COLOMBO : The independent presidential candidate Ranil Wickramasinghe, meeting the Muslim religious leaders on Tuesday,August 27 , stressed that he would appoint a special committee to recommend compensation to the kith and kin of victims of Covid-19 forced cremation. When Muslim religious leaders demanded accountability for decisions on forced cremation, he came up with an alternative suggestion: the establishment of a Parliamentary select committee once he is elected to office.
Right-thinking members of the Muslim community must be careful not to request for or accept the establishment of a Parliamentary select committee. First, it would open up the old wounds again with some Members of Parliament likely seeking to justify the behaviour of perpetrators and even unfairly criticising the community on the pretext of contributing to the select committee proceedings. Second, a Parliamentary select committee may not be the right place to pursue ‘legal’ accountability in this instance. It is inconceivable that it would call a spade a spade. The task of ensuring accountability should be left to the judiciary, if at all.
In the same vein, there is no need as well for a special committee to decide on compensation. Following the initiative taken by the late Mangala Samaraweera, the former Foreign Minister, a special mechanism was established pursuant to an Act passed by Parliament in 2017. The Office for Reparation has the power to decide on compensation to victims and their families including and beyond conflict period. It is true that some strictures have been made against the Office regarding how it treats compensation cases. However, it is the only legislatively-sanctioned mechanism that exists today, which could award any compensation for the families of forced cremation victims as well.
The proposal made to the ACJU regarding the establishment of a special committee to recommend compensation or a Parliamentary select committee to establish accountability is therefore only a time-buying and diversionary tactic.
For right-thinking members of the Muslim community what is more important today than falling for this propsal made to ACJU is to seek a legally or constitutionally guaranteed ‘Policy of Non-recurrence’ while pursuing accountability and compensation through already established mechanisms.
Interestingly our religious leaders are trying hard to come off the blame for their incoherent and sometimes foolish behaviour during the forced cremation period. They seem to think that by demanding accountability in addition to compensation, they could wash off their sins altogether. The fact remains, however, that they, too became part of the problem by their own foolish behaviour, as the Gota government continued the policy of forced cremation.
The religious leaders appeared to be justifying why they wanted the government to allow the vicims’ families to bury whatever remained of the body after cremation (call it a fatwa?). They told the independent presidential candidate that they themselves were blamed by the community in this context because their stance was ‘misunderstood’ as asking for the release of ashes. Is their conduct really not blameworthy, as they insinuate?
Can there be any rationale behind ACJU stance that whatever remained of the body after cremation should have been released, other than that the only thing that could be released after cremation was ashes.
In the manner they briefed the visiting presidential candidate, it appears that our religious leaders have made up their mind that it is the committee established by Gota which bore responsibility for forced cremation, not Gota himself and the racist mindset underlying that policy. If true, that would only be a convenient understanding of a graver challenge that the Muslim community ever faced. Such an understanding only aligns with that of Ali Sabry who maintains that it was the work of an “ill-considered mechanism”.
The unpalatable fact remains, however, that it is Gota — and his government as a whole — which perpetuated the policy of forced cremation against Muslims. And a majority of those who formed part of that government are now with the independent candidate.
So, what is being enacted now is a high DRAMA — intended to attract Muslim voters to their political campaign.- SHA Azeez
