By Mass L. Usuf –
Mass Usuf
Mr. President you promised to bring prosperity to this country and that was your stated vision. We accepted it with joy and happiness. Now, I am sorry to say this, “it may not happen”. To state the obvious, a country consists of people. If the people are disillusioned, disheartened and their rights suppressed there cannot be space for development. The valuable time, energy and resources reserved for development will have to be channeled to resolution of conflicts. You may have your advisors appraise you about the concept of Utilitarianism. Let me help with the following.
“The three generally accepted axioms of a Utilitarianist State are, that:
1. Pleasure, or happiness, is the only thing that has intrinsic value.
2. Actions are right if they promote happiness, and wrong if they promote unhappiness.
3. Everyone’s happiness counts equally.”
Utilitarianism is “The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals utility, or the greatest happiness principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure.” (Utilitarianism, 1863 John Stuart Mill).
The Rot Deepens
Past governments have allowed rotten situations to pass by due to sheer indifference, insensitivity and callousness. Sometimes out of arrogance and outright prejudice. The country as a whole had to pay the price in proportion to the state of the rot. Mr. President my humble appeal to you, under your watch please let not such things happen because if it is allowed then the rot deepens.
We cannot live in a fool’s paradise by being happy ignoring the potential for serious complications and destabilization of the harmonious social cohesiveness.
My dear Sinhala brothers and sisters stop drawing the battle lines. Do not be in a state of self-delusion. To do so is utter foolishness in a country which has experienced a 30-year damning war and devastation. For those who consider themselves as an intellect, an academic, a medical doctor, a medical scientist, a geologist, a lawyer, a sociologist or belonging to any other discipline? Then stop drawing the battle lines. If you are not drawing it, then stop others from doing it. It is your social and moral responsibility. Forget religion. Stand up as a human being first. Speak to your conscience. Bring out your basic inherent human values of truth, honesty, love, peace and right conduct. Stand up and make your voice heard for the sake of justice, fairness and reasonableness. Please do not seek to gain mental satisfaction by causing pain to others. Again, if you are not doing it, then speak up against whoever is doing it.
Stop Seeing “X” AS “Y”
To all the scientists (including medical scientist and doctors) related to various disciplines. In the study of science, you all very well know the difference between a fact, a hypothesis, a theory and a law. Please do not allow your intelligent brains to misinterpret, misstate, misreport, falsify, distort what is seen as “X” as “Y”.
Then you cease to be a scientist. You have deceived yourself, your expertise, your intelligence, your learning and you have betrayed your other intelligent and reputed colleague Scientists. Overall, you will be a shame, a dishonour and a great embarrassment to the great institution that we humans have valued for several millennia and that is “Knowledge”.
Needless to say, that WHO and ICRC are world renowned, globally accepted and acknowledged institutions where various top-level scientists are sharing their wealth of knowledge and decades of expertise. It has been repeatedly stated, over and over again by these institutions and several other leading scientific and medical institutions in USA, UK, Europe Union that there is no issue with the burial of Covid-19 corpses.
‘Retarded’ Scientists
WHO and ICRC guidelines are not to be treated with spite or thrown into a waste bucket. By doing this, you are placing our country in the international scientific arena, to look like those belonging to the ‘stone age’. The world would reckon our Sri Lankan scientists and doctors as a backward and ‘retarded’ community of intellects. By this, bringing disrepute to our highly respected true scientists and doctors. As each day passes in continuation of this drama, those responsible are shaming the entire nation and its intelligentsia.
The abstract to the ICRC guide released in September 2020 states:
“Based on its forensic capacity and experience gained worldwide from the management of the dead in emergencies including epidemics the ICRC has been asked by the authorities … to advise on the planning, preparation and management of cemeteries during Covid 19.”
Further, the document refers how to manage burial sites of Covid 19 dead. Importantly, it also gives guidelines for temporary burials. Obviously, temporary burials mean bodies will be exhumed later and transferred for final burial. It lays out the procedure for burial in order to avoid contamination with water. In relation to burial of unidentified bodies, there is guideline to exhume the body to return to the relatives. Are not the WHO, ICRC and other institutions aware of the dangers of the virus spreading and contamination with water?
