What Muslim opinion holds to be important

by A. H. M. Farook

Responses by sections of Muslim opinion to peace and connected issues:

Dr. M. S. Anees, Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo:

In the past two decades of the political history of Sri Lanka, it is the first time a peace process with the ceasefire has successfully completed a period of one year. after signing the MoU on February 22, 2002 the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka had confronted a number of issues in implementing the agreements of the MoU. When enormous changes took place in the national and international political and economic conditions both parties were compelled to sign this agreement.

However, now they have come to a stage where they cannot give up or get out of the peace process due to the continuation of the above political and economic conditions. At the beginning of the MoU many people expected that this MoU also would end in failure as many in the past. It is a great surprise for many since it has passed one year already.

One must admit that the path of this peace process was not filled with flowers and instead, it is a path with many ups and downs. Although, the peace process has completed five sessions of the first round of talks, in between, before the beginning of each session, many thought that this would be the final session of the peace talks. The confrontation between the Government and LTTE on issues such as use of the fund for resettlement process, rehabilitation and reconstruction, High Security Zones, establishment of the police stations and courts of the LTTE in some particular areas, and appointing members for the peace secretariat had created great suspicion among the people regarding the real success of the peace talks. However, the Government and LTTE have shown their patience and understandings in smoothly resolving all such issues using their diplomacy.

The LTTE's agreement to power sharing with a federal system under an united Sri Lanka is not only a great victory for the UNF Government and to its diplomacy but it also has shortened the gap between both parties on prime theoretical concepts.

When we discuss the positive side of the peace process we must also think about the negative aspects of it. For successful peace talks and to get a permanent political solution the parties concerned have to seriously consider the following matters:

1. The Government has to convince the members of the opposition parties to materialize the final solution through a constitutional amendment or by a new constitution proposed to draft.

2. There must be a mechanism of transparency of the issues of the peace talks that ensures that they reach the general public at every stage.

3. The Government and LTTE must try to minimize the number of human rights violations and the violation of the conditions of MoU.

4. The Muslim aspect must be included in the peace talks practically and the Muslims must be allowed to participate as a separate stakeholder. Yet, they must be permitted to address their issues on the table freely.

5. The political and economic issues of Indian Tamils living in Sri Lanka also must seriously be discussed in the peace talks.

6. The ethnic conflict is a national issue, thus it should not be confined to the north and the east only. The resolution must fulfil at least the minimum interests of each ethnic group living in the country.

7. The Government should not allow any of the third parties directly or indirectly to influence the matters of the country that may be harmful to the sovereignty and national integrity.

Dr. M. L. A. Cader, Vice Chancellor, South Eastern University, Oluwil:

Peace process is progressing in a definite direction. It is overcoming several challenges with certain commitments to achieve their objectives. People, especially in the North East, are very happy that this Government has taken the initiative to achieve peace and normalcy in the area.

They say it enables them to go about the daily work without fear and make investment with ease which was not visible there before the truce. Thus far the peace process has been very good.

In the next year of peace development there has to be definite results. In areas where Muslims are predominant, they should feel confident that their case is very well addressed by the Government and the LTTE. Greater space must be given to the Muslim problem in the peace talks by incorporating a separate delegation or including larger issues for discussion.

Sufficient care must be taken to bring the message of the peace process across to the Muslim people living there. Also greater development work must be started in Muslim majority areas. Projects funded by foreign assistance such as 'Shiran', should be allowed to function in these areas. Then only the Muslims in these areas will have a stake in the process. They will be working for peace then. This peace process should mobilise peace activists among the Muslims in these areas in the year to come.

Dr. Uwais Ahamed, Former UN Education Advisor, presently, Principal, Zahira College, Colombo: As an educationist, I am looking at the whole issue of 20 years of ethnic war which has ravaged the country and the subsequent truce signed between the Government and the LTTE, especially from the point of view of children of today and the future generations.

In my view, the most affected by the war are the children. For two decades, children in the North and most parts of the East have not known anything except the sounds of guns, bombs and the havoc caused by landmines. They lost the joy of childhood and were denied a good education which is their birth-right.

They had to grow up aimlessly without any notion of what their future is going to be. Thousands of children in the other parts of the country have lost their parents, brothers and sisters - either as a result of direct engagement in the war or due to several bomb blasts all over the country. Hence I see the truce signed between the two conflicting parties as a great blessing and it is my hope that this would not be a temporary respite but would lead to a permanent peace which would allow all the people in the country irrespective of caste, creed or religions to breath freely and lead their lives with dignity and respect.

It has to be understood that we have been fighting a war which would have no winners, but only help in creating hatred and animosity towards each other.

It is time for all to get together specially the elders, religious leaders and teachers to ensure that the sense of bad feeling engendered by the war is completely eradicated from the hearts and minds of the children. It is also necessary to approach the whole question of peace and peaceful co-existence with an open mind and positive thinking. What we have today is a great opportunity to strengthen our resolve to live in harmony with each other.

