SRI LANKA: EASTERN MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE ON THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000847 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/INS USAID FOR R HOWELL/ANE/IR, E HUME/CMM, B SMITH/DG MCC FOR S GROFF, D TETER, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE E.O 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID SOCI PHUM PINS PREF PGOV CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: EASTERN MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE ON THE ROLE OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN THE SRI LANKA PEACE PROCESS ¶1. (SBU) Summary: USAID Mission Director met with community leaders representing the Peace Secretariat for Muslims from the three districts of the Eastern Province -- Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara. Participants in the the meeting, chaired by Mr. M.I.M. Mohideen, the body?s Secretary-General, discussed the impact of the escalating conflict on the Muslim community in the Eastern Province, the lack of security for Muslims, the state of the economy in the East, and the perception that Muslims are excluded from peace talks and other national level discussions that affect their future. Failure to address Muslims? legitimate grievances could result in their adopting a more militant position ? a fact that was clearly made in the discussion. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) USAID Director met May 9 with members of the Muslim Peace Secretariat from the three districts of the East. Participants identified their primary grievances as: the lack of participation of representatives of the Muslim community in peace negotiations; the lack of protection of human rights and the need to re-establish the rule of law in the East; and the inequitable distribution of aid to both tsunami- and conflict- affected internally displaced persons. They highlighted a significant deterioration in Muslim?Tamil community relations which, if left unchecked, could escalate into a secondary conflict in the East. Background: Sri Lanka?s Muslim Community and the Conflict -------------- --- ¶3. (SBU) In the Eastern Province, the majority of Muslims depend on farming and fishing for their livelihood. During the 25-year conflict, Muslims have been forced to leave the Jaffna Peninsula, Mannar, and other areas of the Northern Province. Many have settled in the Eastern Province. The Peace Secretariat for Muslims has identified 96,000 acres of land that has been or currently is under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or the Karuna Group that were previously Muslim lands. Muslims in the East have found themselves targeted by the LTTE, and, more recently, the Karuna Group. ¶4. (SBU) Muslims constitute one-third of the population of the Eastern Province and are the largest ethnic group in the Ampara District, the area worst affected by the December 2004 tsunami. The majority of the Muslim community in the East lives along the coastal belt from Pottuvil in the south to Muttur in the north. This area suffered the highest numbers of fatalities as a result of the tsunami. Meeting participants noted the lack of significant progress on tsunami rehabilitation projects in the East compared with the Sinhalese-dominated South. ¶5. (SBU) The main players in Sri Lanka's conflict have been the Tamil minority seeking a separate state or regional autonomy within a federal state and the Sinhalese majority who have rejected the latter and are not wholly supportive of the former. Meeting participants noted that Muslims have become a forgotten element in this entrenched conflict. Their community has suffered from discrimination, politically motivated violence, and massacres. COLOMBO 00000847 002 OF 004 ¶6. (SBU) Unlike other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka who define themselves in terms of language, culture, and religion, the identity of Sri Lankan Muslims is defined primarily by religious belief. Historically, there has been debate among Sinhalese and Tamil politicians and academics over the identity of the Muslim community, with some arguing that Muslims are Tamils who follow a different religion. Nevertheless, there is an unequivocal belief among Sri Lankan Muslims that they constitute a separate and clearly defined community. ¶7. (SBU) In post-independence Sri Lanka, Muslim political leaders were represented by a broad cross section of political parties. Traditionally, the pro- business Muslim elites who entered politics downplayed ethnic issues and promoted policies favored by the entrepreneurial sector. In the 1970s, increased educational opportunities in the country led to the emergence of professional elites from the East. The longstanding economic grievances of eastern Muslims were exacerbated with the onset of ethnic conflict in the 1980s. This led to the creation of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) in 1986, the first Muslim-based political party in Sri Lanka, headed by M.H.M. Ashraff. ¶8. (SBU) Sri Lanka's electoral system is based on proportional representation which gave the SLMC a disproportionately large role in the creation of governing coalitions. Despite having a relatively small voter base, the party was able to deliver benefits to its supporters in the form of government jobs in ministries controlled by party leaders, establish a university in the Ampara District with a predominantly Muslim student body, and begin the construction of a port in Oruvil, a Muslim-dominated town in Ampara District. In 2000, after the death of the SLMC's leader, his widow, Ferial Ashraff, and SLMC deputy leader Rauf Hakeem were unable to agree on who should lead the party. The resulting split led to the further fracturing of the Muslim polity with individual parliamentarians leaving the party and establishing their own political parties. Currently, there are eleven Muslim political parties in Parliament. USAID Support for the Peace Secretariat for Muslims -------------- -------------- ¶9. (U) Through the USAID Sri Lanka peace support project ?Civic