The document specifically refers to the fact that the “final disposal of bodies have been duly considered, considering the cultural or religious beliefs of relatives”. ICRC has unequivocally stated, “it is recommended that consultations are carried out with relevant parties – particularly religious and community leaders and relatives. Open and transparent discussions with relevant parties builds trust between authorities and the community.” (ICRC: Cemetery planning, preparation and management during Covid 19, September 2020)
Shame Over Shame upon us
Just take our contrasting situation. I repeat here ‘forget religion’. Think fairly and reasonably. ICRC allows temporary burial for later exhumation and burial in a final place. ICRC allows exhumation of bodies of unidentified corpses later to be returned to relatives. This is the dignity ICRC gives to the dead. This is called humanitarianism. This is called civilized behaviour in a civilized society. This is called cultural and religious sensitivity. This is called understanding, tolerance and accommodation. This is called empathy and compassion.
Other world governments are asking for the advice of the ICRC because of their expertise. The ICRC document states, “the ICRC has been asked by the authorities and other relevant stakeholders in some of its operational contexts to advise on the planning, preparation and management of cemeteries during Covid 19.”
Here in Sri Lanka we are burning the body right away without any strong or proven scientific evidence. Hypothetical imaginations apparently have bedeviled the brain. Cannot anyone see the extent of the falsification of the truth? There have been hundreds of thousands of bodies in all parts of the world buried under different climatic conditions, different soil conditions and with lots and lots of human feelings, love and care amongst the people of those countries. In my motherland, this falsification of the truth continues, even after one year.
Are we not ashamed of ourselves?
Kanapathy Varunan / November 28, 2020
Ameer Ali and Mas Usuf are writing in Red their problems, but the Elected representatives of the Muslims appears to have surrendered lock , stock and barrel..
The dead Tamils and the Muslims, apparently are giving more troubles to the government.
/
Lasantha Pethiyagoda / November 28, 2020
The writer might also need to question the people’s representatives in parliament (ie the Muslim MPs who voted for 20th Amendment for example) about their position regarding burying their dead. Otherwise these are lonely voices in the wilderness where a very small minority of English-speaking people read his writing on CT.
/
Ajay / November 28, 2020
Poor Alt-Buddhists are caught in a double bind. They are compelled to uphold ‘western science’ to disallow COVID burials. At the same time they are disparaging it as ineffective in dealing with the pandemic, in order to promote the local snake oil industry. No wonder Gota’s administration is having a burnout too soon.
/
Eagle Eye / November 28, 2020
It is the Muslims who are drawing the battle line, not Sinhala brothers and sisters.
The Tamil Muslim refugees who lived in coastal areas of Sinhale went crawling to King Senerath of Kandy when they faced persecution by Portuguese and pleaded to save them. Sinhala Buddhist King felt sorry for these guys and asked Sinhalayo to allow them to settle down in interior parts of the country. After settling down in interior parts of the country they married Sinhala women and converted them to Islam. Sinhalayo did not object to that. Now the descendants of those Muslims try to dictate what Sinhalayo should do.
Sinhalayo have given few special privileges to Muslims but the Muslims do not show any flexibility at a time the country is facing a pandemic. In the new Constitution all those special privileges should be scrapped and tell them ‘One Country One Law’. Let them scream ‘We have to live under Sinhala Buddhist Supremacists’.
/
Punchi Point / November 29, 2020
Can MasUsuf give references to any scientific studies published by any scientist anywhere in the world, proving that burying Coronavirus victims is safe? We cannot take the word of the discredited untrustworthy organisation WHO, whose misinformation (ref. WHO basing their advice and actions on “no evidence of human to human transmission” upto atleast 15th of January 2020; even on January 14th a WHO twitt maintained their “absence of evidence” base), arrogance and corruption, is what made this virus infection which could have been perfectly controlled and limited to small areas in China, into a global pandemic. If scientific evidence is presented, then there is no reason for not burying the Coronavirus dead, and if the government does not allow burials even after scientific evidence is given, then all of us will support the Muslims against the government. Right now, without any evidence, its totally unfair of the Muslims to demand burials, which will endanger all of us, as the available scientific evidence shows that virus do not die immediately when a person infected with it, dies – if we bury, then we will be making reservoirs of Coronavirus and its mutants under the soil.
/
sitrep24 / November 29, 2020
“We cannot take the word of the discredited untrustworthy organisation WHO,”
Hahahahahhahahahaha !!
