Colombo: Nearly a dozen Sri Lankan Muslim politicians holding top government positions resigned from their posts, saying they want to enable the government to investigate allegations against some of them on links to Islamic extremist militants. Nine cabinet and junior ministers and two provincial governors stepped down days after a Buddhist monk began a fast demanding the expulsion of three political leaders whom he said were linked to the terror group responsible for the Easter Sunday bombings in the country that killed over 250 people.
Commerce minister Rishath Bathiyutheen, western province governor Azath Salley and eastern province governor Hisbullah have been accused of supporting the Islamic State-linked National Tawheed Jamaat. All three have denied the allegation. The resignations of the ministers will not affect the government’s stability because they have pledged to continue to support the government as backbench lawmakers. There are 19 Muslims lawmakers in the 225-member Parliament and nine of them held cabinet, state and deputy ministerial positions.
Rauf Hakeem, a lawmaker for Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, said he and the others who resigned asked the government to investigate the allegations and allow Muslim political leaders to vindicate themselves amid an ongoing anti-Muslim hate campaign in Sri Lanka. Muslims have seen their shops and home burned, been harassed in public places and subjected to hate comments since the April 21 suicide bombings.
“We as members of the Muslim community represented in the government holding a variety of positons ... have taken a decision to resign from all the positions and request the government to expedite any inquiry against anyone among us and bring it to a conclusion without delay,” Hakeem said.
Hakeem said that Sri Lanka’s Muslim community, which constitutes 10% of the country's 21 million population, has cooperated with law enforcement officials since the attacks, and that many have been arrested on trivial matters. He urged the government to quickly conclude their cases.
Athuraliya Rathana, a Buddhist monk, started fasting last week to demand the dismissal of the three Muslim politicians whom he accused of being linked to NTJ. Shops were shut and buses stopped services in some towns in support of the fast. The monk gave up his fast after he was informed of the politicians’ resignations. The head of the Catholic Church in Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, also travelled to Kandy to express solidarity with Rathana.
