By Izeth Hussain –
Izeth Hussain
Should the Government come to an agreement with the TNA over a modified version of 13 A, we would have come to an important new phase in our decades long struggle to find a political solution for the ethnic problem. However that agreement, reached at an elite political level, would mean nothing at all if it finds no acceptance among the mass of the Sinhalese people who have a deep ingrained allergy to any substantial measure of devolution because of their conviction that it will lead ineluctably to Eelam sooner or later. Is the alternative a less substantial measure of devolution? But that would not be acceptable to the Tamil people who also have a deep ingrained conviction: they have the inalienable right of self-determination, inclusive of the right to set up the separate state of Eelam, in lieu of which they can accept nothing less than a very wide measure of devolution. Those alternative convictions have been at the root of the ethnic imbroglio that has been dragging on for decade after decade after decade.
What options would be left to us if the Government finds itself unable to deliver on an agreement reached with the TNA? I believe that the only option would be to jettison devolution altogether, consigning 13 A to the place where it properly belongs: the wpb (the waste paper basket). The position of the Tamils would then be more or less identical with that of the Muslims. Some Muslims have prospered mightily, others have done well enough to lead reasonably contented lives, while a very substantial proportion have to reconcile themselves to leading lives of quiet desperation in more or less indigent misery. That is the consequence not of Sinhalese wrongdoing but of the limitations of contemporary capitalism as established by Thomas Picketty and others. Many Muslims enjoy the immeasurable benefit of fluency in English – a benefit conferred on them by the Sinhalese political masters. Certainly there has been discrimination against the Muslims – the discrimination against me under the 1977 Government was grotesque by international standards, much worse than against my Tamil colleagues. But on the whole anti-Muslim discrimination has been tolerable, not of the intolerable order that compels emigration. Last year there was the BBS Islamophobic campaign, with huge foreign funding and enthusiastic though covert State backing, but it failed to ignite another 1983 pogrom. We must note that the largely Sinhalese civil society was admirably active in combating that racist idiocy. Today the Muslims have to confront what looks like a dangerously rising propensity to regard the Muslims as the scapegoats for the many ills afflicting Sri Lanka. Many Tamils in particular – as can be seen from the Colombo Telegraph columns – seem to be relishing the prospect of getting together with the Sinhalese and mercilessly whacking the Muslims.
So there are pluses and minuses in the relationship between the Muslim minority and the Sinhalese majority. Very probably the problems confronting the SL Muslims are not much different from the problems confronting a great many ethnic minorities all over the world. The sensible pragmatic solution for their problems should be through the Western model which is successfully integrating immigrant ethnic minorities in the West, inclusive of the Muslim minorities contrary to what is made out in idiotic Islamophobic propaganda. The model is that of a fully functioning democracy together with adequate safeguards for the legitimate interests of the ethnic minorities. There is nothing unrealistically utopian about what I am proposing. We did have a fully functioning democracy at one time; presently we are well on the way to establishing it again and entrenching it in a new Constitution; and as for ethnic harmony we Sri Lankans were famous for it while India was being rent apart by ethnic riots. But our Tamils won’t agree, at present, to anything other than an attempted political solution through a wide measure of devolution, which may not be acceptable to the majority of the Sinhalese people.
How do we get out of this imbroglio? I believe that the only way is by persuading India to abandon 13 A, and indeed the very notion of finding a political solution through devolution. We cannot do this – I mean “persuading” India – by putting it in the dock and charging it with a neo-imperialist drive which created the ethnic problem and has kept it going because of a secret objective of establishing Eelam or reducing Sri Lanka to total satellite status. That would be sheer nonsense. Instead, we must acknowledge our own responsibility for contributing to the ethnic problem, meaning by “we” all three of our politically important ethnic groups. The Sinhalese created the problem in its militant form by grotesque discrimination against the Tamils and State terrorism from 1977 to 1983. The Muslims aided and abetted the creation of the problem by siding enthusiastically with the Sinhalese in every bit of racist idiocy perpetrated against the Tamils. The Tamils kept the problem going after 1994 by rejecting every offer of a political solution because of their conviction that they could establish Eelam through force of arms. We must begin, therefore, not by putting India in the dock but by acknowledging that we ourselves have been our own executioners.
