President assures P-TOMS will address Muslim concerns

[June 23, 2005 - 7.30 GMT] 

President Kumaratunga met with Minister Ferial Ashraff and a delegation of her party on Tuesday 21st of June, 2005 as part of a series of ongoing consultations on the proposed Tsunami Relief Council (P-TOMS). Minister Ashraff re-iterated a number of issues concerning the Muslim community with regard to the ethnic conflict, tsunami recovery and reconstruction.  The President assured Minister Ashraff, as well as other Muslim leaders whom she met separately, that she was fully conscious of the fears, anxieties and concerns of the Muslim people in the context of the suffering the Muslim community has endured during more than two decades of armed violence and the recent Tsunami natural disaster. 

Successive Governments headed by President Kumaratunga since 1994 have taken measures to ensure the rights of the Muslim community and address their reasonable aspirations at all times. The late Minister M. H. M. Ashraff accepted President Kumaratunga’s invitation to be an integral part of her government and initiated extensive development in the Eastern Province. The late Minister Ashraff was a strong advocate of the devolution of power and a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict. This was most clearly articulated in his historic speech in parliament on the presentation of the proposed Constitution of 2000. 

President Kumaratunga assured Minister Ferial Ashraff that the Tsunami Relief Council takes into consideration and accommodates many of the interests of the Muslim community and has clauses for addressing their concerns. During the long negotiations between the GoSL and the LTTE on the Tsunami Relief Council, the GoSL negotiated hard to accommodate Muslim concerns, persuading the LTTE to agree to some significant practical measures.  Specifically the Muslim parties have equal representation at the national level, sufficient representation to prevent decisions that may adversely affect them at the regional level, and dominant representation in the areas where they live.

However, the National Unity Alliance has pointed out remaining concerns, which have also been re-iterated by others.  These include safety, more representation and recognition.  Regarding these concerns, President Kumaratunga has assured Minister Ashraff and other Muslim leaders that her government would in the future as in the past take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of the Muslim people living in the East and the North.

Further, the President strongly recommended that Muslim leaders consider the proposed Tsunami Relief Council in its totality and the gains that may be made by the Muslim community as a whole through full participation in it. Finally, the President assures the Muslim community that in the event that the fundamental interests of the Muslim community are seriously jeopardized, the GoSL would actively consider “suspending cooperation” within the Tsunami Relief Council as provided for in the proposed Agreement for the Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure.

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Last Updated Date: June 23, 2005 - 7.30 GMT