Then whose word can you take ?? Are you moda sinhala insecure buddhist cucks suggesting that the general public to ignore the advice of specialists who’ve dedicated their lives work to study a paticular field of scientific research and take seriously the uneducated sayings of a political hack soil expert or O/L unqualified slpp politicians or the frustrated thug monks who don’t have anything in the way of an education but only know to be fed like a bunch of racist cows from monies that were collected from minorities or what about the criminal chief prelates who wouldn’t know buddhism if it was a slap from an underage child who’s been sexually abused by frustrated thug monks in their temples. What a pathetic people. XD
As for your statement, “Can MasUsuf give references to any scientific studies published by any scientist anywhere in the world, proving that burying Coronavirus victims is safe? “
I don’t know if your acting or actually stupid; but THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS ON THE ONE MAKING THE CLAIM. moda uneducated buddhists cannot make a claim that ‘coronavirus affects ground water’ and then ask the Muslims to prove that it doesn’t.
/
SAM / November 29, 2020
Battle lines were drawn when
1. You allowed Wahabism spread so much created so many mosques and Madrassas.
2. You brought in 4bn in SL for a Sharia university, and majority of u kept silent and were happy about it.
3. You said the “swords are to cut grass and later to protect your daughters?” – then what about our Singhalese daughters, should be protect them with grenades ?
4. When your ACJU was going to push Halal in to non-food items.
5. When Muslims only patronize their own brother shops when every possible.
6. When you started to cover using Arabic Burka, and men also started to wear Afghan Trousers.
7. When u started to send your children to Muslim only international schools.
8. When you started to buy streets of Muslim only houses creating Muslim ethnic divisions and zip codes.
9. When u started to have families of 4-6 kids while all other races controlled population growth.
10. When your community leaders argues to keep marriage age down to 12-14 and avoided the MMDA.
11. When your ACJU religious leaders kept silent on the 20A impact knowing very well all Muslim MP’s will jump lock-stock to vote for it..
12. When 4 Muslim guys hit a lorry driver and killed him in Kandy..?
/
sitrep24 / November 29, 2020
1). Wahhabism is not an extremist ideology. the current buddhism that is taught to the sinhala people is an extremist ideology that teaches the sinhala people to think they’re better than minorities; thereby buddhism in this country is spreading racism. .
.
2). You don’t seem to know what Sharia law is. When a Muslim drink water that is Sharia law, when a Muslim eats halal food that is Sharia law, when a Muslim smiles at his fellow brethren that is Sharia law. You need to educate yourself about Islam rather than taking what the racist media in this country says.
.
3). Your third point just shows what a backward insecure ignorant mentality you have. Probably was taught to you as buddhism by some thug monk.
.
4) again you don’t know what halal/Sharia is. Halal just means what is permissible for Muslims; eg. Walking for exercise is halal, reading a book is halal.
.
5). This is a COMPLETELY UNTRUE FALSE statement. I know many Muslims who employ non Muslims in their shops, I know Muslims who spend big ticket items in non Muslim shops. This just shows you’re projecting; meaning people who have this racist insecure mentality will boycot Muslims given the opportunity.
.
/
sitrep24 / November 29, 2020
8). What type of stupid point is that. You’re just believing nonsense propaganda being forwarded by ignorant people.
.
9). You can’t blame the Muslims just because the moda sinhala buddhist are firing blanks and are unable to have children. We all remember the embarrassing moment what the moda sinhala buddhist tried to blame Dr. shafi for why they couldn’t have children but it was revealed that it was their weak sinhala disfunctional goods XD.
.
10). As I remember correctly it wasn’t the age thing that was an issue but other factors in the MMDA that was trying to be changed by people who are ignorant in matter relating to Islam and Muslims. How would if the ACJU was given the power to change buddhism ? Yea exactly.
.
11). I cannot comment on something I don’t know about.
.
12). We don’t need to go into specific incidents between communities. That is just not a practical thing to do. It was probably an accident. If you were going to do that you’d have to consider the countless sinhala buddhist women I know who’ve converted to Islam to be with their Muslim husbands; would you then try to blame them and take retribution from them as well ?? See it’s not practical to talk about individual cases like that.
/
sitrep24 / November 29, 2020
As I still see uneducated ignorant fools making claims like: ‘I haven’t seen evidence that coronavirus doesn’t affect ground water’. Well there’s a simple explanation for that; THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS ON THE ONE MAKING THE CLAIM. moda uneducated buddhists cannot make a claim that ‘coronavirus affects ground water’ and then ask the Muslims to prove that it doesn’t. the moda sinhala buddhists made the claim that it does then its on you to provide evidence that it does. Which judging by the millions of burials of covid 19 victims around the world we can unequivocally say that coronavirus DOES NOT affect ground water. End of story.
moda sinhala extremist buddhists in this backward country are the worst. Rational Buddhists must speak up. If you keep quite you will allow these moda sinhala buddhist to become the voice of your community.
