By : A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

Sri Lanka’s Muslim community was credited in the past with a plethora of trustworthy and patriotic politicians such as Sir Macan Markar, Sir RazikFareed.Dr. Y.B.Jayah, Dr., Badiuddin Mahmoud, C.A.S.Marikkar (Sinhala Marikkar) A.C.S.Haneed, M.H.Mohamed to name a few. They always remained sternly faithful to the motherland while serving their political parties. They were not parochial or sectarian but always broad-minded.

When the father of separatism Malaysian bornS.J.V.Chelvanayagam attempted to moot the idea of separatism  in the State Council in 1931 saying that if Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) is to be granted Tamils should be given the right to self-rule in their homeland North and East as they are a superior race than Sinhalese, it was Sir Marcan Markar who vehemently opposed Chelvanayagam and told him that this country belongs to the Sinhalese and they have every right to rule this country and Muslims will be pleased to work with them.

 Sir Razik Fareed too fought and argued with Chelvanayagam on many occasions when he attempted to refer to Muslims as a Tamil speaking community just to get a numerical advantage for Tamils at the expense of Muslims.  He always sternly maintained that Muslims in Sri Lanka as a separate community with their own cultural and religious ethics entirely different from mythical beliefs and behaviors of Tamils.

It was Dr. Badiuddeen Mahmoud who took the initiative of appointing Daham Paasal teachers, teachers to teach Buddhism in government schools and Pirivena schools and Mt. A.C.S.Hameed risked his life on a peace mission to negotiate with tiger terrorists.  

The Sinhala community too highly respected the Muslims and they elected Muslims as their members of parliament defeating their own community candidates opposing the Muslim candidate.  Mr. Aboosally always got elected from a strong Sinhala majority electorate. There were 95%Sinhala voters in the Borella electorate but they always elected Mr. M.H.Mohamed as their MP except in 1970 in which he lost narrowly to LSSP’s Mrs. Kusala Abeywardene. He was one of the several Ministers of the UNP government who lost in t    his election and prominent among them was the well-known Philip Gunawardene. 

The Muslim leaders in the past vehemently opposed the Tamil separatists but the  despicable and shameless Rauf Hakeem was the first Muslim politician who went tio Kilinochchi and held discussions with the megalomaniac terrorist leader Prabhakaran, but political sources said that rather it was a listening session to Prabhakaran’s dictates.  This  lewd fellow undertook this trip on the instructions of Ranil Wickremasinghe despite all Muslims in the country hated the KTTE maniac for his massacre of over 100  Muslims who were performing night prayers ar the Kattankudi Jumma mosque, killing and maiming several hundred Muslims in Polonnaruwa and other places in the Eastern province and and expulsion of Muslims from the Northern province.  We do not know actually what happened but the LTTE released a photograph showing this fellow seated in a table opposite the maniac.

Subsequent to the meeting Hakeem told the media he profusely praising the LTTE maniac that they signed mutual cooperation and unashamedly urged the Muslim youth in the Eastern province to emulate Prabhakaran.

This was the first and the unpardonable betrayal of the Muslim community by this vendor of the Muslim community.  Thereafter he not only pawned the community for petty personal gains but also brought ignominy to the Muslim community.  Knowing the possibility of blackmailing this fellow when the budget voting was due and to force him to vote for the budget  Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathy Suriaratchi brought his concubime Mary Cooray to the parliament gallery and threatened him that his relationship with Mary Cooray will be exposed if he failed to vote in favour the budget.  Hakeem was keeping this woman, the daughter of the former Moratuwa MP, in a house somewhere in Dehiwala and had promised her to provide her an overseas employment. When she realised that this man was cheating her to get sexual lusts fulfilled one early morning she came with a can of kerosene oil, jumped over the wall of his residence in Kollupitiya and immolated herself kissing goodbye to this swindler.

Now let us come to the contemporary issues. When questioned by media personnel Hakeem has said that he does not know Zahran Hashim, the mastermind of the Easter Sunday terrorist attack and he cannot recollect meeting him ever.  However,Hakeem has been found to have had a close and intimate friendship or relationship with Zahran Hashim. He has held several meetings with him during the course time since the 2015 elections.   Several video clips of Hakeem’s discussions with this terrorist Zahran has become available and they are in several social media sites.