Next we must make a just and fair-minded assessment of the contribution made by India and the rest of the international community to the ethnic problem. We must first of all acknowledge that Norway and other countries that were involved in the peace process were actuated by the noblest motives without any ulterior motives or secret agenda behind them. But they made a grievously wrong assessment of the LTTE. First of all they believed in and fostered the myth of the military invincibility of the LTTE. Secondly they failed to recognize that because of that myth the LTTE would accept nothing less as a political solution than a very loose confederal arrangement amounting to a de facto Eelam. That was something on which no Government in Colombo could be expected to deliver. It seems plausible to hold that by those mistaken assessments Norway and the others contributed in no small measure to the prolongation of the war. It becomes arguable that Norway and the others now how a moral responsibility to help Sri Lanka find a way out of its ethnic imbroglio. They can do this by persuading India to accept a political solution other than by devolution.
Finally, and most importantly, we must make a fair assessment of India’s role in the ethnic imbroglio. In terms of international law, it most certainly put itself in the wrong by training and arming the Tamil militants in the aftermath of the 1983 pogrom. That amounted to outrageous interference in the internal affairs of a small and powerless neighbor. But in its own eyes, and very probably in the eyes of most of the rest of the international community, it had a moral justification for what it did: Delhi could not have ignored the fall-out in Tamil Nadu of the horror perpetrated against the SL Tamils without alienating Tamil Nadu, and perhaps even the entirety of the Dravidian South, from the Aryan North. To understand this we have to take count of the full horror of the 1983 pogrom. Tamils were burnt alive in the streets of Colombo with total impunity, a demonstration that they could be treated as subhuman, as worse even than pariah dogs. There was no reaction from the civil society, nor from the political Opposition, worth speaking about. A bestialized racist Jay Gang was seen to ride supreme over the Island. In India the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the Gujarat riots of 2002 led to official enquiries and judicial action, while there has been nothing of the sort in Sri Lanka over the 1983 pogrom. It is arguable therefore that there was a moral justification for India training and arming the Tamil militants. It remains however, irrespective of whether or not there was a moral justification, that India bears the major responsibility for enabling the start of a war that lasted for a quarter century and cost a hundred thousand deaths. Consequently India also has the major responsibility for enabling us to find a way out of the ethnic imbroglio. The way out has to be – as I will argue in the next part of my article – on the basis that the Tamils have no case, none whatever, for even the slightest degree of devolution.
sach / June 25, 2016
I am for power devolution, but with tamil political leaders who supported government during war and certainly not with TNA
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Ahmed Reza / June 25, 2016
Every time Izzeth Hussain opens his [Edited out] mouth he only jeopardizes the chance of the Muslims to live in peace with the other communities. What good has his vile rhetoric brought for them, except produce unmitigated hostility?[Edited out]
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Native Vedda / June 25, 2016
Ahmed Reza
“What good has his vile rhetoric brought for them, except produce unmitigated hostility?[Edited out]”
Probably he wants to be remembered as the Muslim equivalent of Mahanama.
Remember he is aging and being ignored by his family and friends please let him have fun.
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sarrij / June 25, 2016
Rubbish. Totally disagree. IH is rational in his thinking;it is not vile rhetoric; open, freespeech and democratic discussion is the need of the hour.
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jansee / June 25, 2016
sach:
How do you propose to that? By asking Mahinda, Gotabaya or even My3 or Ranil to stand for election in the North? Your idea may have had traction during Mahinda’s time and there was continuous plea to provide support to “moderate” leaders but alas the Sinhalese are never known to have brains. By the way, have you ever figured out why is that Asoka, through his children, was able to plant the Buddhist message in SL and today it appears to tear the country apart but in India it is like it is non-existent?
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Burning Issue / June 25, 2016
jansee,
I would not worry about such! This person is a complete racist and this utterance is to tell himself that he is not a racist!
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sach / June 26, 2016
How do you call me a racist? Actually people who funded terrorism here for 30 years and caused human suffering need not comment on matters of our country.
The TNA has abundantly clearly shown they cannot be trusted.
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Native Vedda / June 26, 2016
sachoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo the stupid II
“How do you call me a racist?”
Why doubt it now after being a racist all your life?
Umpteenth time you are a website racist just get that into your head and get over it.
“Actually people who funded terrorism here for 30 years and caused human suffering need not comment on matters of our country.”
It is not your country. Your ancestral land is in South India, go back and reclaim your country back from the recent migrants to Tamil Nadu.
In between Premadasa and his armed forces funded and looked after the terrorists very well for almost three years. Between 2005 and 2009 almost four years LTTE’s terrorism was fueled by MR’s bribe.
Well it is time for you to ask MR the reason for bribing VP. MR also deserve a good bollocking. Give him.
