{"id":95945,"date":"2019-12-02T16:18:05","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T23:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=95945"},"modified":"2019-12-02T16:18:05","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T23:18:05","slug":"adding-insult-to-injury-a-response-to-crooked-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/12\/02\/adding-insult-to-injury-a-response-to-crooked-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"Adding insult to injury: A response to crooked advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rohana R. Wasala Courtesy The Island<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Latheef \nFarook, as usual, goes off on a tangent when writing about the alleged \u2018plight\u2019 \nof the Muslim minority vis-\u00e0-vis  \nthe Sinhalese Buddhist majority (Muslims expect positive overtures from \nPresident\u2019\u2019\/The Island\/November 27, 2019). The title of the piece implies that \nthe Muslims are experiencing a sense of alienation from the newly elected \npresident, for which he is somehow responsible and must make amends, according \nto the writer. But this is a baseless assumption. Has the new president said or \ndone anything that causes Muslims to put themselves on their guard against him? \nNo, he has neither said nor done anything like that. Instead, during his \ncampaign, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa made a special appeal to the Muslim and Tamil \nminority communities to join with the patriotic nonracist mainstream for \nelecting him the president so he could undertake the nation building task. The \npolarized pattern in the voting seen in the polls results shows that both \ncommunities did not respond positively to his cogent appeal for support to the \ndegree he expected, as he frankly conceded after winning the election with a \nmajority of over 1.3 million votes. He said that he knew that he could win by \nrelying on Sinhalese votes alone, but that he wanted the Tamil and Muslim \nminority communities to be partners with the national victory. Nevertheless, on \nthe occasion of his swearing in at the historic Ruwanveli Maha Saeya, the \npresident elect repeated his urgent request for minority cooperation for \nimplementing the developmental blueprint contained in his election manifesto; he \nstressed the fact that he is president for all Sri Lankans across the country. \nGotabhaya Rajapaksa\u2019s past services performed at the risk of his life and limb \nbenefited all Sri Lankans equally, but he polled only 5% of the minority vote, \naccording to polls analysts. But the principled Gotabhaya, while being known to \nbe a strict disciplinarian and a tough taskmaster as an administrator, is a \ngracious person. Those who bit the hand that fed them need not fear any \ndiscrimination from him (\u2018I am president for all Sri Lankans alike\u2019). Then, what \ncould be behind LF\u2019s untenable, simplistic claim that \u2018Muslims expect positive \novertures from President\u2019?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \ntrue situation is contrary to what LF is suggesting. Certain powerful Muslim \npoliticians are under suspicion regarding their alleged close relations with the \nApril 21 bombers and their local leaders, who are trying to radicalize sections \nof the Muslim youth in Sri Lanka through their fundamentalist Islamic religious \nideology. These politicoes were prominent members of the previous UNP\/Yahapalana \nrump government with the kingmaking power that the quirks of an abused \nparliamentary democratic system conferred on minorities. It was an open secret \nthat the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to look into the \nbombings was most probably intended to exonerate those Muslim politicians from \ncharges of sponsoring terrorists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At \na recent news briefing, the CEO of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Dilanthe Withanage, \na senior university lecturer in Information Technology and a professional \neducational consultant to  a number of government agencies over two decades, \nremarked how a person from the All Ceylon Jamiyyatul Ulama (ACJU), called to \ntestify before the PSC, falsely suggested that young Muslims felt a need to take \nup arms only after the Aluthgama incident (June 2014). The Aluthgama violence \nequally victimized both Muslim and Buddhist citizens of the area. But \nanti-Buddhist propaganda apportioned blame only to his organization, the BBS, \nand this was what the misinformed and indoctrinated world believed. Actually, \nthe truth was that those riots started when some Muslim youths threw stones from \nwhat looked like the roof or upper floor of a mosque at a peaceful Buddhist \nreligious procession passing by (There was a You Tube video to prove this at the \ntime; it may still be there). The demand made by the BBS, other Buddhist \norganizations, and even separately urged by some sensible Muslim leaders, that a \npresidential commission be appointed to study the circumstances that led to the \nAluthgama episode was not heeded by both the then and the subsequent Yahapalana \ngovernments, obviously for fear of antagonizing the ordinary Muslims and losing \ntheir votes, by having to reveal the culpability of Muslim extremist elements. \n(Incidentally, Gotabhaya will not be unnecessarily constrained by this kind of \nunreasonable concerns.) Anyway, the Ulama representative\u2019s claim at the PSC was \ntantamount to an attempt to deflect attention from the real culprits behind the \nEaster bombings (who were none other than Islamic extremists and their suspected \npatrons then in positions of power).  LF cannot be unaware of these things. He \nmust explain to the reader what made him suggest that the president make \n\u2018positive overtures\u2019 to the Muslims in this context. Let\u2019s hope that LF is not \nidentifying all Muslims with extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What \ncampaigners representing the SLPP assured the masses who demanded that \nassociates of terrorists and vandalizers of forest reserves be NOT accommodated \nin a future government was that no extremist of any kind should be allowed to \nparticipate in it under any circumstances, which is fair enough. Gotabhaya said \nhe would not seek an alliance with extremists or give in to their unacceptable \ndemands even if he had to run the risk of losing the election. He also flatly \nrejected the thirteen demands put forward by the TNA. Sajith Premadasa (SP) \nseemed to have secretly agreed to these demands in return for TNA support at the \nelection. Had SP won, this promise would have been fulfilled by now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During \nhis first overseas state visit after his inauguration which was to India, \nPresident Gotabhaya Rajapaksa made it clear to the Indian Prime Minister Modi, \nwho has been insisting that the 13th Amendment be implemented in full, that the \nparticular amendment was already operational, but that certain clauses such as \nthat relating to police powers could not be enforced without the concurrence of \nthe majority; he was ready to negotiate these. He also pointed out that the \ndevolution mantra repeated over the past seventy years has done nothing to \nadvance the progress of the nation. It must be clear to any doubting Thomas by \nnow that Gotabhaya\u2019s approach will be through equitably distributed overall \ndevelopment for the promotion of which the support of India and other friendly \npowers will certainly be welcome. He will be mindful of their concerns as well. \nA politically stable economically prosperous Sri Lanka will be beneficial to all \nstakeholders, national and global. