Let the law prevail

The resignation of eight Muslim members of the Government, including four Cabinet Ministers, on Monday was an unprecedented development in Sri Lanka’s political history. The political developments that began after the Easter Sunday attacks reached a new high as the Muslim Government leaders stepped down en masse from their posts citing the pressure their community has come under with communal violence becoming a near-constant threat in the country. 

All Sri Lankans irrespective of their ethnic identities wholeheartedly supported impartial and through investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks. Members of the Muslim community even came forward to help security forces find safe houses in Saindamaradu and Samanthurai just days after the attacks. 

But three weeks after the attacks, the much-feared communal violence reared its ugly head. Hundreds of shops, houses and mosques were attacked and most set on fire. The scale of the attacks indicated they were well-organised and planned but beyond promising compensation the Government did little to reassure the Muslim community of their collective safety. Parallel to this there were countrywide calls for a boycott of Muslim-owned businesses and, again, there were no serious calls from the Government to foster harmony between communities, connect their hearts and make the Sinhala community understand that an economy is not defined by ethnicity.

The fast begun by Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero last Friday was yet another sign that these relations were about to be dealt another blow. On Monday tensions were spreading fast in several areas of the country, with forced closure of shops, stoppage of transport services and calls for people to step out in support of the fast. Thousands flocked to the Temple of the Tooth and threatened to march on Colombo if resignations of Governors Azath Sally and A.L.M. Hizbullah were not given. In the early afternoon they were finally sent to President Maithripala Sirisena, who promptly accepted them. There were many questions raised as to why this was not done weeks earlier as it would have averted heightened tensions between the Sinhala and Muslim communities as well as reassured the public at large that something was being done about their concerns.

The aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks has become a hopeless confusion, coloured deeply by conflicting political agendas and fuelled by racism, with legitimacy hard to find. Many argue that the Muslim leaders did not have to resign en masse as accusations had not been made against all of them. In public forums and on social media, there are many who see it as an effort to shield Bathiudeen and only deepening the divisions between the majority and minority communities. Others contend that the Muslim leaders had no choice after it became clear that the most powerful member of Government would bow to demands made with no evidence and no due process. Many moderates argue that the Muslim community was so endangered that, rather than risk another outbreak of violence, its leaders had no choice but to step down from their posts to express their disappointment in how badly the Government failed them.

Let there be no doubt, the Government has indeed failed. It failed to prevent the attacks and it failed to keep the peace after the attacks and it has failed in earning the public’s trust in ongoing investigations. After decades of letting politicians control and undermine institutions, the result now is not even law enforcement officials are free from the taint of political interference. In this the Muslim leaders cannot be faulted for stepping down. But it is now up to the Government to ensure that credible and transparent investigations take place and those who are truly responsible are held accountable so communal relations do not have to be sacrificed for political incompetence.