COLOMBO: It has been nearly three weeks since former LTTE member Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, now the deputy leader of the pro-government paramilitary-cum-political group, the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), was appointed chief minister of the war-scarred eastern province of Sri Lanka. Home to a majority of Muslim population, the east has seen much violence since this controversial appointment by President Mahinda Rajapakse, with at least 15 Muslims abducted and around eight killed triggering clashes between the Tamil and Muslim communities in the area.
The violence that continued steadily in the past weeks leading to mass-scale protests and shutdown of shops has hardly mitigated despite imposition of curfew in several eastern districts, sources based in the area says.
A Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader, Rauff Hakeem, when contacted accused ‘certain groups within the government’ of provoking violence in the east, and warned of widespread communal clashes if steps were not taken to deal with the perpetrators. “The first step for this is the disarmament of all armed paramilitary groups,” Hakeem opined referring to the TMVP that allegedly still continues to carry arms despite entering the political process. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress members in the east say they hold news Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan responsible for orchestrating the abductions and deaths of the eastern Muslims. Area sources also allege that the incidents taking place in the east is a direct result of last month’s tussle between the TMVP and Muslim politicians over the chief minister’s appointment to the district. Both groups had been pressing President Mahinda Rajapakse to appoint a member of their ethnicity.
“What is going on now is a brutal display of terror power. Muslims are being targeted for wanting a Muslim chief minister in a region where they are a majority,” said a Muslim civil society leader based in the eastern town of Kathankudy, which is the centre of much of the violence. He quoted the Muslims who had been abducted and released later as saying that their abductors had assaulted them mockingly asking if they wanted the chief minister’s post.
The Muslims who have been subject to violence so far are mostly woodcutters, farmers or businessmen. Police on Saturday said two of the four persons abducted had been released. However, the Muslims in Eravur, an eastern town in the Batticaloa district, said they were reluctant to step out of their houses fearing abductions or harassment.
A police spokesman, Ranjith Gunasekara, said police was trying to control the situation, and a member of the Mosque Federation in the town of Kattankudi said they were finding ways to prevent more violence.
Military sources say that Islamist militants are on the rise in the east, but Muslim politicians rejected the claim.
According to the military, these ‘elements’ are behind the recent communal clashes in the province.
On the other hand, the Tamil para-military group, TMVP, have denied that they are behind the abductions and violence of Muslim. They claim that Muslim gunmen shot dead two TMVP members, including an area political leader, as the two were travelling through Kattankudy.
Kathankudy and Eravur are two of the most volatile areas which are prone to ethnic violence in the eastern Batticaloa region.
