Hon. Ranil Wickramasinghe
The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
58 Sir Earnest De Silva Mawatha
Colombo-07
Sri Lanka.
04th November 2016
Dear Sir.
COSMOS Expresses Concerns About Political Developments Affecting The Muslims
Council of Sri Lanka Muslim Organisations (COSMOS UK) ,is an umbrella organization consisting of twenty one of SL Muslim organizations in UK is extremely concerned about two recent political developments in Sri Lanka which have had and will have a significant impact on the Muslims of Sri Lanka in particular and Sri Lanka’s image in general , namely Sri Lankan abstention with regard to the UN Resolution on the Temple Mount and the moves to amend the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act. These developments will undoubtedly create dents in the credibility of the ‘Yahapalana’ government which came to power, promising to act fairly without compromising on the dignity of any particular community and to promote national reconciliation .in the best interests of all communities.
1. Sri Lanka’s Abstention on the recent resolution of UNESCO regarding Temple Mount
It was noted with deep concern that Sri Lanka, with a strong policy of supporting the just aspirations of the Palestinian people, along with many others abstained from voting on Temple Mount Resolution on the presumption and claim that it denies any Jewish historic claim to the Temple Mount and surrounding holy sites in Jerusalem and on the grounds that Sri Lanka recognizes people's right to religious freedom. According to Foreign Minister, ‘The place is a holy and a historic site for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. As a government that has stood for people's rights and religious freedom we could not have agreed to it from the point of principles we have upheld and maintained on such matters which restricts or discriminate others. Nevertheless, we did not vote against it because Palestine is our friend". This stand seems comical as Sri Lanka, by this abstention has also gone against its’ own past stand , as it voted in favour of a similar resolution when it was taken up in April. .
It is regrettable that Sri Lanka has conveniently fallen prey to Israel’s managed diplomatic ploy to shift the focus from its’ illegal actions “to issues irrelevant to the content and objectives of the resolutions, which aims to put an end to Israel’s dangerous and illegal actions against holy sites in Jerusalem, by making this Resolution to be seen as an attempt as to deny Jewish links to the historic sites in Jerusalem. The Resolution in fact affirmed “the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions” and goes on to denounce Israel as an “occupying power,” condemning it for a number of “aggressions and illegal measures” at the holy site. It also blames Israel for inciting violence on the Temple Mount, of course referring to as the Al-Haram Al-Sharif. The Resolution “firmly deplored the continuous storming of Al-Aqṣa Mosque/Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif by Israeli right-wing extremists and uniformed forces, and urges Israel, the occupying Power, to take necessary measures to prevent provocative abuses that violate the sanctity and integrity of this historic site. Additionally it also condemned Israel’s construction work in the Western Wall Plaza” .
The prevailing status quo has been that the site is officially under Muslim administration and under Israeli law, Jews are not allowed to pray there to avoid potential violence. The Temple Mount compound has been a repeated flash-point for clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces and activists have increasingly pushed for the right to go inside the temple in recent months, prompting Palestinians and many surrounding nations to complain that Israel is trying to take back the site. Therefore the international community including Sri Lanka are well aware of the dangerous situation in Jerusalem.”
COSMOS also wish to stress that the UNESCO Vote also came at a time when Israel has supported a surge in private settlement activity in the heart of occupied East Jerusalem. New data show that the number of Jewish settlers in the area surrounding the al-Aqsa compound has increased by 70 percent since 2009. During that same time period, 60 Palestinian families have been evicted, 55 of them in the last two years alone, according to the Israeli nongovernmental organization Ir Amim.
COSMOS therefore expresses its’ displeasure at these turn of events and how the Yahapalana government has sought to steer away from Sri Lanka’s historic stance of supporting the just cause of the Palestinian people who have suffered for more than 6 decades at the hands of the Zionist Israeli aggressor State supported by Western vested interests . COSMOS also calls upon the Sri Lankan government to ensure that its’ long held historic foreign policy regarding Palestine be not compromised in future due to pressures emanating from vested economic interests.
2. Moves To Amend The Muslim Marriage And Divorce Act.
COSMOS also expresses concerns about the manner in which the above sensitive subject is being approached by the Sri Lankan Government While COSMOS is also of the firm view like many other Muslim civic groups in Sri Lanka, that it is time that the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) be amended to truly represent Islamic law and its principles. It should however be also kept in mind that personal laws in the country have worked well for so long and therefore while reforms were needed to be made to the MMDA, it should not be allowed through the Amendment of Article 16. COSMOS is therefore of the considered opinion that as personal laws allowed for diversity to be represented in the country, “Change must come from within the community itself” and not at the dictates of the European Union or the International Community, as perceived by the Muslim community.
COSMOS views with satisfaction that already a committee of 17 eminent representatives of the Muslim community under the leadership of former Supreme Court Judge, Saleem Marsoof has been working on this contentious issue, in order to make recommendations to reform the MMDA and the report is awaiting release shortly.
COSMOS therefore fervently urges the Government of Sri Lanka to approach this very sensitive issue With great caution and pragmatism and to address the concerns of Muslims through a consultative process with Muslim political, religious and civil leadership keeping in mind the extremist forces at work in the current climate to make the Muslims being relegated to second class citizen status in Sri Lanka.
We are hopeful the government will understand our concerns and act up on to safe guard the rights of the Muslims. It would be much appreciated early acknowledgement of this letter by email:
Thanking You.
Yours Sincerely,
Mr Azahim Mohamed
Chairman-COSMOS UK
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