The Hon. (Dr.) M.L.A.M. Hizbullah

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

¶ 02 Hon. Speaker, under Standing Order 27(2), I wish to question the Minister of Justice and National Integration.

¶ 03 During British rule from 1796 to 1948, many Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim leaders who acted against the British rulers were declared “traitors” by Gazette notifications, and their rights and properties were confiscated. In particular, Gazette No. 123 of 07 July 1804 and the Gazette of 10 January 1818 declared 190 such leaders as traitors. I table the Gazette of 07 July 1804.

¶ 04 Subsequently, under Gazette Extraordinary No. 1998/25 of 21 December 2016, issued by the then President Maithripala Sirisena, 19 freedom fighters so listed were exonerated. I table that Gazette as well.

¶ 05 Similarly, in March 2017, 82 freedom fighters were removed from the traitors’ list by Gazette and were officially declared “National Heroes” and “Patriots.” Their descendants were honoured at a ceremony at Independence Square.

¶ 06 The purpose of this is to restore honour to national heroes wronged by the Gazettes of 1804 and 1818, acknowledging their sacrifices and correcting a historical injustice. However, Muslim leaders from present-day Ampara–Batticaloa and Trincomalee, who were listed as traitors in those Gazettes, have not been cleared to date. Their names are:

¶ 07 Batticaloa District (now Ampara): 1. Meera Ousan Avvakkar (alias Kariyappar) – Rawmunei 2. Ousan Lebbai Uthumalebbe (alias Kariyappar) – Rawmunei 3. Avvakkar Isa (Mukandiram) – Sammanthurai 4. Anees Lebbai (former Malay officer in Dutch period) – Maruthamunai

¶ 08 Trincomalee District: 1. Sekudeeti – Thoppur 2. Salampathi Udaiyar (Kuchchaveli 2nd Village Headman) – Kuchchaveli 3. Peer Muhammad – Thoppur

¶ 09 These seven Muslim leaders, who acted against the British Government to protect the sovereignty of the country, remain listed as traitors. Therefore, through the Ministry of Justice and National Integration, I respectfully request that they be officially declared, by Gazette, as “National Heroes” and “Patriots,” thereby conferring due honour.

¶ 10 Accordingly, can action be taken to officially declare these seven Muslim leaders as “National Heroes” and “Patriots” by Gazette?