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Dr. Gnana Sankaralingam / June 29, 2016
Dear Izeth,
What should be thrown into waste paper basket is not 13th amendment but your writings which has no intellectual value. Moreover you also ahould be dumped into the cess pit which is your rightful place.Your sad attempt to deviate Sinhala anger on Muslims will not work.
From arguing for 13th amendment minus police and land powers with full democracy, your mind has deteriorated to no devolution at all. This appears to be not a reasoned argument but to please Sinhala extremists who do not want to share any power or territory with Tamils.
Now you say that you want to propose a solution based on your skewed thinking that Tamils do not have any claim for devolution. You seem to have forgotten about the Tamil Kingdom that was in existence prior to European conquest. It is better if you join 72 virgins soon.
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Backlash / June 29, 2016
As to the hoax of this 72 virgins, the academics of the Islamic world now take cognizance of the world laughing at them. There is now a flip-flop. In a widely watched CNN Programme of Fareed Zakaria recently titled “Why they hate us” a Ms Manji – of the Ismaili community from East Africa and now Canadian – unabashedly insists no where does it say in the Koran about this 72 virgins as a reward for Muslims slaying infidels. Manji says it is a mis-understanding in phraseology and now twists there was no reference to “virgins” She maintains it is really “raisins” in Arabic!!!! Well!Well!!
Backlash
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Native Vedda / June 25, 2016
Rajash
Wake up, wake up, wake up.
IH types:
“as I will argue in the next part of my article – on the basis that the Tamils have no case, none whatever, for even the slightest degree of devolution.”
Here comes another series of naysayer’s recycled …….. (fill in the blanks).
Please feel free to ignore his typing and tell us good news if you have any.
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Agnos / June 25, 2016
Native,
Recycled garbage by IH quoting “western style democracy” has nothing to say about Brexit and the highly probable second Scottish referendum to leave the UK.
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Thiru / June 25, 2016
This Muslim fundamentalist, Izeth Hussain who doesn’t see all the atrocities of the ISIS is at it against the Tamils again and again.
He should remove his tinted glasses so that we can look at his cruel, fascist eyes – they, I am sure, look like the eyes of the mass murderer Omar Mateen, who killed 50 innocent people in the US recently.
This Tamil-hater Izeth Hussain should write articles to advice the Muslim terrorists in Iraq Syria and elsewhere to behave like civilized people instead of beheading they commit like barbarians.
Put the house of Muslims in order before you go dishing advice to Sinhalese and Tamils.
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Rajash / June 26, 2016
Native
I have not yet recovered from the Brexit vote and very busy ….No time for IH.
I will wait for his calcification in Part 2 …
I Never read any of his Part1,,,,
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Backlash / June 25, 2016
A further, sadly predictable, load of weekly garbage from the notorious anti-Tamil Izeth Hussain, ex-diplomat we are told – trying frantically to be accepted as a Political Analyst and Thinker-Philosopher. It has now become the norm for the man to spew weekly venom on Tamils, Tamilnadu and India, often subtly and sometimes blatantly, to gain the attention of the Sinhala extreme. In between he is known to make a remark or two to champion the local Muslim cause – so that, at least, he has an electorate to fall into for safety, acceptance and solace. But the Muslims do not have much apatite for him to further their cause. They, quite rightly, think he brings more trouble and unwelcome attention to them.
Let me meet some of Mr. Hussain’s comments here – those which I believe are unacceptable, off perspective or plain half-truths or untruths. But let me begin by underlining his bad faith and prejudice against the Tamils of this country by quoting him ad verbatim. In almost all his articles he would find some space – including the present one – to gain reader’s acceptance, by suggesting the Tamils have been wronged. But the venom in his bloodstream overcomes the man here when he insists “Tamils have no case, none whatever, for even the slightest degree of devolution”
Fortunately, for the country, peace and reconciliation beginning from CBK, Ranil and even the Sinhala supremacists – in that order of governance – post-1983 have all come out to include the Tamil Nation in greater power-sharing despite a far more pronounced Buddhist Sinhala nationalism that includes Buddhist priests openly in politics and Parliament. This includes the unfortunate advent of powerful sections of the armed forces in cohorts with the political far right and the Buddhist lergy.
Or, does Hussain suffer a long held grudge against his superiors and colleagues in his Foreign Service days – to which he gives vent in this grotesque avatar of a Tamil-hater. I quote him “…the discrimination against me under the 1977 Government was grotesque by international standards, much worse than against my Tamil colleagues…” For the record, let us remember his Minister then was ACS Hameed – no saint by any standards.