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa who displayed such \nself-conviction and courage before the regional superpower on behalf of all Sri \nLankans, need not make special \u2018overtures\u2019 to the Muslim or any other community \nfor winning their allegiance. He enjoys it already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While \nthat is the ground reality, LF pontificates: \u2018What the Muslims need is for the \nnew government to understand their plight, stop violence against them, and \nattend to their grievances\u2019. There is no evidence of any violence being done to \nMuslims by Sinhalese Buddhists or other non-Muslims. Dilanthe Withanage (DW) \ndenied even those long-standing previous allegations that the BBS attacked \nmosques and other places of worship belonging to non-Buddhists. Such charges \nwere based on fabrications of propagandists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By \nthe way, the truth that much violence perpetrated on traditional Muslims \ninvolving attacks on mosques, corporal punishments, even illegal executions has \nbeen committed by Islamic extremists remains largely unknown outside the \nimmediate neighbourhood of the victims because of fear-inspired communal \ncensorship. This came out during pre-poll electioneering by the parties. The BBS \nitself established in 2012 and subsequently branded by religious extremists and \nseparatists and their Western sympathisers and sponsors as a violent Sinhalese \nracist, and Buddhist fundamentalist terrorist outfit (\u2018saffron terror\u2019) is \nactually no more than a nonpolitical whiste-blower organization. It is a \ncomplete falsehood that Gotabhaya was behind it. Had its numerous revelations \nbeen investigated appropriately, the April 21 attacks could have been avoided \nand those precious lives could have been saved, and the misery of the survivors \nand their families could have been prevented. It is the violence of the Islamic \nterrorists against non-Muslims and non-compliant Muslims that LF should worry \nabout, if his own apparent fundamentalist sympathies allow him to do \nso. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A \ncouple of days ago there was  news in the free media (Hiru TV) about a young \nMuslim family being harassed by their Muslim neighbours for voting for \nGotabhaya. There have been numerous cases of  traditional mainstream Muslims \nbeing persecuted by co-ethnic extremists and these hapless Muslim victims \napproaching BBS monks for assistance and refuge. Meanwhile hardly any media \nchannels make these things known outside a limited space that is not served by \nvested interests. The Sinhalese Buddhists being a friendless minuscule global \nminority have no way to counter the intensely hostile propaganda blitzkriegs \ndirected against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intentionally \nor unintentionally, LF is contributing to the global media campaign of \ndemonizing the innocent majority community, which is done in order to \ndestabilize the country by inviting foreign interference in its internal \npolitics. Sri Lanka has never had  an ethnic or religious issue. The current \nproblems are inflicted on the Lankan population from outside. The defeat of \narmed separatism in May 2009 was the brightest moment in post-independence \nhistory up to that point. Usual communal harmony had survived a few isolated \nartificially created communal disturbances like those in 1958 and 1983, and the \nlong drawn out separatist violence of about thirty years that ended in that \nyear. But foreign vested interests started talking about so-called \nreconciliation. But to justify a need for reconciliation, there had to be prior \nalienation between the two main communities, but there had been no discernible \nalienation between Sinhalese and Tamils even at the times of the worst fighting \nduring the civil conflict. So, the powers that be have done what they have done \nfollowing the 2009 victory, particularly since January 2015. The country \nexperienced the recent anarchy as a result. Ten years after that epoch-making \nevent, we are witnessing the first signs of a fresh national resurgence under an \nable leader, who will look after the interests of all Sri Lankans, despite the \nmachinations of parochial minority politicians who are now getting alienated \nfrom their own people, except for some ineffectual feeble voices raised in their \nsupport.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, \ninstead of hypocritically calling upon the new government \u2018to understand their \n(that is, Muslims\u2019) plight, stop violence against them, and attend to their \ngrievances\u2019 (which, if any, are actually not caused by Sinhalese Buddhists, but \nby extremist elements among themselves), LF ought to listen to educated young \nMuslim leaders like Mohamad Musammil, the media spokesman of the National \nFreedom Front led by Wimal Weerawansa, and Ali Sabry PC, Gotabhaya\u2019s legal \nadvisor for fifteen years, and  other so many fair-minded young Muslims like \nthem including intrepid young maulavis, and address his intellect and sense of \nhumanity if he has any, to the benefit of all suffering Sri \nLankans. 
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rohana R. Wasala Courtesy The Island Latheef Farook, as usual, goes off on a tangent when writing about the alleged \u2018plight\u2019 of the Muslim minority vis-\u00e0-vis  the Sinhalese Buddhist majority (Muslims expect positive overtures from President\u2019\u2019\/The Island\/November 27, 2019). The title of the piece implies that the Muslims are experiencing a sense of alienation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rohana-r-wasala"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95945\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}