28 March, 2024

Blog

Ban On Social Media Helps Cover-Up Mob Violence Against Muslims

By Latheef Farook

Latheef Farook

The ban on social media only helped the government to cover up its failure to prevent racist attacks on Muslims in central hills and the destruction of their properties and livelihood. Despite advance knowledge from intelligence reports of the planned carnage, the government miserably failed to stop the attacks.

These racist mercenaries, of suspected local and foreign anti-Muslim forces, caused billions of rupees of destruction to Muslim owned properties in and around Digana, Teldeniya, Akurana, Galaha, Katugastota, Menikhinna, Ambettene, Pujapitiya and surrounding areas in the central hills.

These attacks were so sudden and fierce that the Muslims just could not do anything to save their properties and even belongings.

Affected Muslims were overnight deprived of their livelihood and thrown into streets. The question is why, what crime did the Muslims do to deserve this and where is the government which is duty bound to protect all its citizen?

The mainstream media often dominated by journalists of racist mindsets serve various anti-Muslim forces. Yet the media in general gave wide coverage to the carnage during the first week and highlighted the senseless carnage.

However since the beginning of the second week mainstream media began to accuse Muslim victims of extremism and suspected of trying to cover up madness of a relatively small group.

After the second week electronic media has virtually ignored these attacks and the destruction.

When organized mobs attacked Aluthgama, Beruwala and Dharga Town during Rajapaksa government, local media virtually imposed a blackout. They were exposed and woke up when the international media gave wide coverage with vivid details. 

However during the recent anti-Muslim violence in Digana and other areas the local media did a reasonably good job. The international media described recent violence as crimes committed by Buddhist extremists though Buddhists have nothing to do with it. 

An Arab friend of mine from the gulf called me to find out what was going on asked “what is wrong with the Sinhalese who are always attacking minorities?” I had to explain that this was not a problem between Buddhists and Muslims. I told him that Buddhist monks stayed inside mosques last week until the Friday is over. Buddhist monks have also joined the armed forces in renovating destroyed properties.

His next questions were what is the government doing? Why can’t the government punish perpetrators and maintain law and order? This is the shameful state of affairs under so called good governance.

When these attacks on Muslims began more than a year ago delegation after delegation met president, prime minister and all others involved and appealed to them to stop these attacks.    

However all these appeals fell on deaf ears. This provided protection for hooligans. Had the government enforced law and brought culprits to book this disaster against Muslims and the country in general could have been averted.

Many suspect this as a strategy to divert the country’s attention from the political mess the government is in. It was the same old UNP-SLFP game to remain in power or to gain power at any cost.

The mob came in buses, Lorries and vans, three wheel drives and motor bikes. They first broke opened closed shops with hammers and other heavy equipment, emptied almost everything before setting fire to buildings while the Muslim owner’s helplessly watched crying. They took food items and distributed to the mob to eat.

In some areas people were informed by their Sinhalese neighbors of the attacks in advance. Muslims took their families to the nearby jungle where they were hiding in fear without food or water.  While they were in the jungle the mob broke open their houses and took out everything, destroyed furniture and all electrical items.

Muslims did contact the police which promised to come, but came only after the mob destroyed everything. These Muslims who lived with dignity now live on charity. Their plight is not worthy of coverage for the local media.  Even television networks such as Sirasa which boasts about its investigative journalism found there is nothing to investigate in the plight of Muslims victims whose tears still remain wet.

One should not forget that it was the racist media which fanned communalism and divided communities and contributed to violence since independence.

Disgusting state of affairs is such that two Muslims were mercilessly beaten up by more than a dozen of STF personnel. A Sinhala doctor refused to treat a Muslim bleeding in head. He was victim of   mob attacks but was accused of being a terrorist destroying the country. Instead of treating the bleeding patient doctor called him hambaya, a derogatory term for Muslims, and asked the police officer to dump him in a cell.”

Released on bail by court the next day and admitted to Kandy district hospital his head wound was sutured.

It appears human kindness seems to have dried up even in the highly commercialized medical profession supposed to be humanitarian.

One Muslim said that he was at home with his friend when the STF broke into the house. Terrified women and children began screaming. According to reports he and his friend were dragged down the steps by the STF members, thrusted plastic bags filled with petrol and bound their hands and feet. Then the STF personnel beaten them with wooden poles to force them to admit that they were plotting to attack Sinhala shops.”

Meanwhile there began a new trend in the mainstream media of accusing Muslim of extremism though they were victims of racist violence. This began ever since JVP Parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake said that Sinhalese and Muslim extremism should stop.

