Lankamuslim.com

by Mohammed NAALIR

Displacement has severely affected the livelihood and proper education of Muslims. Greatest attention should be paid to improve the education standards of the displaced Muslim children, a survey conducted by All Ceylon Muslim Education Conference revealed.

It said, the education standards of the Muslims which was at a peak was brought to zero due to refugee life and the insufficient economy.

Even-though they represented only five per cent in the North compared to the Tamils they were part and parcel in the education and other sectors.

Unfortunately, the Muslims in the North were ordered by the LTTE to evacuate their homes and villages in two hours in some areas in Jaffna and most of other places the deadline to evacuate their villages was 48 hours.

Those who left with empty hands sought refuge in public buildings and IDP camps depending on the dry rations given by the Government. Due to this tragic situation the well established education system of Northern Muslims collapsed. more…

Newly built shops in the Eravur Main Street market owned by the Eravur Pradeshiya Sabha, has been illegally occupied by some Sinhala businessmen without any formal regulations. Sources reveal that this has been carried out with the help of the Eravur Police. The Eravur Pradeshya Sabha (PS) has filed a case in the court against this since the police have failed and neglected to entertain the complaint of the PS. This market remained abandoned due to failure of several attempts at rebuilding it after it was damaged during the war.

A request has been made recently by the Eravur Pradeshya Sabha to the Chief Minister to take steps to renovate the market and resume business activities in it. At this time 10-15 Sinhalese businessmen have repaired some of the shops in the market and occupied it without permission from the Pradeshiya Sabha. more…..

The Muslim scholars of the All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulema Association when discussing with the General Sarath Fonseka alleged that those politicians who are with the Govt. are averse to their association with the General are trying to split the membership of the Jammiyathul Ulema Association and take some of them away to form a new Association.

According to All Ceylon Jammiyathul Ulema  this is  not a political organization and any person could visit them at any moment. He had also pointed out that they had tried to get an appointment from the President for three months but they had been denied the opportunity.  the Govt.’s Western province governor, Alavi Moulana and Presidential advisor M.H.M.Azwer have met several of their members and advised them to start a new Jammiyathul Ulema Organization.The present Jammiyathul Ulema Association is over 100 years old. This Association is free and steers clear of politics. The Ulemas had invited the General in much the same way as they invite other Buddhist prelates and clergy of other religions for meetings. A Muslim scholars said, at the meeting with the General, no politics was discussed.

Fonseka,  visited on 10/12/2009 the Jamiyathul Ulema association Headquarters at Orabi Pasha street, Maradana and met Muslim scholars
The General had told them that he would ensure that every right conferred on the Muslim people by the constitution shall be protected. He will also introduce measures to implement all what they are entitled to under the constitution by eliminating the snags, if any exists.

he said Some Muslim Leaders are trying to paint a wrong picture that he a Racist, but he has never been a communalist. His father was a teacher and his first appointment was in an Akkaraipattu School. He too obtained his early education at Akkaraipattu, the General pointed out

But some source says When President heard that Gen. Fonseka had visited All Ceylon Lamiyathul Ulama he had informed the organization that he could meet them at Temple trees yesterday (11^th) at 4.00 p.m. However, Muslim religious leaders have rejected the invitation.

should be pointed  out that after the war victory, about 2000 Ulemas were invited to the Temple Trees by the President. On that occasion the Ulemas have paid tribute to the President and the Armed Forces while also handing over the monies collected from the Muslim Businessmen to the Armed Forces Fund.

Muslim ministers must pay attention

The Nurses Training College in Vavuniya has prohibited the Muslim Midwife Trainees wearing hijabs Islamic dress inside  the  college  and. The students say the Muslim students from the Northern Province who are learning here were allowed to wear  hijab at the beginning and the director who was appointed to this training college a few weeks ago prohibited the students wearing hijab to the college.

They say the college administration on the instruction of the director has advised the Muslim students to wear the normal dress of a nurse without their hijab and trousers. The students said they were allowed to wear the hijabs for one or two weeks when Minister Rishard Bathiutheen spoke to the college administration and the administration brought back the ban later on. The students seeking solution to this issue request the Muslim ministers and the community leaders to intervene and find them justice. They their failure to do so would result in their stopping the courses of study half way.

