|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Monday, 23 February 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Politics | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
| National Muslim Congress, Freedom Alliance sign MoU by Anura Maitipe The Freedom Alliance is firmly committed to protecting the rights of the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim and other communities by preserving their own identities, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga told a gathering of religious dignitaries, intellectuals, community leaders and a group of businessmen in the East as the National Muslim Congress and United People's Freedom Alliance signed a Memorandum of Understanding at President's House yesterday. In spite of the war, the People's Alliance government provided absolute protection to the Muslim community in the East. But, following the peace agreement between the UNF and the LTTE the Muslims in the East felt insecure, she said. Since the signing of the secret pact, hundreds of innocent Muslims were killed and their properties destroyed but the UNF government was completely silent about these killings, the President said. "Religious dignitaries and non political organisations in the East forwarded me a petition signed by 100,000 persons to stop these senseless killings. On many occasions I instructed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to take initiatives to stop this trend of killings and to restore the security of the Muslim community in the East. But it was just like playing the violin to a deaf elephant,"she said. The President said the main reason for her takeover of the defence ministry was to ensure the security of the people regardless of race, religion and class. "Not only in the East, even in the other parts of the country the situation was the same,"she said. "Every community must have a strong political party and a correct leadership to protect the rights of their community. I strongly believe that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress formed by the late leader A.H.M. Ashraff made a great contribution to protect the rights of the poor Muslims in the East. "If not for the SLMC another Prabakaran would have emerged from the East, too," the President said. The youth in the East also could have taken to arms. The SLMC leader Ashraff thwarted this bid. He never worked for money and portfolios, she said. Indeed he made every effort to fulfil the aspirations of the Muslim community in the East, President said. The President said that the party which was destroyed by Rauff Hakim has been resurrected under the Freedom Alliance adding that today the party represented the symbol of peace and unity. General Secretary of the Freedom Alliance Susil Premajayantha, Dinesh Gunawardena, A. L. M. Athaulla, H. M. M. Haris, M. I. Anver Ismail, M. B. A. Azeez and Western Province Governor Alavi Mowlana were also present. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