In support of my allegation Hussain often resorts to truths, half-truths and innuendo I quote his false claim the BBS received “huge foreign funding”??? This is news to me as it must be to other readers.
I expect readers associated with the BBS will clarify.
Just as fanciful and false is his assertion calculated to heighten anti-Tamil prejudice by the Muslim community Viz:- “(Tamils) relishing the prospect of getting together with the Sinhalese and mercilessly whacking the Muslims. I do not believe the Muslim public is infantile to swallow this pill. No Tamil wrote as such in these pages.
And this man who may be under the hallucination he is a celestial gift to this country in his role as a senior diplomat once, has this to say “ How do we get out of this imbroglio? I believe that the only way is by persuading India to abandon 13A, and indeed the very notion of finding a political solution through devolution”
LoL! What sort of diplomats this country had the fate to endure. Lesser mortals like us are aware 13A and the Indo-Lanka Treaty is the creation of years of discussion between political, legal and administrative seniors from both sides of the Straits. It is a document signed by the heads of two sovereign countries in volatile times when Sri Lanka was aflame both in the South and North-East.
Is Mr. Hussain unaware such a sacrosanct document cannot be “abandoned”
as he sheepishly recommends. Of course, either or both sides – seeing progress over the passage of years – have a right to alter or change specific clauses by mutual consent. Abandoned? No, Sir. Let me also assure you that all necessary steps are being taken to usher in peace and reconciliation through the process of devolution. I believe this process is eventually likely to succeed despite the mischievous desires of hawks and trouble-makers.
And Mr. Hussein’s piece-de-resistance ““we” all three of our politically important ethnic groups…” My dear man, enough of your tomfoolery. The National Question began, arguably, in the early 1950s and was ONLY between the Sinhalese and Tamils – initially on the basis of the Official Language Policy and the Language of Courts. The Muslim issue, that came30 years later, was not even known then. Muslims went with the main Sinhala parties – and a few in the North-East with the Tamil political parties. The equation was changed by the ambitious
Ashraff (late) who was used by Sinhala extremism, possibly Pakistan and later the Jihadists, to lay in a false claim more in the form of a red herring – for land and political fortunes for the Muslims. Changing but temporary circumstances since then have resulted in Tamils in the Eastern Province forced to be a minority. This is and will be resisted.
And now the joke our Muslims is the claim they are of Arab-Maghreb origin. And the sub-joke – they are here for over 1,000 years.
The other feature one notices in Hussain’s writing presently is his fear the Sinhalese and Tamils are in the process of early reconciliation. Predictably, he does his best to undermine this fastly emerging reality supported by the Sinhala and Tamil political leadership.
Responding to your comment “First of all they believed in and fostered the myth of the military invincibility of the LTTE” let me remind you, the shoeless, rag-tag “army” of the LTTE ran over the mighty Elephant Pass with its mightily superior Hardware and man-power advantage bringing shock waves to the Colombo political leadership. The course of the War turned then, when GoSL and the army pleaded to every other country willing to listen – to save Sri Lanka. Many deals were entered into and, over time, the LTTE was downed thanks only to the combined assistance of many countries and their contribution of military hardware, aircrafts etc., Neither Sarath Fonseka and his team or the Rajapakses had less to do with the defeat of the LTTE except to fool the Sinhalese. I believe you are aware of the Acquisition and Cross Services Agreement between GoSL and the US Govt through whose provisions Sri Lanka is obliged to accommodate the US 7th Fleet – at first notice. It is learnt GoSL officials refused to agree to this agreement for years and eventually caved in during our “war” with the LTTE.
Responding to your comments “In terms of international law, it (India) most certainly put itself in the wrong by training and arming the Tamil militants in the aftermath of the 1983 pogrom…” Indian officialdom was satisfied Ceylon/Sri Lanka did not sufficiently understand the legitimate complaints of its Tamils from the 1950s. Advise from the highest in India to our leadership to be reasonable to Tamils and be response to their pleas then was ignored. Indira G may may have, wearily and reluctantly, agreed with some of her advisors “limited hard advise” may wake Sri Lanka to do what is reasonable and long-due for the Tamil Nation of Sri Lanka.
I am pleased Mr. Hussain agrees with India’s decision vide “But in its own eyes, and very probably in the eyes of most of the rest of the international community, it had a moral justification for what it did..” and further “that there was a moral justification for India training and arming the Tamil militants…” Double-speak??