The Sri Lankan Campus of the Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy have received over 100 applications for 100 vacancies in its second intake, Dr. Neville Fernando who facilitated the establishment of the new private medical college in Malabe in  collaboration with the Nizhny Novgorod University of Russia said yesterday. “We have over 100 applications for 100 vacancies and we will select the best, Dr. Neville Fernando said. Interviews will commence today. Dr. Fernando, however, said they would continue to accept applications for the second intake till January 10 as they wanted to select the best. more…

New judicial system known as Ecclesiastical Court is to be created to settle disputes and to redress the grievances among the members of the Buddhist clergy. This will also help to create a conducive environment for their peaceful co-existence, said justice ministry press release. It has been pointed out that Ecclesiastical Courts are functioning at present without proper legal basis. Justice Minister Milinda Moragoda will propose the setting up of an Ecclesiastical Court to settle disputes and to redress the grievances among the members of the Buddhist clergy.The Minister, who is also the Chairman of the Amarapura Nikayabiwurdhi Dayaka Sabawa, in Sri Lanka, is hoping to establish the court after a dialogue with the Maha Sangha to obtain their views in consultation with the Mahanayake’s of the three Chapters.

The matters relating to problems and grievances among the Buddhist clergy had been a subject of extensive discussion and draft legislation has been prepared based on these discussions. Minister Moragoda will present his proposal to the President and other organizations that have shown a keen interest in dealing with such issues in a bid to generate a healthy debate. It has been observed that such a debate is imperative in order to persuade the Sangha to uphold the values according to the teachings and the precepts imparted by the great teacher, which has shown a decline over the years.

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“The President  has removed the word ‘minorities’ from our vocabulary. No longer are the Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Malays and any others are  minorities. They all are Sri Lankans and the President knows the needs and the feelings of the Muslim community”, said Mayor of Matale Municipal Council Hilmy Mohamed at a media briefing held in Colombo today (09).
He pointed out that 80%  of Muslims will vote for  President  Mahinda Rajapaksa  at the forthcoming Presidential Election for he has done his duty  for  the country and  the Muslim community.

He said t the fate of LTTE terrorism has been sealed after 30 years and  LTTE leader Prabhakaran has gone forever.

”President Rajapaksa stands out as the only President to  defeated LTTE terrorism to unify the country taking control of all territories, thus preserving the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he noted.

Top Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) members are said to be leaving the party in the Eastern Province following its decision to support the UNF in the upcoming Presidential poll. “SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem has earned the wrath of the Eastern Muslims by his decision to support the UNF,” said former party high-command member F. M. Ameerul Ansar Moulana.The former SLMC deputy national propaganda secretary also said he had now joined the National Congress, a constituent party of the UPFA, in the interest of the Muslim community. He pointed out that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had earned the support of the Eastern Muslims after liberating them from the clutches of terrorists.

He said the President maintains close ties with Muslim countries and had developed excellent rapport with Eastern Muslims, mastering the Tamil language. According to sources, other SLMC defectors, included high-ranking party members such as district organizer, urban council chairman and local councillors. These sources added that SLMC Batticaloa district organizer and Kattankudy Urban Council chairman Marsook Ahamed Lebbe, five SLMC local councilors and a UNP local council member joined the UPFA last Sunday.

The defectors are Nagoor Khan Ramalan (SLMC/ Battticaloa MC), Hayathu Mohammed (SLMC/Kattankudy UC), Abdul Rafeek (SLMC/ Valaichchenai PS), Abdul Wahid (SLMC/Eravurpattu PS), J M Firdous (SLMC/Eravurpattu PS) and Nanda Siri (UNP).

The Palestinian Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Dr. Anwar Al- Agha, yesterday denied reports that a link exists between the People’s Liberation Organization in Palestine and a new Tamil armed group called the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the East of the Sri Lanka. Dr. Agha said that he was not even aware of the existence of such a group, and that it is not possible for such ties to exist. His observations follow a report which appeared in the “Times online website,” hinting that an organization called the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in the East of Sri Lanka had the support of the well known PLO, who are active in Palestine, as well as another country. “We have had strong ties with the legitimate government of Sri Lanka and have supported the government in defeating terrorism and still support the government in their efforts,” he emphasized.