/
Eagle Eye / November 30, 2020
sitrep24,
Even moderate Muslims agree that Wahhabism in Sri Lanka is an extremist ideology. Wahhabi Muslims in Sri Lanka demonstrated their extremism by killing and injuring hundreds of unarmed innocent civilians by suicide bombers. Saharan has told his followers to kill people belong to other religions.
How the hell you know what is taught to Sinhalayo to make a statement “current buddhism that is taught to the sinhala people is an extremist ideology that teaches the sinhala people to think they’re better than minorities;” This is a blatant lie. So, get the hell out without spreading malicious stories about Buddhist Monks, Sinhala Buddhists and Buddhism.
It was Sinhala Buddhists who protected your ancestors when faced persecution by Portuguese, allowed them to settle down amongst them, allowed to marry Sinhala Buddhist women and convert them to Islam, gave your people citizenship to live in this country, gave few privileges that Sinhala Buddhists do not enjoy.
Sinhala Buddhists helped Muslims as fellow human beings but did not invite them to this country. If you guys think they are the worst people please get lost. Sinhalayo can survive without Muslims.
—
“Wahhabism is not an extremist ideology. the current buddhism that is taught to the sinhala people is an extremist ideology that teaches the sinhala people to think they’re better than minorities; “
/
Tony / November 30, 2020
Health and safety is supreme over cultural traits. Health and safety is non-negotiable. At a time every one including most muslims are dedicated to eradicate the highly infectious disease from Sri Lankan soil, few Muslims who are obviously motivated by terrorism want to preserve Covid 19.
–
Usuf says twice in his article to forget the religion. So what’s the problem? Isn’t it that the government has done, chosen well-being over disaster?
–
Sri Lankan scientists have got it right. That’s why there is no outcry from the West or even from Muslim countries.
–
W.H.O has given guild lines not instructions. Sovereign Sri Lanka’s government is at liberty to make its own judgements. Remember UN and its affiliated agencies are political.
/
sitrep24 / November 30, 2020
“Health and safety is supreme over cultural traits. Health and safety is non-negotiable. “
.
Yes medicine is based on scientific research/evidence. Not pseudo science. If buddhists made the claim that coronavirus is transmitted through ground water then THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS ON THE ONE MAKING THE CLAIM. buddhists cannot make a claim that ‘coronavirus affects ground water’ and then ask the Muslims to prove that it doesn’t. the sinhala buddhists made the claim that it does then its on you to provide evidence that it does.
.
“Sri Lankan scientists have got it right.”
.
You know you are a liar, you know we know you are a liar. There have been over a million deaths due to covid and the overwhelming majority (+1 million) have been buried and yet there is NOT ONE CASE OF REPORTED GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION !
.
the backward moda racist sinhala buddhist are some of the worst beggar animals I have ever come across. May the Lord of Jesus Christ deal with you coward people in the same unmerciful manner you treat the Muslims and other minorities.
/
Pundit / November 30, 2020
I wish some readers posting comments on CT would refrain from using abusive, derogatory language on religious dignitaries and places of worship . Such comments not only reflect poorly on the upbringing and background of those posting them , but could also fan the flames of racial animosity and hatred.
/
sitrep24 / November 30, 2020
Would you speak to isis in a kind manner ??
.
Then why would anyone speak kindly to moda extremist sinhala buddhists ??
/
Naman / November 30, 2020
Burial vs Cremation
There are more positive things about cremation. Hindus do many things (practices) based on health grounds. Cremation does not take a piece of land. There are many cemeteries taking valuable areas of land that could be better utilised. Giving the dead burial isn’t be based on humanitarian basis. When the deaths are due to pandemic its quicker to do cremation
/
sitrep24 / November 30, 2020
So you’re forcing your religious beliefs in others ?? Is that acceptable ?? So when the christians took over this retarded jewel of the Indian Ocean; they should have forcefully converted the sinhala buddhist and made the thug monks remove their robes and banned the criminal chief prelates ??
.
Listen here, pagans don’t have any right to dictate to monotheists on what to believe. Lol pagans like buddhists who worship idols they make from their own hands of a man who died thousands of years ago, have no right to open their mouths towards monotheists. Knowingly saying such falsehoods as you have only to harm the Muslims is such a cruel thing to do that is only capable of the pagans.
.
May the Lord of Jesus Christ deal with you coward people in the same unmerciful manner you treat the Muslims and other minorities.