Our super-expert grievously errs when he claims “In India the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the Gujarat riots of 2002 led to official enquiries and judicial action, while there has been nothing of the sort in Sri Lanka over the 1983 pogrom” Is Mr. Hussain unaware CBK set up a Commission under the Chairmanship of former CJ Sharvananda and two other lawyers. This Inquiry was more centered on providing Compensation. It was a poor effort more aimed at local and international publicity. I am aware of a leadingColombo businessman who went before the Commission. His losses were over Rs.50 million (in 1983) When the Commission sat (2003-2004?) he was given an award of Rs.500,000. Many people got sums as low as Rs.5,000 illustrating the lack of seriousness in the matter.
I also note Hussain suffers a fetish in calling Tamils names in the language not of a former diplomat but one from the gutters. Here, once again, he seems to gain twisted pleasure in saying “(Tamils) as subhuman, worse even than pariah dogs…” The deranged man persists in this madness Tamils will feel insulted. They don’t. They have gone through worse tribulations and have survived many a millenia. They will, however, regret men like Hussain, borrowing the Tamil language as Mother tongue, thus heralding to the word ingratitude and racial prejudice is part of their cultural bloodstream.
Backlash
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Thiru / June 25, 2016
Backlash,
You gave this imbecile what he deserves:
I wish Mahinthapala digs his claws into this anti-Tamil, anti-Sinhalese racist, whose thinking is no different from that of the ISIS barbarians.
He is a political and diplomatic no-body who brags about his non-existent prowess.
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Backlash / June 28, 2016
[Edited out]
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Mallaiyuran / June 25, 2016
Anti-Tamil Izeth Wahhabism Crusader is saying:
“Tamils have no case, none whatever…..
The position of the Tamils would then be more or less identical with that of the Muslims.
Very probably the problems confronting the SL Muslims are not much different from the problems confronting a great many ethnic minorities all over the world.
The sensible pragmatic solution for their problems should be through the Western model which is successfully integrating immigrant ethnic minorities in the West.
If he is meaning SL Muslims case is no different from Palestinian Muslims and Saudi non Muslims stateless minorities, then I agree with him. But we know why he is comparing the Muslims case with Tamil case. Everybody knows the Muslims who brought the standardization, comparing the Aluthgama repeatedly to Black July. That is how these anti-Tamils Muslims are arguing that there is no case for Tamils.
He is comparing the Tamils with the stateless Muslims, who are flocking from Kandy,Galle to Jaffna, but who are asking for autonomous Muslim province, Districts like Samanthurai, Akkaripathu…. etc etc.
The man who worked in the foreign service seems to not aware which direction the west is. Western style democracies which are with Federal systems are Argentina , Australia , Austria , Belgium , Bosnia, Brazil , Canada , Germany , India , Mexico , Nepal ,Switzerland , United Arab Emirates & United States. Western countries which are not Federal, but has autonomous regions are Italy, France , Netherlands,Portugal & Spain. UK has system of Federated Kingdoms.
Other than Canada and Switzerland, none of the others have Federal or autonomy systems because of multi-State minorities. Canada,America & Australia recognize the “Natives” with autonomous status. That is not the case of Lankawe’s Vedar. Becuase Veders are Tamils, they to failed to receive the that special status. That is a matter something beyond Izeth’s comprehension.
Further Non Western style Federals are Venezuela , Comoros , Ethiopia , Malaysia , Federated States of Micronesia , Iraq , Nigeria , Pakistan , Russia , South Sudan & Sudan.
Non Western style, but has autonomous regions are China , Indonesia , Bolivia , Philippines , Tanzania & Ukraine.
Now, can he specifically talk which country he means that is perfectly centralized but a “Western model”?
Many Tamils in particular – as can be seen from the Colombo Telegraph columns – seem to be relishing the prospect of getting together with the Sinhalese and mercilessly whacking the Muslims. This man has started a Muslim crusade to crush Tamils like Badiyudeen Mahamud did, but when Tamils like to get out of that he telling Tamils are working with Sinhalese. It is the entire Eastern Muslims have formed a government with Saffron clad rowdy Gnasara’s party UPFA. This the Eastern Muslims’s case. Can he point out one CT commentator who is advocating for Tamils’ freedom is writing with the Ganasa’s UPFAs? Izeth is the only one writing anti Tamil Izeth Wahhabism joining with Ganasara,s housekeeper Mahindapala.
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Janz / June 26, 2016
Autonomous lunatic Mallaiyuran’s garbage again!