A person identified as the head of the PLA’s Eastern District military command speaking to the “Time online” website vowed to launch attacks against government and military targets unless its demands for a separate Tamil homeland are met. The website quoted “Commander Kones,” the head of the military command, as saying that the PLO and another country are supporting the group. He had said that his organization, PLA, was an entirely separate entity, but said that former LTTE cadres would be able to join the organization provided that they swore their allegiance to the PLA and its political aims.

dailymirror

A Marxist group of Tamil militants with connections to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and Cuba is preparing to mount a new insurgency in Sri Lanka six months after the government declared an end to the 26-year-old war. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was founded in eastern Sri Lanka four months ago and has vowed to launch attacks against government and military targets unless its demands for a separate Tamil homeland are met.

“This war isn’t over yet,” Commander Kones, head of the PLA’s Eastern District military command, said during a night meeting in a safe house in the east of the country last week.
“There has been no solution for Tamils since the destruction of the LTTE [Tamil Tigers] in May. So we have built and organised the PLA and are ready to act soon. Our aim is a democratic socialist liberation of the northeast for a Tamil Eelam [the desired Tamil state].” more…

Muslims of the Northern Province, who are living in the IDP camps in the Puttalam District for the last 20 years, are to be resettled in their original places in the North from the third week of this month, Minister Risath Bathiyutheen said. He pointed out that the President will participate in the launch of the programme on the December 26, and. Muslims numbering more than 100,000 are to be resettled in their places of origin.

Prior to this move, Rauff Hakeem, the leader of the  Sri Lanka Muslim Congress met with LTTE leader Prabhakaran in 2002 and entered into an agreement for the resettlement of the displaced Muslims of the North. But the LTTE refused to resettle the Muslims even though they agreed to do so in 2002. the minister recalled.

The Colombo Crime Division (CCD) and the Borella police are conducting investigations into the abduction of 4 people by an unidentified gang in Borella last night. The 4 men were abducted by an unknown group near  Devi Balika Vidyalaya in Borella. The abandoned double cab they were traveling was found near the school, police media spokesman SSP I.M Karunaratne said.

The Education Ministry has taken steps to distribute laptops to students from Grade 1 to 5 from next month, the Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha said at a ceremony held at Jalthara Maha Vidyalaya, Homagama recently.

The Minister pointed out that the proposed project would be introduced  parallel with other programs in keeping with the President’s declaration of the year 2009 as the year of ‘Information Technology and English language’.

The first phase of this program will cover 1,500 children from 13 selected rural schools.

They will receive a laptop each  and the sceme will be inaugurated on December 10, the Minister said.

It is the Government’s aim to provide computer knowledge among students in the North and East. Under the President’s concept, 37 schools in the North have already been provided with computer laboratories, the Minister added.

Turkish  minister said he expected Muslims to withdraw their money from Swiss banks in response to a referendum vote that banned the construction of minarets in the country, in remarks published Wednesday. “I am certain this (the vote) will prompt our brothers from Muslim countries who keep their money and investments in Swiss banks to review their decision,” State Minister Egemen Bagis, who is also Turkey’s chief negotiator in EU accession talks, was quoted as saying in the mass-selling Hurriyet daily.

“The doors of the Turkish banking sector… are always open to them,” he added. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-president of the Greens in the European Parliament, has also called on rich Muslims to empty their bank accounts in Switzerland in retaliation for Sunday’s referendum.

Turkish leaders on Tuesday harshly denounced the ban, calling it a reflection of growing Islamophobia in Europe and urging Switzerland to “come back from this mistake as soon as possible.” Sunday’s vote saw more than 57 percent back a proposition by a right wing party for a constitutional ban on the construction of new minarets, overriding opposition from the government and the bulk of Switzerland’s political parties.

President Mahinda Rajapaksha will present an extended version of his previous electorial manifesto, said Minister of transport Dullas Alahapperuma at a press conference held at Mahaweli Center.  The new and improved version of ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’ will be presented to the people in the coming days as the fresh election statue of the incumbent President. Minister Alahaperuma futher stated that it will be the first time in the political history after independence that extended versions of an election manifesto to be presented by a political party leader. He also said that it has always been a fashion for all candidates to present a new manifesto for each election. President Rajapaksha is breaking the tradition by presenting his earlier manifesto, Alahaperuma said in the conference held yesterday.

As many as 9,000 war-displaced Tamils living in welfare camps for the past six months have ventured out to make maximum use of the freedom of movement being granted to them from today (Dec. 01).

They have been given a letter, authorizing their movements, and asked to return within 15 days,said resettlement minister Risath Bathiudeen. Public transportation has been made available for them to make their journeys.