Muslim anger over Sri Lanka deal

By Ethirajan Anbarasan
BBC Tamil Service

The aid sharing deal has sparked street protests in the capital

Sri Lanka's tsunami-affected Muslims have expressed their dismay and anger over not being made a signatory to the proposed tsunami reconstruction agreement.

The agreement, known as Tsunami Joint Mechanism, is expected to be signed between the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels in the coming days.

The Norway-brokered deal would pave the way for the government and the Tamil rebels to share nearly $3bn in foreign aid.

'Shocking'

But visiting Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, Vidar Helgesen, has reportedly told Muslim leaders in the east that at this point they will not be among the signatories to the deal.

However, he has assured them that Muslims would be duly represented in the proposed power structure.

"It is shocking. The present deal would not give any real power to our representatives. We are totally opposed to this arrangement," Mr Ibrahim, secretary of the Federation of Amparai district Mosques, told the BBC.

Many tsunami victims say they have not yet received any aid

He also warned that Muslims would launch protests if the deal goes ahead in the present form.

Mr Ibrahim was among the Muslim leaders who met the Norwegian minister in the eastern town of Kalmunai on Wednesday.

Over 31,000 people were killed in the country in last December's tsunami and over a million were displaced.

Muslims say they bore the brunt of the disaster.

Intervention call

While the Tamil Tigers reacted swiftly to bring international attention to the plight of their people, Muslims, who are the second largest minority after Tamils, feel they were neglected by the government as well as by their own politicians.

Muslim community leaders say they are not convinced by the Norwegian assurances and now want President Chandrika Kumaratunga to intervene immediately to safeguard their interests.

Officials say the president had conveyed the Muslim sentiments to Mr Helgesen, who also met the Tamil Tiger leaders in the rebel-held northern town of Kilinochchi on Wednesday.

However, the rebels have not yet responded to the concerns of the Muslims.

Muslims feel if they cannot be a signatory to this deal then they have no hopes of becoming a third party in the stalled peace process.

"It is a tragedy that even Muslim political parties are not speaking out against this unfair deal," says Mr Ibrahim.

The two major Muslim parties, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the National Unity Alliance (NUA) are in opposite camps - the SLMC in the opposition and the NUA in the ruling coalition.

Naturally, the Norwegian announcement has caught the Muslim politicians unaware.

'Hasty deal'

They were hoping that Muslims would be included at the last minute as the government was battling with its own coalition partners to reach an agreement over the Tsunami Joint Mechanism deal.

"It is a hasty announcement by the Norwegians. Now Muslims should talk with the government and the rebels to reach an agreement," says Mr Seigu Issadeen, a junior minister in the cabinet and the secretary of the NUA.

Surprisingly, it is not clear why the Norwegians had to inform the Muslims that they will not be among the signatories to the deal.

Norwegian officials in Colombo have so far refused to comment over the disagreement.

Still waiting

The reconstruction agreement has been mired in controversy since the beginning.

Initially, the Tamil rebels were not happy.

Then President Chandrika Kumaratunga was drawn into battle with her own coalition partners and the powerful Buddhist clergy over the agreement.

The Peoples' Liberation Front, or the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), left the coalition last week in protest against the government's decision to share the tsunami aid with the Tamil Tiger rebels. Now the Muslims are agitated.

While the political wrangling goes on, even six months after the tsunami, thousands of refugees living under miserable conditions in relief camps across the country are still waiting to hear about relief and rehabilitation.