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Richard / June 25, 2016
Mr Izeth Hussain,
In this and in all your previous CT articles you clearly show your Racist animosity to Tamils and keep advising the Sri Lankan Rulers not to solve the long standing ethnic problem though you seems to understand the depth and breadth of the Sri Lankan Tamils’ oppressed state of life. The story of the Tamils of Sri Lanka is their own and is deeply rooted in them after repeatedly dealt with violence by the Majoritarian Governments. Tamils in Sri Lanka are indigenous and should enjoy the same freedom as the majority Sinhalese. It is up to them to get back their lost freedom. You should be in reality thankful to them to have treated your ancestors like one of them and gave a place to you to live among them. You are accepting you and your folks used the opportunity of successive communal violence for your benefits. But even now you and your folks are welcome among Tamils as their culture remains the same. Just take a look at neighboring Countries where Tamils and Muslims live. Do you see any Tamils showing animosity to any Muslim? Tamils have the same stakes in Sri Lanka just as the Sinhalese claim to have. You are trying to put yourself as the Kings minister and advice the King how to rule the subjects. That time is long gone and you wouldn’t have even thought to become a minister if you lived at that time. Try to avoid putting oil to the fire. Try to put some Humanity in front of stolen riches. Don’t get blinded by the ill gotten wealth and friendship.
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Tamil Hindu / June 25, 2016
Every time I read Izeth Hussain, I always think Bodu Bala Sena’s Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thero is 100% right. The Tamils (especially Hindus) should support the Buddhist monks who are exposing the hidden agenda of these hat flippers. These Izeth Hussain kind of hat flippers have a hidden agenda to take the Business & trade of the country into their hands in order to manipulate the economy, they have a hidden plan to educate all their kind to the highest in business, law, medicine, etc. and plant their people in all important places and positions, and their main agenda is to multiply (breed like rabbits) in order to become the majority in the future. They do not like to see the two old races in Sri Lanka (Sinhalese & Tamils) becoming together. If the government implements all what Izeth Hussain is suggesting, the Sinhalese and Tamils will always be at conflict leaving these hat flippers to make hay. We have seen, during the last 30 years of Sinhala-Tamil war, how these fellows have taken advantage of the situation to progress in their hidden agenda. It is good that both Sinhalese and Tamils have realized the facts.
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K.Pillai / June 25, 2016
Izeth, do you remember CAS Marikkar Post & Telecommunications Minister in the 1956 SWRD Bandaranayake cabinet. Elders tell me that CAS Marikkar called himself Sinhala Marikkar and he proclaimed that sakkilli Tamils must do only sakkili jobs.
You are projecting yourself as Sinhala Hussain. You do not want the infamous Lankan ethnic/language problem settled because this will impinge on the privileges of Lankan Muslims.
Izeth’s reasoning are opportunistic and hence illogical. He says devolution is bad because “……….Sinhalese people have a deep ingrained allergy to any substantial measure of devolution”. This is not good enough. Izeth is trying to curry favour with some extremist who are no longer in power but just in case they hold the rein again.
Following pontificating on “good” democracy the man says that “Tamils are relishing the prospect of joining with the Sinhalese to whack the Muslims”. This is a crude way of saying that Sinhalese are good but in the company of Tamils they may turn evil”.
He says “Very probably the problems confronting the SL Muslims are not much different from the problems confronting many ethnic minorities all over the world?. This implies that Tamils have no problems! In any case Izeth, have you heard of Rohingyas of Myanmar? Ahmadi Muslims of Pakistan?
Izeth cannot help bringing in LTTE and Tamil Nadu. The June 2014 Aluthgama pogrom against Lankan Muslims drew protests in Tamil Nadu. Did you do anything Izeth?
Izeth has proved again that he writes what certain people want to hear. Pathetic.
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Bensen Berner / June 25, 2016
Izeth tries to epitomize the proverbial Sri Lankan Muslim and unfortunately tries hard to live up to it. What a shame. Bensen
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justice / June 25, 2016
With this latest of all his sickening tirades against Tamils – his other imitator is HLDM – Izeth Hussain [Edited out]
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proudman / June 25, 2016
[Edited out]
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proudman / June 25, 2016
Another barbaric article by a racist imbecile, how beautiful he can write. This is a characteristic of peadohiles according to psychologists.
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jansee / June 25, 2016
Izeth:
Does India still believe a discredited SL? I think the Congress regime may be still reeling from Mahinda’s promises of even 13A plusssss but you do know what happened eventually? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand you are just a beggar with a bowl for the regime to drop some pennies into it. Are you that silly that you decline to see what happened to MR? Or why the current regime cosponsored the last UNHRC resolution?
