By Latheef Farook –

Latheef Farook

Pampering racism – No lessons learnt

Why President Maithripala Sirisena remains silent and indifferent towards the well-coordinated attacks on Muslims in and around Gintota? The mobs burnt Muslim owned houses, shops and looted valuables besides attacking mosques? Putting things together Muslims in the area now begin to suspect that these attacks by hired hooligans were planned and coordinated with police, Special Task Force, STF and politicians.

According to reports face covered outsiders to hide their identities were brought in from Boossa and Rathgama by buses and Lorries. Some collaborators in the area showed them Muslim houses and shops. Muslims claim that these attacks have nothing to do with Sinhala-Muslims relations. Both communities now begin to realize they were victims of racist politics to rob Muslims of their wealth and weaken their economy.

The people in the area point out that a UNP Muslim PC member Mohamed Kiyas confused everyone by attacking Sinhalese households to show that Muslims also attacked Sinhalese houses. This is the reason why they strongly suspect political hands behind these attacks.

Now the question is who were the politicians who were behind these attacks?

Who brought these hired thugs and why did a UNP Muslim PC member attack Sinhalese households?

Following these attacks Muslims express their loss of faith in President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to ensure their security and property.

When President Sirisena told in public meetings that he would rein in racists, restore law and order and bring about communal harmony besides eliminating corruption, beleaguered Muslims trusted and voted for him. However it didn’t take long for them to realize that when it comes to pampering racism and racist attacks on them, President Sirisena is not different from Rajapaksa brothers who were responsible for the sufferings of Aluthgama, Beruwala and Dharga Town Muslims. However Muslims never thought that there would be another Aluthgama, Beruwala and Dharga Town in Gintota under Maithri-Ranil team who took the whole country for a ride with their false promises.

Judging from the performances of the government since elected to office in January 2005, Muslims now begin to think of the need to protect themselves and their properties. Attacking Muslim areas, destroying their residential and commercial, industrial and movable properties have become blood sports for both Rjapaksa and the Maithri-Ranil governments.

The government’s policies remain hostile to Muslims here and abroad. For example it is common knowledge that Sri Lanka is absorbed into Washington, London and Tel Aviv responsible for invading, bombing and destroying Muslim countries, killing millions, shattering ,societies and driving millions of innocent people to refugees camps to languish in appalling condition to turn these countries into wasteland.

India under the extremely anti-Muslim BJP, front for RSS fascists, have joined the Washington-London-Tel Aviv  axis into which Sri Lanka’s pro-western government has been absorbed into

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe is known for his pro-western and pro-Israeli policy. Muslims still remember how he told Muslim parliamentarians who wanted to condemn the March 2003 US led European invasion of Iraq “if you wanted to condemn you can leave the government and do so”. 

Continuing the Rajapaksa government policy of opening the doors for Israel, sworn enemy of Islam and Muslims, this government has rolled red carpet to Israelis, godfathers of terrorism in the Middle East and the architect of the so called war on terrorism associating violence with Islam, demonize Islam and Muslims to justify invading, raping and ravaging Muslim countries to loot their wealth and destroy people Muslim societies.

For example Israel is the only country which supplied and still supplying weapons to Myanmar’s military junta facilitate ifs genocide on Rohingya Muslims. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, soaked in Guajarati Muslims blood, paid an official visit to Myanmar while genocide of Muslims were underway.

In appears in keeping with Washington-Tel Aviv-New Delhi anti-Muslim nexus the Sri Lanka’s so called government of good governance also failed to condemn the genocide of Rohingya Muslims. This is the island’s foreign policy.

However hearts of President Sirisena and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe melted at the shooting incident at Las Vegas. In his message of condolence to the victims of Las Vegas shooting President Maithripala Sirisena expressed his sympathies stating via Twitter: “Las Vegas shooting is a heinous act. My sympathies are with loved ones of the victims and the people of the US in this hour of grief”. 

Similar message was sent by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. 

The question is where were their human kindness to more than 1.3 million Rohingya Muslims, described as the most persecuted people in the world, when they were tortured, killed, children thrown alive into burning fire, raped and gang raped Muslim women by Myanmar’s military junta?   

Both President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe have forgotten that Muslim votes also played a crucial role in electing them to power-especially UNP to power after losing more than two dozen elections.

This is disaster. Israelis are also here and they have their own agenda which most politicians and even most in the mainstream media do not understand. Israel’s only agenda wherever they enter is to screen, pick up and finance mercenaries to demonize Islam and prepare the grounds to unleash violence against Muslims.

This is the reason why knowledgeable people in Sri Lanka fear that they would do the same thing here in the island and pit racist elements against the island’s Muslims.

One should not forget that killing Muslims only because they are Muslims is the new world order since the collapse of former Soviet Union in 1979 and the US emerging as the sole super in the world. 

This is the reason why Muslims fear that the Sri Lankan government’s indifferent to anti-Muslim attacks may encourage racist elements here, with close links to Myanmar’s saffron murderous thug Asin Wirathu and his Ma Ba Tha organization, to commit same crime against the island’s Muslims.

Judging from the growing hostility, many fear that Israelis would get Sinhala racist mercenaries to do to Muslims what they did to Muslims worldwide. The racist politics of both the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom virtually destroyed this country which was a role model for developing world for political and economic stability. Communal harmony. 

This is the reason why almost seven decades after the independence, Sri Lanka remains one of the most mismanaged countries in the world known for corruption of epidemic proportion. Shameful state of affairs is such that never a day passes without the media highlighting not only the corruption of people in the Rajapaksa government but also of the present government which came to power with the slogan of eliminating corruption.

People who pinned their hope on Srisena-Ranil government are deeply disappointed and are discussing the need for a third force to save the country. The mood of the people in general is the feeling that time has come for responsible elements in the Sinhala civil society to come forward and free the community and the country from the racist politics which have all the potentials to turn this country once again into a killing field. 

It is also time that the Muslim community free itself from corrupt politicians and equally corrupt and controversial so called mullahs, come out of their self-imposed isolation and join hands with responsible elements in the majority community to reintegrate with the main stream.

Unless such precautionary measures are taken it is likely that powerful global forces which demonize Islam and slaughter Muslims worldwide will turn their attention to Muslims in South Asia turn this country into another killing field.