It is happening. A varietyof sideshowsaregoingonin
anattempttoonce againinstigateviolence—ithas
already happenedin Kurunegala[atownin CentralSri
Lanka] andNorthCentral provincealmost 30 daysafter
theincident.Violencewasengineeredbyrestivepolitical
elements hell-bent onusing thisto theirpolitical advant-
age,andalsolookingat theprospectof anelectionvery
soon[thepresidentialelectionwillbeheldonDecember
7].
Thesecurity forces,asusual,tooksometimeto
containtheviolence. Bythenseriousviolencehad
takenplace.Twenty-ninemosquesandseveralbusi-
nessestablishmentsanddwellingsofMuslimswere
destroyed.Moreover,thedamage totheeconomy,be-
causeof thedropin thetourismsector,is goingto affect
everybody.
ButMuslimsarebewildered....Thoughverypatron-
isingremarksaremade bysecurityhigher-upsandpolit-
icalleaders,suchas “don’tblamethewholecommunity”
and“allof themarenotresponsible”,theykeeprepeating
thephrase“Islamicterrorism”.Thisis veryhurtful.These
areterrorists,andtheydon’t needto begivena religious
tag.Howevermuch wetrytoexculpateourselvesby
sayingthatnoneof ushasendorsedthis,someof these
xenophobicforces,togetherwithinternationalagencies
whichkeepIslamophobiahypealive,arehell-benton
harassingMuslims.
Nowit hastakena differentturn. Theyarelookingat
lifestyle issues. Theyarelookingattryingtointroduce
so-calledreforms thatarea littletoointrusive. Thisis
causinga lotof alarm.Whatwehaveassuredthegovern-
mentis thatasleaderswearepreparedtoengageina
very,veryseriousintrospectionandwearevoluntarily
willingtoadopt certain changestomakehealthyco-
existencepossible, andalsoaddress issuesofsuspicion
andfear.
Becauseofcontinuous outrageousattacksandin-
sinuationsby theso-calledmajoritarian xenophobic
forcesovera periodoftime,thecommunityis alsobe-
coming insular.Wehavetoarrestthat.Wearenow
sincerely engagingin thatexercise.Butthenwearenot
giventhespaceforvoluntarychanges. Theyaretryingto
impose changesexternally,whichisnotgoing tobe
received [wellbythecommunity]andthatmight—we
fear—havethe reverseeffectof the sametypeof insular-
ism taking root again and result in unfortunate
polarisation.
Thatmarginalisationwillagainbea fertilegroundfor
radicalisation.Thisis a viciouscycle.I thinkboththe
minorityandthemajority haveto realisethis.
Wedon’twanttobeslavishly living ina country
wheretheyexpectusto compromiseonourright to live
andto betreatedwithdignity. These aretheissuestoday.
Rightnowalltypesof peoplearetryingtowinbrownie
points. Allegationsabound againstpoliticians,against
everypersonwhohassomeauthority,if theyarefromthe
minorities.Thishasto begentlyresisted.Therehasto be
a prosperretrospectionaboutwhatis happening.
Therulers arealsohandlingsomeofthesexeno-
phobic forceswithvelvet gloves.Thatis notgoingto help.
Youneedtobeeven-handedintryingtocontainhate
speech.Thatis nothappening. Onlywhenthathappens
cantherebecohesionandcoexistence.Youneedto have
confidenceinyoursecurity forcesandinthestatethat
institutionalindependencewillnotbecompromised,
andtheruleof lawwillbemaintained.Thatperceptionis
importantevenforpublic order.Therearea lotof rum-
blingsin society.Thereis deepdisgustandoutrageat the
mannerin whichtheMuslimcommunityis beingtreated
in theaftermathof this.
Ofcourse, weneedtobethankfultoCardinalMal-
colmRanjithforthemagnanimityhedisplayedinthe
initial period,whichhelpedusa lotto engagein serious
introspectionandstartdoingsomethingvoluntarilyto
ridthiscommunityofallkinds ofextremism,anddo
thingsright. Butthatspaceis notbeinggiven.
Repeatedlythere is anonslaughtonthecommunity’s
dailylifeandlivelihoodissues.... Thereareforceshell-
bentonmakingpolitical capitaloutofthemiseryof
people.Thisis veryunfortunate.Alot of Muslimpoliticiansareunacceptableto the
Sinhalarightwing...
Weformeda party[SLMC]to lookaftertheinterests
of theMuslim community.Wedidnotwantto beantag-
onisticin ourapproachandwealwaysfeltthatwemust
engage in anopendialoguewitheveryone.Wealsomain-
tained ourrapportwithmajority leaders insuch a way
thatwedonotbecomeconfrontationalinpushingour
rights agenda.
Ourrightsagendahasto receivesomeempathyand
understandingonlyin anatmosphere of friendship.You
shouldalsonotthrowyourweightaroundtoomuch.It
canbeverydistasteful.Politicalissuesaresentimental
andemotional stuff.Wehadthesamerapportwithour
Tamilbrothers,withwhomwetriedtoreach certain
compromisesin arrivingat anacceptable solutionto the
ethnic problemin thiscountry.
Therearesomewhowishto livein denial. Youcan’t
simplysaythatyoudon’thavea problem. Sotheseare
symptomsof a largerdisease.Youcan’ttreatthesymp-
tomsandexpectthediseasetocureitself.Thatis the
philosophyhere.Thesymptomshavetobedealtwith
using theright approach.Whenit comesto lawandorder
andlawenforcement,thereneedstobea balancedap-
proach.Thisis wherethingsgowrong.
Therearea lotof institutionalreformsthatneedto
happen.Thisis wherewebelieve wehavestayedabove
controversy.Butyouneverknow.Itonlytakes—ina
situationofsuchethnicpolarisation—a fewtrouble-
makersandthelaw-enforcementmachineryto lookthe
other wayforthingstoflareup.Thatis thedangerhere.
Therewasanefficientandstrongresponsebythe
armed forcestothismenace. Wewereabletoquickly
identify...wehaverealisedwherethingshavegonewrong
andhavetakencorrective steps.Publicconfidencesome-
howhascomebackslowly.Buttheseincidents[ofattacks
onminorities]areagaindisturbingthepeace.Thisis