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Lemuria / June 25, 2016
The most profited community from the 30 year old war is Muslim community in terms of businesses, properties, employment and education and these are at the expense of Tamil and Sinhalese Community. During the economic restrictions to the North and East, who supplied all required items to the LTTE? The government must investigate this big time businessmen who earned billions.
LTTE did some crimes against Muslim community! Now the LTTE has been punished and gone! But 100s of Tamils in the Eastern Province were killed by muslims and their properties were robbed or burned. Still the perpetrators at large!
It is time for Sinhalese and Tamils to find a solution and live amicably. These two communities must see similarities in differences. There are no much differences except the language. Buddhism can be considered next stage of Hinduism so no much difference in Religion. Tamil and Sinhalese worship same gods. But Sinhalese and Tamils are inevitably going to face some problems coming out ideologies which are fast spreading in Sri Lanka. These ideologies are alien to Sri lanka Until recent time. We must face it and fight against it. If we look at the writers ultimate objective and ISIS, you would not see a much difference.
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Muma Sinhalam / June 26, 2016
Tamils don’t need to worry anymore about Izeth Hussein. Gnanasara is back.
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PROUDMAN / June 28, 2016
You are right muma sinhalam. Sri lanka need more Gnanasara to warn the population of the threat from ISIS [Edited out] et al.
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W#illa / June 28, 2016
Muslims came to SL only 400 years ago. Tamils came more than 2100 years before that. The “Muslims” in the North and East and Kandy of SL are Tamils, converted to Islam. They still speak Tamil at home and remain Tamils. DNA tests can prove that truth.
In 1950’s Muslims voted with Federal Party led by SJV Chelvanayakam asking for Federalism. They support, even now, the principles of Fe4deralism.
Izeth Hussein pretends not to know these facts
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PROUDMAN / June 28, 2016
[Edited out]
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Paul_Real Siva Sankaran Sarma / June 29, 2016
Izeth don’t try to compare the Sri Lankan Muslims to the Indigenous Eelam Tamils from the north east.
The Muslims of Sri Lanka are an immigrant community from South India. Largely low caste Hindu Tamils who converted to Islam. The ancestors of a few hundred families may have a distant Arab or some other western Asian male ancestor who may have come to the island a bit earlier and took low caste Tamil women as their keep. However this does not make them Arab. We all have a little bit of something in all our ancestry. That little bit does not define us. It is the large bit. So the Sri Lankan Muslims are basically ethnic Dravidian Indian Tamil immigrants who converted to Islam, whose ancestors migrated to the island around 400-500 years ago and settled along the western coast. They only came to the east 300 years ago fleeing Portuguese and then Sinhalese persecution. They came as refugees and were given asylum the eastern Tamils. Now they are joining the very same Sinhalese extremists parties that are busy persecuting the Muslims down south and illegal Sinhalese settlers who were planted in the east by all Sinhalese led Sri Lankan governments to steal the east from the real indigenous population of the east. The Tamils and the Tamilised Vedda Hindus of the east.
Until the end of the 19th century the Muslims in Sri Lanka were not allowed to own any land, as they were considered outside immigrants. Only the Sinhalese and the Eelam Tamils were allowed to own land. It was the British who repealed this ancient law. Even as recent as the late 1970s the Muslims in the east had to lease paddy lands from the Tamil Hindu landlords in the east. All this changed in the 1970s during the era of Baddudin Mohammed and Srimavo when marginalisation of the indigenous Tamil majority in the east began in earnest, with large scale ethnic cleansing and settlement of Sinhalese, especially in the then Tamil majority Trincomallee district.
The Eelam Tamil history in the island is very ancient. Many historians think that they are the original people of the island descended from the Dravidian Tamil speaking Naga and Yakka who did not convert to Buddhism. Even the large Vedda population in the east became Tamil. The Vedda or Vedar in Tamil were a primitive tribal Tamil Aboriginal people worshiping the ancient Tamil war god Lord Murugan. One his wives Valli Amma is a Veddah lass who live in the deep south east of the island. Hence the prehistoric ancient Hindu religious site ( now fast becoming Buddhist) Kathirkammam now renamed in Sinhala as Kataragamma. This is why many Sri Lankan Tamil males are named Kathirkamar after Lord Murugan in Kathirkamma.
