Muslims of Sri Lanka will be an integral part of the proposed truth, justice, reparations and non-recurrence process [which will be set up to go into allegations of human rights violations during the last phase of the country's civil war], according to Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera.
“Muslims’ grievances and concerns will be a part of the consultations, design and operationalisation of the domestic mechanisms including the Commission for Truth, Justice, Reconciliation and Non-recurrence, the Judicial Mechanism, the Office of Missing Persons and the Office of Reparations,” Mr Samaraweera told a function held by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress to mark 25th anniversary of Muslims’ expulsion by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from the Northern Province.
The mechanisms would not only address the suffering and grievances of the Muslim community but would also handle the grievances and concerns of Sinhala and Tamil communities and the concerns of other minority groups.
He urged people to engage themselves in meaningful dialogue aimed at finding solutions to problems as opposed to heaping blame and scoring political points at the expense of future generations. “Let us design, define and create our future by our hopes and aspirations, and not be held back by the fears and prejudices of the past. Let us not be afraid to dream,” he told the audience that included Ministers Rauf Hakeem and D.M. Swaminathan besides Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament M.A. Sumanthiran.
