ForA.L.M.Sabeel,convener, National Frontfor Good
Governance(NFGG),nofightis too small. In January
2018,whenhe wascontestingtheelectionsto the
Kattankudy UrbanCouncil, he claimed compensation
fromPresident Maithripala Sirisenabecausesupport-
ers of the Sri LankaFreedomParty(SLFP),the polit-
icalpartyled by thePresident,hadpastedposterson
the compoundwallof his house. TheNFGGhadsup-
ported Sirisena in the 2015 presidential election. Sa-
beel,whois the secretaryof the Federation of Mosques
in Kattankudy,believesthatfor Muslims,theTamil
languageis just a tool usedto communicate; the iden-
tityof the community is Muslim, notTamil.How is Sri Lankachangingas far as the Muslim
communityis concerned?
Duringthe war[before2009],therewasa kindof
Sri Lanka. Afterthewar,up to thetimeof thebomb
blasts,therewasa kindof Sri Lanka. Afterthebomb
blasts,thereis a newkindof Sri Lanka.Thechangesare
because of thepromulgation of theemergencylaws
[before 2009 andaftertheblasts]. Undertheselaws,
anyone canbe arrested,be heldfor anylengthof time,
andthereis a generalsuspensionof rights.
Theminority communitiesare affected severelybe-
causeof this.After thebombblasts,thingsare worse.
Evenif thereis a certainkindof CD in the possession of
a person of a minority community,or thephotoof
someone,say Prabakaran [slainLTTEleader],youcan
be arrested withoutanyinquiry.
Thisis a hugeproblemfor the minoritiesandit is a
reason for serious stress.As I see it, the future of persons
in theMuslimcommunityis in danger.Thereis a
challengeto thewaywe dress,themadrasas which
impart moral educationto ourchildrenare underscru-
tiny,ourpersonallaws are underattack...everything is
underattack.Peoplefeelsuppressed.
Thegovernmenthas to acceptresponsibilityfor the
IslamicStatecomingintoSri Lanka. Indiahadalerted;everybody hadalertedthe
government. No action
wastaken.After the blasts,
harassing the Muslim
communitycannotbe ac-
cepted.At a personallevel,
I haveinformed multiple
agencies of the extreme
elements here. But the
government was merely
observing and did
nothing.Is therea feelingthat the
majoritarianpolityis
lookingfor a new enemyafterthe demiseof
Prabakaran?
Definitely. Thiscountryhasto be keptboiling. The
politicians heredo notwantthe ethnicproblemin this
countryto be solved.Thisis becausethe politiciansdo
notthinkof the country.Theyonlytry to protecttheir
seats;theirgovernment.TheMuslimcommunityis
nowsilent.Butif thesubjugationcontinues,thatwill
change.
Muslimbusinessmen arebeingtargeted. Thereis
anecdotal evidence to suggestthatsomepeopleare
callingfor a boycottof Muslim shopsandtraders.Those
whowerearrested afterthe violence againstMuslims in
Kurunegala [in Central Sri Lanka]havebeenlet off on
bail.So whatdo theseactionstellus?Honestly, our
community is in deepdistress.
Mostof the arrestsare so arbitrary thatit is aston-
ishing.Somesix studentsherewerearrestedthe other
daybecause theywerecarryingmultipleSIMcards. Is
thatan offence in Sri Lanka? No.Thenwhywerethey
arrested?Theonlyreasonis thattheyareMuslim.
Everyonein the communityis upset.It is worthlooking
back to comprehend how and why Prabakaran’s
strugglebegan.Thereare manylessonsthere.InterviewwithA.L.M.Sabeel.BYR.K. RADHAKRISHNANINKATTANKUDY
BYSPECIALARRANGEMENTrepresentationsystemof election, all votescount.While
Vigneswaranwillnot be a majorforcein the Tamilpolity,
he canalwaysbe regardedas a representativeof the
Tamilsif he managesa decentvote share.Former
MinisterDouglas Devananda,whoruns theEelam
People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), is the other
contenderfor the Tamilleadership.He willcontinueto
playthe minorrolethathe hasbeenplayingin the past
fewdecades.
Apartfromthe communalandethnicdivides,a major
causefor concernis theflounderingeconomy andlack of
job creation. TheInternationalMonetary Fund, in a May
review,saidthattheeconomyremains“vulnerableto
shocks”because of thehuge public debt, thinexternal
buffersand massivefinancing needs. Publicdebtroseto
about90 per centof the gross domesticproduct(GDP)by
end2018,pushingthe Sri Lankanrupeedown.
Tourismis thethirdlargestrevenueearner in the
country’seconomy,afterremittancesandtextilesand
garments. In thepastfive years,thegrowthin visitor
numberswasunprecedented,averagingmorethan 22
per centyearon year,according to “SriLankaTourism—‘Minority community severely affected