The question is whether anyone could produce a single Muslim extremist here who resorted to violence to harm innocent people. No Muslim ever attacked a temple or Sinhalese owned business or industrial complex. They only expect the government to ensure safety of their lives and property to continue their peaceful life.

They are the most peaceful of the three major communities. If racist mercenaries cannot live with them they would not be able to live with anyone even among themselves. On the other hand do the lunatics who committed these crimes understand the damage they have done to the image of the country and to the image of Sinhalese community in the international scene?

There were cancellation of bookings by tourists. Investors are unlikely to come and this happens when the economy is collapsing and the political scene is chaotic. It also shows politicians are not worried about the country. They are only keen to protect their power and perks.

We are all settlers in the island.Like the Sinhalese, Tamils and others, the island’s Muslims also settled down here more than 1000 years ago. Though they lived in peace and harmony with Sinhalese they were subjected to cruel atrocities during the Portuguese and the Dutch colonial rules but were given some relief during British rule.

However since independent in 1948 the Sinhalese dominated governments continued to strip Muslims of their rights and privileges in many fields. 

They were, by and large, deprived of employment opportunities in the government and semi government sectors, in the armed forces and were also deprived of proper education. Contrary to the false image, some reports disclose, that around 60 percent of the Muslims live below poverty line.

Those Muslims evicted from Jaffna still languish in refugee camps. They lost everything and were driven out empty hand though they have nothing to do with the 30 year racist war. When they tried to return to their lands to rebuild their shattered lives racists began to create problems and obstruct.

As a result Muslims were left only with trading and jobs abroad for their survival. Now the racist wanted to destroy their source of livelihood by attacking their shops.

Unless judiciary is strengthened and justice is visibly restored and racists are brought to book at the earliest, it is matter of time before tottering Sri Lanka officially becomes a failed state. Under the circumstance not many Muslims have faith in the government’s ability to deal firmly with these attackers in view of its record of colossal failure to  fulfil  its promises to the nation  since it was elected to office on 8 January 2015.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Latest comments

  • 0
    1

    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/

  • 0
    1

    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/

  • 0
    1

    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/

  • 0
    1

    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/

    • 1
      1

      I think at least one of his (Jim hardy) comment should be published by CT after editing, otherwise this bugger might die of heart without a way to let out his pent upped hatred for Muslims.

  • 0
    4

    LF,

    Use your influence do the below

    tell the Muslim world to put a trade embargo on Sri Lankan product especially tea

    Secondly to freeze the foreign remittances of the migrant development workers or impose a 30% tax on foreign remittance similar to other countries

    Third, to stop supplying oil to Sri Lanka

    If we can do this, Sri Lanka will be economically dead, then the saffron clad thugs and other envious racists can eat grass.

    And finally..

    The only language the Sinhalese Buddhist understands is violence and nothing else, so we should get ready to shed blood if we need justice in this land

    Let’s hope finally there is a real terrorist group who can actually terrorize the people who cause harm to innocent people

    • 2
      0

      C Citizen
      In that event Sinhalese will make sure that they will be the last to go hungry.
      Soma

      • 0
        0

        soma,

        Are Sri Lankans equal?

    • 1
      0

      What a stupid suggestions coming from a bigoted Islamic fanatic. Power of Islamic countries economical or military has been exposed in Myanmar case where even OIC collectively is begging UN and western nations to intervene.
      “Tell the Muslim world to put a trade embargo on Sri Lankan product especially tea”
      Arabs are well hooked with the taste of Ceylon tea and will not go for tea from other sources. If Arabs do not have tea, then what are they going to drink – Camel Urine ?”
      “Freeze the remittance of the migrant development workers or impose a 30% tax on foreign remittance similar to other countries” – This cannot be done only for Sinhala workers, and if Muslims receive their wages untouched, it will create social upheaval against Muslims which will be only catastrophic to Muslims. There is careful avoidance of the wages of domestic workers as this person knows very well that only few countries supply house maids and if Sri Lanka stops it, less affluent Arabs will have to do their domestic chores themselves.
      “To stop supplying oil” – Sri Lanka is buying oil from middle east because crude oil from there is cheaper. If Muslim countries stop exporting oil, Sri Lanka will look for other sources and survive. Also they can go for alternate energy. As demand for oil is going down, very soon Arabs will go bust and have to wash their backs with oil.
      “If we can do this Sri Lanka will be economically dead and saffron clad thugs and other envious racists can eat grass”. What will Muslim racists eat then – Punnaku ?
      “We should get ready to shed blood if we need justice in this land” – Yes Sinhalese will be very kind in helping Muslims to shed blood in a halal manner.
      Therefore it is better for Muslims to reform themselves rather than confrontation.