People all over the country have become furious seeing these video clips and demanded to arrest Hakeem and subject him to a thorough investigation. The funny thing was Hakeem was also a member of the deceptive Parliamentary Select Committee which the government appoint to mislead the public to overcome its severe criticisms on its failure to prevent the carnage despite having early warnings of its occurrence and taking action only to prevent its Catholic Ministers and MPs from attending Church on that day.  The government did not even question minister Fernando’s father who has told his son not to Church on that day as how he came to know about the impending terrorist attacks,  Now there is no use of it because the man is no more and he passed away last week,

The Daily Mirror Editorial today (25^th October, Friday) said that Hakeem is haunted by Zahran’s past. It said that the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report which gives its final findings of the Easter Sunday Bombings is viewed with raised eyebrows. This is

Picture : courtesy Daily Mirror

because the PSC consists of a member in Rauff Hakeem who is at present bombarded with allegations that he had links with the extremist terror organisation which carried out the bombings.
The reason for Hakeem coming under fire, it said, is a video that went viral showing the minister in the company of hate preacher Zaharan Hashim who masterminded the series of bomb attacks which claimed the lives of 258 people. Hakeem squashes public opinion that he had close dealings with the late Hashim; the minister defending his presence in the company of this suicide bomber and remarking that it was natural for a lawmaker to mingle with members of the public.

The video and some photographs confirming the meeting between the two has stirred a hornet’s nest in the run up to the presidential elections. Hakeem is said to be backing presidential hopeful Sajith Premadasa. In this context it is important that Hakeem clears himself of these allegations before the Presidential Elections, which are around the corner.
The editorial states that when one studies the fresh development associated with Hakeem it must be first viewed from a national interest perspective and not from a political angle. The PSC has in the report blamed the State Intelligence Services for failing to prevent the disaster, stating that prior warnings were ignored.
But secondarily Hakeem’s credibility is now at stake unless he clears himself of the allegations levelled against him. This video and pictures suffice for the opposition to start agitating. UPFA MP Dinesh Gunawardena has taken the matter up in parliament and called for a debate regarding the PSC report.  

The PSC also comprises a controversial figure in Minister Ravi Karunanayake. If citizens in this country want all members of the PSC to be clean as snow then there are question marks associated with Karunanayake being in the committee. We can remember how Karunanayake, the present Minister of Power, Energy and Business Development, being forced to resign as Foreign Minister following the allegations levelled against him. This was regarding a controversial Penthouse issue with which his name was associated. The latest regarding Karunanayake is that he has been ordered by the Colombo Court to appear before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to provide a full statement over the alleged false evidence given before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Central Bank Bond Scam.

The editorial further states that this is a nation where even the present Prime Minister was summoned before the PSC to give evidence regarding the Easter Sunday bombings. For the record, the PSC report on the Easter Sunday bombings issue has also named President Maithripala Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe among others who failed to discharge their duties to some extent. In this sense one sees a breakdown of a chain that takes responsibility from top to bottom in this present government.

Minister Rauff Hakeem yesterday rejected allegations that he had connections with the terrorists involved in the Easter Sunday attack as reported in media.

He said it was a mud-sling campaign launched by political opponents ahead of the presidential election.

This is a politically motivated conspiracy to tarnish my image and to take political advantage ahead of the presidential election. I have been in parliament as an MP for 25 years and had represented various committees in parliament. There has been no allegation against me,” he said.

Another report published in the same nrespaper yesterday (24^th October)Hakeem said he had acted impartially in the activities of the PSC on the Easter Sunday attack and had never influenced any committee member or a witness who testified before the committee.

He has accused that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna was behind this mud-slinging campaign and was trying to provoke Buddhist and Islamic people against him to obtain votes.

He has said the SLPP Batticaloa District Muslim Division Organiser M.S.M. Ziyad,  was behind these false accusations.

Clarifying the photos being shared on media  which shows Hakeem with a terrorist of the Easter Sunday attack in a hospital, he has said he only bumped into him when he visited another patient in the hospital. Questions have been asked how was it possible for him to meet this man when his visit to the hospital was to see a woman patient in a women’s ward. He has said that it was unfair to level allegations only against him and said the terrorists involved in the April 21 attack had not been identified as terrorists in 2015 and added that it was normal for politicians to meet with different people.

Meanwhile, the Island editorial of 23th October has requested for a fresh probe on the Easter carnage.

The Joint Opposition has refused to accept the PSC report on the grounds that Minister Rauff Hakeem, one of its members, has held discussions with Zahran and hence the PSC lacked credibility. One may not accuse Hakeem of promoting terrorism or having links to terrorists, but before joining the PSC, he should have revealed that he had met Zahran and held political discussions with the latter. The joint opposition has also stated that the JVP should not have been represented on the PSC, at all, because the father of two NTJ bombers was one of its National List nominees, at the last general election.

In the meantime, the Chairman of an organization called New People’s Service organization, Mawa Mahajana Seva Sanvidanaya, Rishan Mahroof has said that Rauf Has held discussions with the terrorist leader Zahran Hashim and he has video clips related to these discussions, and has called for Hakeem’s arrest immediately and question him thoroughly.  Addressing a media conference he has said he has further proof related to Hakeem’s links with the terrorists.