THREE KILLED AND MANY INJURED IN MUTTUR AS A RIFT DEVELOPS BETWEEN UNF AND MUSLIM CONGRESS THREATENING THE COALITION
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
April 18. 06.30 PM:The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress has decided to boycott the parliament, exposing the government to a defeat in the parliament, a private television station reported.
An intense rift between Sri Lanka government’s main coalition partners the United National Front and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress has developed in to a conflict threatening the very existence of the Ranil Wickremesinghe government
The fragile coalition that has a paper-thin majority in the parliament could collapse if the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress breaks away from the little more than a one-year old government
Reliable sources in Colombo said that UNF ministers including Minister S.B.Dissanayaka, horrified by the threat have once again approached opposition People’s Alliance leaders putting forward proposals to form a national government of all parties
The UNF –SLMC conflict is growing interwined with another conflict between the Muslims and the LTTE in Muttur , near the port city of Trincomalee in which three people were killed and five others were seriously injured when LTTE and Muslim groups clashed opening fire . The clash occurred at Maligathivu, where a mixed population of Tamils and Muslims live. Police reports said five houses had been set on fire by the Tamil Tigers. More than 100 LTTE terrorists attacked Muslim demonstrators who were protesting against the abduction of Muslim youth and the unfortunate suicide of their mother, reports reaching Colombo said.
The LTTE operates in the nearby area fully armed under a ceasefire agreement signed between the Ranil Wickremesinghe government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Ironically, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress also has signed an agreement with the LTTE accepting Velupillai Prabhakaran as the sole leader of the Tamils
The tense situation in Muttur developed after the LTTE allegedly abducted two Muslim youth from Muttur at a place called Sampoor. The LTTE routinely abducts Muslims and Tamil political rivals who enter areas under their control. Grieved over the abduction the mother of the youth committed suicide. The death of the mother was enough to arouse passions among the Muslims in the area and the situation became tense. Muslim shops were closed and street demonstrations against the LTTE increased.
Sri Lanka’s Police Chief , T.E. Anandarajah , a Tamil and the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress cabinet minister Rauff Hakeem flew in to the troubled area of Muttur to appeal for calm but were not very successful. Ultimately a 12-hour curfew was declared to keep the rioters out of the streets, reports from Muttur said
Meanwhile the political bureau of the Muslim Congress was meeting in the area pondering whether to leave or remain in the government.
The UNP and SLMC trouble developed after a UNF Muslim parliamentarian M.A.M Maharoof of the Trincomalee District accused the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress for the prevailing tense situation in the area at the funeral of the mother who committed suicide over grief of her abducted sons
The SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem accused Maharoof and a senior Minister of the cabinet P. Dayaratne who represented the adjacent Ampara District for insulting him . Hakeem said Dayaratna had compared him to the tail of the dog which always remained crooked.
Mahroof had also accused Rauff Hakeem of discussing with the LTTE and achieving nothing for the Muslims. Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe should personally visit Muttur immediately to diffuse heightening tension in the area due to utterances of the UNF parliamentarians
The LTTE has denied any connection with the abduction of the Muslim youth. But it has been customary for them to deny involvement after committing such acts in the past.
Rauf Hakeem said the Muslims of Eastern Province were undergoing tremendous difficulties regarding abductions, extortions and assassinations by the LTTE and it was high time the government addressed those issues. He alleged that the Tamil terrorist group who had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the government were not even allowing Muslims to engage in their daily modes of living like fishing. He said LTTE boats would cut the fishing nets of the Muslim fishermen while out in the sea.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe cannot be expected to have immediate solutions for those problems since his government has been bending backwards to please the LTTE.
So if a crisis developed regarding not taking any action against the LTTE it would certainly not be a surprise.