M. L. M. Mohideen, Chairman, Muslim Rights Organisation:

The parties to the ceasefire agreement dated 22nd February 2002, the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have accepted that the groups that are not directly party to the conflict have also suffered the consequences. This is particularly the case as regards the Muslim population in the North East. Therefore, the provisions of the ceasefire agreement regarding the security of civilians and their property apply to all - Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese.

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has had a terrible effect on the Muslims, particularly in the North-East. The forcible eviction of more than one hundred thousand Muslims, the attack on the mosques and killing of hundreds of Muslims while in prayer, the confiscation of land and attack on un-armed Muslim civilians have caused fears among the Muslims, The violence perpetuated by the Tamil militants against the North-East Muslims during the last two decades has cautioned the Muslims to be vigilant in the future. The primary concern of the Muslims in the North-East is the safety and security of our people, claim for our homelands and our inalienable right for internal self-determination.

It was with immense relief that we welcome the ceasefire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. However, the Muslim people have serious concerns on several issues now.

It was with immense relief that we welcome the ceasefire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE. However, the Muslim people have serious concerns on several issues now.

1. The Muslim people are concerned about the future of our security. The Muslim people rely heavily on the Government to protect our lives and property. We would like therefore an assurance that whatever political arrangement is created that the security of the Muslim people is assured. We have nowhere to go, we do not have arms to protect ourselves. The only instrument that we have, is international protection in that sense and in accordance with international low and the conventions it is therefore important that our rights, our security and our homelands are protected and guaranteed in any agreement that is reached between the Government and the LTTE.

2. It is also of great concern to us that when a power sharing arrangement is reached we should be given the opportunity to share power in the North-East on the basis of Internal self-determination in the areas of historical habitation of the Muslims.

3. We are concerned that the rights of the Muslims living in other parts of Sri Lanka are also protected. In retaliation to our consent to share power in the North-East, it is likely that elements in the South may try to hold to ransom the Muslim population in the South and this also has to be taken into account. We strongly believe that the Human Rights and the minority protection is guaranteed and assured in the discussions for humanitarian aid. We feel that the international community needs to discuss this matter with the Muslims, LTTE and the Government.

The Muslim people will continue to give our wholehearted support to the peace process as our people desperately belong for peace and tranquillity. It is our hope that the peace process will eventually secure a permanent peace in the country. To ensure this permanent peace and to have an atmosphere of tranquillity it is our view that rights of all peoples - Muslim, Sinhalese and Tamil, need to be protected.

It is only through a pluralist democracy that the true aspirations and potential of our people will be realized.

A.I. Marikar, Managing Director, Amana Investments Ltd:

The peace accord has ushered a humanitarian dividend which many of us tend to ignore. Reportedly 60,000 lives mostly of young people have been lost in this cruel and senseless war. Merely because I and several Sri Lankans like me have not lost a child, a brother or a close relative in this war, is not a valid reason for us to ignore the deep sorrow, pain and anguish of parents, brothers, sisters and children of the many who have died in vain. This year of peace has, thank God, brought an end to the senseless carnage and growing collective anguish of innocent people.

We all have a right to live in Sri Lanka in peace and with dignity. I hope the peace process continues so that the war drums will fall silent forever and children in the North and East can pluck flowers and chase butterflies in open fields which are now either minefields or blood soaked graveyards.

The peace process has opened up for commercial activity a third of Sri Lanka which was in a financial quagmire for over 15 years. Commercial activity relating to banking, trade, tourism etc is gathering momentum and the economic potential of the entire nation can now be harnessed and strengthened for development.

The last 12 months witnessed a gradual improvement in the cash flows of the trading community, a rekindling of interest among local and foreign investors, a reopening of the tourist resorts in the Eastern Province and the free movement of people from the South to the North, East and vice versa.

These are promising signs for the future well-being of our island nation.

S. L. M. Haniffa, former Provincial Council Member - North East, poet and writer:

People who bore the brunt of the war in the North and some parts in the East and those who lost their near and dear ones for the past two decades in the war-front from the South, this Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government and the LTTE has turned out to be a real consolation in their lives.

The forward march towards peace has been full of potholes on the way. It is more difficult to maintain peace than wage a war. It is highly gratifying to note that both the Government and the LTTE are firmly determined to carry forward the peace process in spite of many obstacles experienced so-far.

The truce has indeed been a blow to those who lived by the war, but this section constitutes a mere five per cent.

Though the LTTE hierarchy is making a genuine effort towards peace, those members at the bottom rank seem to be deviating from this avowed goal. Sporadic incidents in the East have made us entertain some suspicion as to whether the leadership is incapable of correcting these misdemeanours.

Racial discrimination should not be a criteria in meeting out justice. Those who brought to book the culprits involved in the murder of a Tamil woman in Eravur, have strangely failed to nab the suspects involved in the three-wheel driver's murder in Kalkudah.

This kind of one-sided racial approach has even broken the hearts of people like us who wish to live under the shade of Tamil hegemony in the North-East.

Truly enough, some lands owned by Muslims have been returned. But they continue to levy taxes on fishing boats, paddy fields and rice mills etc. Provisions governing them are confined only to the pact itself. At the national level, this truce has been full of advantages. In the day-to-day life of the people it has been the opposite.

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