Sri Lanka’s Muslims seek truth and reconciliation

S. Razeek remembers the August 3rd, 1990 massacre of 147 Muslims at evening prayers by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at a mosque in Kaththankudi in the eastern province. As LTTE gunmen entered and opened fire, Razeek was hit and fell to the floor in a pool of blood. Miraculously, he survived.

Though the end of the war in 2009 was a great relief for him and the Muslim community, he yearns for a future devoid of violence in any form. To achieve this, Razeek believes political initiatives should be taken to heal the wounds to all communities caused by the war.

“I’m a person affected by this war,” Razeek told Khabar South Asia. “A lot of Muslims suffered in terms of the loss of lives and property due to terrorism. I saw with my eyes people being killed for no fault of theirs. Our views have to be considered in bringing out reconciliation. We have a lot to say.”

He and other members of the community say they welcome a proposal by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) to set up a truth and reconciliation commission, which would be tasked with establishing the facts and seeking a way forward.

The SLMC, an ally of the ruling coalition, has submitted the plan to the government for consideration.

“The Muslim community suffered a lot during the war. The LTTE evicted around 90,000 Muslims from the north in 1990,” SLMC General Secretary M. T. Hasan Ali told Khabar. “Both in the north and the east, they lost numerous lives. Their property was destroyed. They lived in constant fear. Therefore, we have to be a part and parcel of any reconciliation process. Nobody can ignore us.”

The commission, Ali said, would be similar to that appointed in South Africa by its iconic president, Nelson Mandela. He said it would be complementary to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) set up by the government after the war ended.

“The LLRC has submitted its report with many constructive proposals,” said Ali. “We want the government to implement them without any further delay. In the meantime, the Truth Commission, which we propose is meant for those involved in the war to make confessions and to apologise to the victims. Muslims were also victims in this case. Many of the families evicted in 1990, are yet to be resettled.”

Accounting for 7.2% of the country’s 20 million residents, Muslims constitute Sri Lanka’s largest minority. Most speak Tamil as their mother tongue.

The eastern province contains Sri Lanka’s largest Muslim population. The community there has been pressing for separate political and administrative units.

“When a political solution is worked out, we should be given a chance to look after our interests in the areas predominantly occupied by our people,” Ali said. “It does not mean a separate country. This is a small country. We do not want to divide it. This is our motherland. According to our religion, we are required to love our motherland first.”

M.L.A. Cader, political scientist and founding vice-chancellor of the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, welcomes the proposal for a Truth Commission to hear all affected voices from the war and to take measures for sustainable peace in the country.

“Muslims are an integral part of this country,” he said. “We have never asked for a separate country. We are proud Sri Lankans who have lived in this island for centuries. In history, there are records how Muslims helped ancient Sinhalese kings to fight against colonisers such as the Portuguese.”

Cader said that an all-inclusive reconciliation approach should be made and if any community feels left out in the process, it would not be good for the country.

S. Muruganthan, 45, a Tamil government employee, said that one’s community’s rights should not be compromised when looking after the interests of the other community.

“As a Tamil, I look to a future where all the communities can co-operate with each other. We should not be suspicious against each other. Inclusiveness is all the more important in getting to the root of the problem and resolving it once and for all,” he told Khabar.

Manjula Nishantha, 27, a Sinhalese worker at a company run by a Muslim in Colombo, also stressed the need to not antagonise any community in the reconciliation process.

“If there are genuine demands, they will have to be met. Otherwise, unrest will brew within the community concerned and lead to problems with disastrous consequences later. A truth commission will give the chance for everyone to speak,” he said

Source: Khabar South Asia