      • 0
        0

        Al-fuq, if anybody writing nonsense and you must write better than him but yours is the worst nonsense.

  • 3
    2

    It is not the question of banning on social media which helped the government to cover up its failure, but to prevent spreading rumours which has the force of escalating the communal disturbances. The Buddhists were a tolerant community, but they were provoked by some Muslims when a Sinhalese Social worker who lost his wife three months before his death, was beaten to death. He has not committed any wrong. Only thing when he reversed his vehicle, the windows of the three-wheeler belonging to a Muslim was damaged accidentally. But he went on to compensate and was prepared to pay the damages. The Muslims could have informed the Police and settled it, but not to take the law into their hands and clubbed him to death. Moreover, the Muslims have provoked the Buddhists by vandalising the Buddhist archeological sires which is also unacceptable. In addition, the Kothu rotti incident at Ampara also lend some suspicion. I have seen in the YouTubes that Muslims have been collecting the remants of the Kothu rotti which have fallen down, were eventually collected. A foreigner has taken video of preparing Kothu rotti. After seeing this who will buy Kothu rotti which is full of dirt. Hope this will not be given as Dhana. One should not judge the behaviour of few Buddhist monks, but majority of them were condemning the looting. Even during the 1983 riots and Tsunami I have seen Muslims looting Tamil houses, while at the same time Sinhalese and Buddhist monks were seen distributing food to the Tamil refugees. Muslims never compromise for settlements.

    • 2
      5

      Those three muslim thugs had hit him with a Woden pole when he was reading the newspaper in his driver seat. HE had fell down on the ground. then those three ran away in a three wheeler drove bya fourth. I do not think eventhe police approve this story because they do not know it.

    • 2
      3

      You comment shows you are yet another trouble maker, trying to provoke the majority, and set one Sri Lankan against the other.
      The unfortunate death of that poor man was all due to road rage, and some drunken idiots, nothing to do with the Sinhala/Muslim issue, although it was twisted by people like you, to look like that. You should be ashamed of yourself and that you are deliberately trying to demonized the Muslims, and make the terrorizing mobs attack innocent people. Only donkeys and the ignorant will believe the fake news about the Kothu Rotti.

      • 2
        2

        This driver did not sustained major injuries to die, he had gone to the police station and racist found he was good bait to use as scapegoat. There had beaten him to make sure he will die and had put him in the hospital. The CID should do a thorough investigation to find the real truth.

    • 0
      0

      This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/

  • 0
    1

    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/

  • 4
    0

    A conspiracy, Mr La-thief? The Sinhalese are quite used to the Portuguese Jewish, Dutch Jewish and British Jewis variety that came in 1505, 1638 and 1815 respectively. The worst conspiracy was the Muslim one of 1815 to abandon the SL monarchy that nurtured them for more than 10 centuries, because there was nothing to be gained any more by being loyal to them. Churchill’s promise of Pakistan completed the treachery. We can all talk of conspiracies, if you want!

  • 1
    2

    More lies, more nonsense by cunning, lying Lathif.

    Muslim judges have bailed out the Muslims who were arrested with b0mbs WITHIN HOURS, but the Sinhalese who happened to be suspects have been remanded for WEEKS.

    REMEMBER- Boomiputhra Sinhalese are the soul owners of Sri Lanka.

    “Muslims settled 1000 years ago” is a BIG lie. Early Arab traders were not practitioners of 1slam and certainly they did not settle down in Sri Lanka, they did their business (unfair traders) and went back to Arab…………………………….

  • 1
    2

    Concerned citizen! You do not seem to be a citizen of Sri Lanka, that is because you are a dirty Muslim rascal. You do not appear to have learnt anything from history. Prabakaran was much bigger than you could ever imagine. Saw what happened to him in Nandikadal. If you want to shed blood, you are welcome.

    • 1
      1

      DPJ

      Are you the Dayan Jayatilleka?
      Are you daring another bloodshed and destruction lasting another 30 years or more? Prabaharan didn’t inspire outside forces and it was not Gota who took him to Nandikadal, but Hindia.

      Aren’t you aware of Jihadis’ reach from Afghanistan to middle east, South East Asia, ………….. ?

      If you are not, start reading news papers and listen to radio on a regular basis. However both exercises will make you think which I am sure you don’t want to burden with.

      • 0
        0

        wrong again mate Native, think again, if it was India why wait for 26 years..you need to brush up your reading mate,
        while on that why not read about the Insurance industry of this island, following a riot premiums goes up and subscriber number sky rocket, who benefits?

        • 0
          0

          wannihami

          Please, list and tell us all what you know about relation between Sri Lanka and India from 1983 to 2009 and the domestic events you consider important in both countries .

