Muslim Council concerned over Sagala’s recent statement

Saturday, 29 October 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka (MCSL) welcomes the Cabinet decisions to appointing another committee to address the reforms needed to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act. The Ministry of Justice had earlier appointed a committee of 17 eminent representatives of the Muslim community under the leadership of former Supreme Court Judge Saleem Marsoof to make recommendations to reform the act. This report has still not been released.

The Muslim Council is deeply concerned about the statement made by the Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development Sagala Ratnayake at the Cabinet media briefing on 26 November that the reforms to the act has to be enacted as part of the conditions to regain the GSP Plus concessions from the European community.

The council stated that there was certainly a need to amend the Muslim Marriages and Divorce Act, but it had to be done in consultation with the Muslim religious leadership and the Muslim community in Sri Lanka and not according to the demands of the European Union or the international community. The demand by the international community to intervene in a religious issue could cause irreparable damage to co-existence in Sri Lanka, it added.

It also shared its concerns that the North and Eastern Provinces would be merged by the current administration to accommodate the demands of the international community.

The council urged the Government to address the concerns of the Muslims through a consultation process with Muslim political, religious and civil society leadership.