CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

Mr. Rauf Hakeem Condemns "Rising of East" Ceremony on 19th July 2007

By Darmitha-Kotte

One wonders what agenda Mr. Rauf Hakeem who happens to be the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications has, when he condemns the ceremony held at The Independence Square on 19th July 2007 in which President Rajapakse made "An Address to The Nation" and also received Sannasas from the 3 Commanders of the Army, Navy,Air Force and also The IGP of The Police regarding the capture of Thoppigala from the clutches of terrorists. His contention is that, the ceremony "was a political exercise built on military gains that made Tamils feel a "conquered people" according to an article which appeared in the Daily Mirror of 20th July 2007. May be, that Rauf Hakeem did not hear the speech made by The President in which he made a clear demarcation between the Tamil people of this country and the LTTE terrorists! Minister Rauf Hakeem who is also the Leader of The SLMC states in this same article " leaders should not seek political mileage and score "brownie points" off military victories." While he as a Muslim and as a Minister under President Rajapakse states such canny comments, at the same ceremony Mr. Athaulla (also another Muslim in this same Government) was seen embracing and handing over another document thanking the President for having cleared the East of Terrorist control by the capture of Thoppigala! A Minister can either be "in the government" or out of it, but while enjoying all the perks and the privileges, when he makes scathing attacks on his leader who is also Commander-in-Chief of The Armed Forces, one truly wonders at the cards Rauf Hakeem is playing at this juncture which also needs close scrutiny.

Minister Rauf Hakeem must understand that this is not a case of gaining "brownie points" as he makes it out but an exercise where the joint operations of The Armed Forces was appreciated in front of the entire nation for their untiring efforts to rid this country of terrorism. Right thinking Tamil politicians (except nominees of the TNA who support the LTTE) are happy with the liberation of the East because they are tired of the untold harassment meted out by terrorists to the ordinary Tamil community living in that area.

Rauf Hakeem's children or relatives are not in the war front facing the bombs and rocket propellers of the terrorists but it is sons of ordinary citizens of this country( mostly Sinhalese) who are sacrificing their "freedom, family life, comfortable homes, relaxation and easy life" for what? For the sake of protecting our nation from terrorists who have brought on untold misery not only to the Tamil community in the North but to all citizens throughout this island nation! If as a Minister of this government, he says that we must not celebrate the capture of Thoppigala by giving it due recognition- then he is failing in his duties as a Government Minister, to show his appreciation to The Armed Forces!

There is no doubt, that the war with terrorism is not over yet and that there is still some "unfinished work" which needs to be done, but that does not mean that we must not encourage our service personnel who are sacrificing everything they hold precious for the sake of protecting us- if the Commander-in-Chief does not show his appreciation then who will do it? No one denies that the celebrations would have cost the Government some tidy sum of money but if this can offer some recognition to the valiant soldiers-why should it be with held?

While the Muslims, Tamils and Sinhalese living in the East are happy with clearing the East, Rauf Hakeems behaviour in our Parliament, is quite uncalled for and can be seen as an attempt to "play into the hands of unseen forces who may be wooing him", in their bid to destabilize the Government at this crucial juncture. Let us wait and see what happens next? He also states that development of the East, must be done with the consensus of those living in the area and is also doubtful that lofty projects will take off-this is yet to be seen, if the effort is not genuine on the part of the GOSL.

Mr.Athaulla on the other hand, took this opportunity "to tow the line" and show his allegiance to the Government because he himself, has been holding onto an agenda for the last 3-4 years, with a document of distorted history of Muslim existence in the East for 500 years and is hoping to get Government approval to demarcate Samanthurai as a Sacred Muslim Area where up to 35 Muslim Mosques could be erected to show the Muslim presence in the area! During CBK's tenure he failed to achieve it and now he is hoping to achieve this through President Rajapakse. If this is achieved, can Rauf Hakeem or any Muslim living in the East openly say they are unhappy about it and do not want it? Why this hypocrisy?

Never belittle the efforts of our Armed Forces or forget the sacrifices they make, for us to lead comfortable lives!

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