 Muslims were killed in this manner between the period from 05.03.1988 to 15.10.1992 the next major massacre being the murder of 171 persons and

injuring 83 persons in Palliyagodella on 15.10.1992. These massacres ceased only after the defeat of the UNP and steps taken by Col. Anuruddha Ratwatte to provide security cover to border villages. The list of Muslim massacres carried out by the terrorist LTTE in the Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Polonnaruwa districts, without any hindrance from the UNP governments, is attached.

In October 1990 Muslims of all the five districts of the Northern Province, Mannar, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, were given notice by the LTTE ordering them to leave the Northern Province within 24 hours. The UNP government of President Premadasa did not take any preventive action to protect these Muslims amounting to nearly 100,000 persons. Ultimately the LTTE forcibly chased them out from their traditional habitats where they used to live for centuries. In this worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s worst ethnic cleansing episode the victimised Muslims were not allowed to take any of their belongings except for whatever the dress they were wearing at that time. Even the ear-rings worn by women and children were forcibly removed. A father who had a child of less than one year explaining the ordeal they underwent told a newspaper that the tiger terrorists did not even allow him to take the partly used milk food packet he was carrying to feed his baby.

The UNP government of President Premadasa, in which the anti-Muslim UNP leader Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe was a top ranking Minister, did not care to provide some decent shelters to these victimised Muslims. They were forced to put up their own shelters in the coconut lands in places like Ismail Puram, Kalpitty, Palavi, Madurankuliya etc, in the Puttalam District, and several other areas in Kurunegala and Anuradhapura districts, and languish as refugees in their own country living in cadjan huts without any basic amenity for almost two decades. Only now after the defeat of the terrorist maniacs they are being resettled in their original habitats, rightly fulfilling a pledge given in the Mahindana Chintanaya. In the midst of his busy programmes President Mahinda Rajapakse was so magnanimous recently in meeting these refugees who were returning to resettle in Mannar and look into the problems they face and wish them every success and happiness in their

new life. President Rajapakse has promised to resettle them by end of May.

To be continuedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