The Racist Buddhist epic Mahavwamsa by trying to depict the island’s indigenous Hindu Tamils who did not convert to Buddhism and take on the newly forming Sinhalese Buddhist identity, as outsiders in fact did the opposite. It speaks of their ancient presence in large parts of the island and of Tamil kings and chiefdoms. Non of the ancient kings in the island ever called themselves Aryans or Sinhalese as they were neither. They Hindu or Buddhist Naga or from other south Indian dynasties. The Naga were a Dravidian people who got totally assimilated to the Tamil culture by 2300-2400 BC. The King who converted to Buddhism was a Naga and his father was Mutta SIvan which is pure Tamil word meaning the great of venerated Siva. Duttugemunu was not a Sinhalese, as there were no Sinhalese or a Sinhalese language 2300 years ago. He was also a Naga and his father’s actual name was Kakkai Vanna Theesan which in pure Tamil means the great man or king the colour of the crow. The Black king for short. So how can a Tamil father have a Sinhalese son? When there were no Sinhalese people or language existing at that time? He was just a another Naga who converted to Buddhism. The war was between the ruling Tamil Hindu establishment who ruled Anuradhapura and the Tamil Naga who converted to Buddhism. Not between a non existent Sinhalese people and Tamils. That the descendants of these converted Tamil Buddhist Naga later evolved into Sinhalese is another story but they were not there when this occurred. This like someone stating Moses brought out the ancient Hebrews from the Islamic Arab republic of Egypt.
There is enough historical records to prove the Eelam Tamils lived continuously in the north and east and ruled their lands until European colonisation. It was the British who merged their lands where they were in a majority with the Sinhalese lands down south to create a colony called Ceylon in 1833 and made them a minority. They like the Scottish or Welsh in Britain are an ancient nation with an ancient history in the island. However much Sinhalese governments and Muslim extremists like you want to destroy it and deny it is there.
There is no ancient Muslim ruins history of kings and chieftains ruling the island. Ancient times it was the Hindu/Buddhist Dravidian Naga and other South Indian dynasties that ruled the island and were the common kings of the island’s Hindu Tamils and the then evolving Sinhalese Buddhists. From the 13th Century onwards the North and east ruled by Eelam Tamil Kings and chiefs and the rest of the island by Sinhalese kings. No Muslim land kings or chiefs.
Do not try to compare the ancient indigenous Eelam Tamils nation from the north and east of the island with your recent immigrant Muslim community that only arrived in the island a few centuries, ago and is more than 95% descended from largely low caste Dravidian Hindu Indian Tamil low castes, with only around 5% the most with some Arab but still largely of Tamil Hindu Dravidian origin.
By all standards the Sri Lankan Muslims are ethnically not Moors but Tamils, pathetically clinging to the incorrect classification that the Portuguese gave to South Asia’s Muslim population Moors. This was not a racial classification but a religious identity, as the only Muslims the Portuguese met before their travels were the Moors who ruled the Iberian peninsular. Only in Sri Lanka has a religion become an ethnic classification to divide and rule the island’s Tamils. Now Islamic extremist like you are trying to justify this by claiming a fake Arab origin that even the Arabs to not acknowledge and become like some pathetic clones of the Arabs in dress customs names ETC. Now most of you are giving up the ancient 1000 year old tolerant Tamil Sufi Islam and following the extremist Wahhabi form of Islam from the Arabian deserts that gave birth to ISIS and Taliban. Just to justify your fake Arab Heritage. How pathetic.
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Backlash / June 29, 2016
Re. PRSSS comments.
There is no need to split hairs over the recent Lankan Muslim history, as it remains well recorded. Yes. Today EP Tamils are forced to 2nd place. Their houses, agricultural lands, properties plundered due to political skulduggery. But justice will soon arrive and when it does Muslims – who came to the EP only in recent centuries – will also have a reasonable place – though not a dominant place. There are bigger issues in the country for all communities in terms of adequate food, medical facilities, education, employment, livelihood opportunities etc that need to be addressed first.
It is desperate men among us who open old wounds – only to see their name in the media. The truth is already they have brought much harm to the good and safety of their own community. Most of Hussain’s articles in these pages contain half-truth, innuendos and lies. When challenged and the lies exposed, he now choses to remain silent. The community had several warnings the irresponsible “writing” of Muslims in these pages begets only ill will and harm to the community.
A few Muslims write in here condemning Hussain’s adventurism while
many watch helplessly.
The need of the hour in the country is men of learning to emphasise on those features that can bring peace, unity and reconciliation while Hussain’s variety prefer to poison the atmosphere and spread hate. It is an undeniable fact due to the irresponsible writings of men like Hussain Muslims today are in the bad books of both the Sinhalese and Tamils. If today they live 24×7 in fear and insecurity thanks must go to loose cannons like Izeth Hussain.
Backlash
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PROUDMAN / June 30, 2016
[Edited out]
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