/
Eagle Eye / December 1, 2020
sitrep24,
Sinhale (aka Sri Lanka) is the Land of Sinhalayo and Vedda Eththo. You guys are squatting in the Land of Sinhalayo because of the blunder committed by Sinhala Buddhist King Senerath. Sinhala Buddhists will govern this country as they please. If you guys do not like to live under Sinhala Buddhist Supremacists please leave us alone and find some other place. Sinhala Buddhists did not invite Muslims to Sinhale. Sinhalayo will be better off without you guys.
In future Sinhala Buddhist will not show any sympathy to ungrateful Muslims.
/
Punchi Point / December 2, 2020
Mas Usuf, you have written several articles regarding the burial issue. In all of them, you have failed to give any scientific documentation as to the safety of burying Coronavirus victims, instead you continue to refer to the WHO recommendations/guidelines. Many of us do not trust the WHO’s “recommendations”, as we think that WHO’s inaction and downplaying the danger of Coronavirus is what made this pandemic. What brought it here to Srilanka is inaction of Anil Jasinghe and Pavithra Wanniaracchi, acting on WHO recommendations. If they had listened to local experts and not waited for WHO to declare this a pandemic, to close entry into the country, then Srilanka might have avoided the whole pandemic altogether. Its really troubling that Muslims feel that Sinhalese are not allowing burials, to hurt the Muslims. However ugly and unfeeling these pandemic rules are, they apply to all of us, including the Sinhalese, and they are for the safety of all of us. So its totally unfair that you should accuse us in this way. Then you insult our country’s scientific community in a cowardly crooked way telling us about what the scientific community should think of us. Really…. ?
/
Punchi Point / December 2, 2020
“WHO and ICRC are world renowned, globally accepted and acknowledged institutions where various top-level scientists are sharing their wealth of knowledge and decades of expertise”.
Can you kindly tell us the which scientists you are referring to, and which scientific studies have they published regarding contamination and risks/safety of Coronavirus burials?
FYI it is a known scientific fact that virus survive in corpses and get transmitted to the soil after burial and get adsorbed into soil particles, which could contaminate groundwater and surface water. There is no scientific dispute about this. It is an established scientific fact, which the WHO or anybody else cannot change by issuing deadly guidelines and recommendations. And people like you, attributing qualities and capabilities the WHO doesn’t have or have never claimed to have is also a problem. What the WHO has done is to weigh the risk of transmitting and spread of the virus from corpses against the social/religious consequences/effects of not being able to bury the dead, according to the culture/religion of the deceased. So, as said earlier, WHO’s decision is not based on scientific evidence about safety, but based on religious convictions and the political factors arising from them.
/
Punchi Point / December 2, 2020
The WHO guidelines issued on 4th September 2020 are said to be “Interim” and the document states “The following guidance is subject to revision as new evidence becomes available. Please refer to the WHO websites for updates on the virus and technical guidance”. This part “As new evidence becomes available….”, is very crucial in our discussion/dispute, as it clearly proves that the WHO guide to handling the dead, is not based on any final scientific evidence of any scientific studies done on the virus, but nevertheless they have issued guidelines recommending the risky burials. People who have blind trust on WHO award the same blind trust on these guidelines, which can probably be deadly. This is exactly how the WHO mismanaged the initial stage of this infection, saying that “there is no evidence of human to human transmission”, and delaying to declare it as a pandemic, even after it had crossed the Chinese borders. The correct and safe thing to do atleast now, as their mismanagement has made this local infection in China into a global pandemic, is to be on the safe side, and recommend only cremation until “new evidence becomes available”, as they themselves say and await.
/
Punchi Point / December 2, 2020
It should also be clear to everybody that sending out a set of guidelines to be used globally on how to handle virus infected corpses is very irresponsible, as virus survival, retention, spread and transmission depend on many factors such as the soil type, temperature, humidity, acidity, rainfall (floods) etc. IMHO giving priority to religious superstitions and practices which can facilitate the spread of this extremely contagious deadly virus is totally irresponsible of the WHO. Placing blind faith in this discredited organisation and exalting its guidelines into a position, even it doesn’t itself give these guidelines (ref. interim guide, subject to change as new evidence becomes available), and on top all accusing another nation, the Sinhalese of deliberately trying to hurt and discriminate the Muslims, is totally unacceptable. Srilanka, atleast after importing this virus due to WHO’s and our own officials wrong decisions, has done everything possible to prevent the introduction and penetration of this deadly imported virus into our soil and groundwater. Hopefully once all of us are vaccinated, we will have a chance of getting rid of this virus for good, knowing with relative confidence that it won’t be lurking under the soil or in the groundwater.
/