Foundation for Peace?, a memorandum of understanding was negotiated between Minister Rauf Hakeem, leader of the SLMC, and Mrs. Ferial Ashraff, leader of the National Unity Alliance (NUA),to create the Peace Secretariat for Muslims (PSM). The goals of the PSM are to promote a consensual approach among Muslim political leaders to advocate for the needs of their community in this conflict-affected region and to promote the views of the Muslim community on the peaceful resolution of Sri Lanka's conflict. With USAID support, the PSM has established regional offices in Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Galle, and Puttalam. Each office has established a committee of community leaders to monitor human security issues and participate in a district-based Peace Assembly with representatives nominated by the SLMC and NUA. A cross section of the PSM's network of community leaders from Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara met on May 9 in Ampara with the USAID Mission Director. COLOMBO 00000847 003 OF 004 Muslim Community Leaders Highlight Concerns -------------- ¶10. (SBU) One of the primary concerns raised by the Muslim community leaders was the perceived indifference of the government to the needs of the Muslim community whose members were victims of the tsunami and are adversely affected by the ongoing conflict. The Muslim community, they said, directs its anger not only at the Government of Sri Lanka, but also at the donor community and non-government organizations, which are viewed as having failed to provide support in a timely manner. Of particular importance to the Muslim community are programs to promote peace, combat corruption, protect human rights, and increase opportunities for livelihoods and training for unemployed youth, particularly those who did not enter the university system. ¶11. (SBU) The President of the All Mosques Federation in the Eastern Province, Al Haj Moulavi S.L.M. Hannifa, presented a paper on behalf of his organization highlighting the expectations of the Muslim community. These included: -- Recognition of the North-East Muslims as a distinct nation with a separate and distinct identity, culture, traditions and religion; -- Recognition of an identified Muslim homeland in the North and East,i.e.non-contiguous administrative areas in a unified Sri Lanka; -- Recognition of the inalienable right of self- determination of the Muslims; -- Resettlement of the Muslims forcibly evicted from the Northern Province their places of origin in Mannar and Jaffna; -- Establishment of a Commission for Racial Equality to address the grievances of the minorities; -- Re-establishment of the rule of law in the North and East; and -- The inclusion of North-East Muslims in future peace negotiations. ¶12. (SBU) The discussion highlighted the lack of media outlets that are sympathetic to the concerns of the Muslim community. The Tamil language media are primarily focused on the Tamil minority and do not adequately address developments in the East from the perspective of the Muslim community. An elected member of the Pottuvil municipality emphasized that peace was the only way to ensure sustainable development and that the devolution of power was the only "honorable solution acceptable to all based on geographic and demographic factors." He noted the prevalence of fear in all communities in the East as a result of massacres of civilians that have occurred in the past. ¶13. (SBU) Participants pointed to an increasing level of distrust between the Muslim and Tamil communities. Pamphlets such as the Ceylon Muslim News, which is published by the North-East Muslim Peace Assembly, highlight human rights violations perpetrated by both the LTTE and the Karuna Group in the North and East. In the October 2006 edition of the Ceylon Muslim News, an article entitled "The Politics of Merged North-East" stated, "the forces of Tamil nationalism were the gravest human rights violator in Sri Lanka." The COLOMBO 00000847 004 OF 004 participants expressed frustration and anger at the targeting of the Muslim community in the conflict in the East; more recently, the Karuna Group has targeted Muslim traders and entrepreneurs by imposing "taxes" and other forms of extortion. ¶14. (SBU) The community leaders expressed the view that the Muslim political leadership was silenced by offers of positions within the government, creating a dearth of effective advocates. In this context, the Peace Secretariat for Muslims is key to promoting a national SIPDIS institution that can broadly advocate on behalf of the conflict-affected Muslim community as well as rebuild the credibility of Muslim political leaders in the East. A Forum for Community Leaders to Highlight Concerns -------------- -------------- ¶15. (U) In the context of Sri Lanka's ongoing conflict and the need to promote its peaceful resolution, USAID programming will focus on building upon the Muslim community's often unpublicized assistance to displaced Tamil communities and use common interests such as the continuing needs of tsunami and conflict-affected IDPs to promote reconciliation and cooperation. New USAID programs will utilize shared interests, such promoting human rights and good governance, combating corruption, improving livelihoods, and targeting unemployed youth through workforce development opportunities. ¶16. (U) Through the PSM and community-based fora situated in the East, USAID will monitor the needs of all three communities in the Eastern Province; provide technical assistance and training to provincial and local government officials to promote transparent, accountable, and responsive decentralized institutions; and support language training for government officials in the East to ensure access to services by all communities. ¶17. (U) The PSM will be supported in developing broader and more inclusive civil society networks within this community and beginning the process of engagement with all Muslim politicians to promote a consensus in political fora that are tasked with developing a political solution to the conflict. BLAKE