          Who benefited in 1956, 1961, 1971, 1977, 1983 and between 1987 and 1990, over 26 years and 2014?

  • 1
    1

    DP

    You are like a frog in the well, you have not seen what will happen when the Muslims unleash violence, unlike you, for them death is nothing.

    Their motto is get busy living or get busy dying, right now they are trying to live, but once it passes the threshold it will be get busy dying.

    All you need is one bomb to go off for the tourism industry to come crashing, secondly if the Muslim countries-middle east, Bangladesh, Indonesia–freezes the remittances, you will not have any food eat, except grass like the cattle.

    Thirdly, imagine if the same treatment can be meted out to the Sinhalese Buddhist who are living in the Muslim countries. They are so many possibilities, because the Muslims are still good, you are taking things for granted, but you can wait see what’s going to happen very soon

    • 1
      0

      Yes concerned.citizen. most of the sinhala buddhist women in the middle east are domestic servants of rich arabs.
      To earn extra bucks extra services are provided by blowing.

    • 1
      0

      “You have not seen what will happen when the Muslims unleash violence, unlike you for them death is nothing”. If death is nothing for Muslims, please go ahead and commit suicide, and we will provide enough land to bury their bodies. Muslims will do a lot good for Sri Lanka if they become busy dying to allow others to live in peace, rather than being busy dying, deceiving Sinhalese and scrounging the country.
      How many middle east countries could freeze remittance. As for Bangladesh and Indonesia, they are beggar states with people searching dust bins for food. Please be warned of repercussions, if any of the Sinhala Buddhists living in Muslim countries are harmed. Yes we are waiting to see what your idiots are going to do. Already Muslim politicians inciting hatred are under surveillance by the authorities.

  • 0
    0

    MOHO MAD…..Very Good ……Its High TIME Go Ahead We Will Join You To Do A Real POST MORTEM Of The Disturbances…………..Only Thing You Will Find A Badly Planned 1983 No-2……….TARGETS* Bond Scam….No Confident Motion………….The Pohottuwas Awakening OR WEAKNING of Pohottuwa ………………..To Silent Amith weerasinghe Of Mahasohon Balakaya And His Activities Against Muslim Extremism………TO SILENT THE SINHALESE NATIONAliSM FORCES…..Geneva HRC…………………PON -nil Und Halals In Action…………..I think history Repeating Itself………….This Is A Time For All The Communities to Get Together To Fight Yours-Mines-OURS Common Enemy instead critizising each other or fighting each other ………or dividing us to the need of politicos …… ……What An Ungrateful Lot Ar We……………How Is That We All Get Together And Round Up ALL THESE CORRUPTED POLITICOS the diyawannawa ………..Who Have Robbed-Cheated–And Day By Day Killing All Of Us….ALIVE..be theDE FACTO…………Christians–Buddhists–Islamists–Hindus—Sinhalese—Tamils—And Muslims……..If We Ar Going To Do It Guys This Is It Now….Come ON

    • 0
      0

      Pathetic Citizen

      Do you know there will be smoke before a fire. Various information comes through media and mouth to mouth. So the talk is this driver did not die by the injuries sustained during the skirmishes and had gone to police station to lodge a complain. So it is up to CID to investigate unless there is blocking from racist politicians. Whatever the racist gave as reasons for this riot too should be thoroughly investigated so it up to authorities and politicians to stop racist propaganda and take firm actions. Good and honest Sinhalese had already got together with minorities to stop such flare up but the administration of justice is in Government’s hand.

  • 1
    0

    Taqiyya at work. Islam teaches you to be deceitful, and lie and use any means necessary to fight the kuffar (unbelievers). After all, counterintelligence and disinformation is a major strategy in war. And make no mistake, Islam is at war with all who refuse to submit to it.

    “https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/taqiyya.aspx”

  • 0
    0

    Fuckuriah,

    The problem with you baluLeys is that you think you are high mighty, but in reality you are puny community who is half dead as race and now in their last stage.

    The gullible dumb stupid BaluLeys thing they are self sufficient but in reality depending mainly on the middle for tea exports and remittances, and if this stops they don’t have nothing but grass to eat

    How stupid of you BaluLeys to think the Muslim will die in vain, when they go they will take 10 of your Leys and go.

    As they say in Sinhala ” mekko mekkoma thami” , you gullible idiots will never learn

    Wait and see what’s going to happen

Leave A Comment

Comments should not exceed 200 words. Embedding external links and writing in capital letters are discouraged. Commenting is automatically disabled after 5 days and approval may take up to 24 hours. Please read our Comments Policy for further details. Your email address will not be published.