The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, my hometown is Kalmunai, a coastal area with many fishermen, so it is apt to speak on the Fisheries Ministry. But I must speak on a more urgent matter related to my area.

¶ 02 As the representative of Kalmunai, I must address the recent press briefing by the Hon. Minister of Public Security, Ananda Wijepala, and the related remarks made by Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Hon. Nalinda Jayatissa, reported in all national newspapers today.

¶ 03 It has been stated that in Kalmunai, children are being subjected to radical teachings by certain religious groups, and therefore intelligence surveillance has been increased. These generalized statements, without naming any organization, have caused confusion among my constituents.

¶ 04 The Islamic organizations — Kalmunai Jumm’a Mosque, Mosque Federation and Jamiathul Ulama — and the Muslim community are ready to fully cooperate with authorities in investigations and in preventing extremism. Our people also wish to know the background of such groups and who funds them. In fact, we also want the authorities to investigate, in accordance with the law, the activities that have allegedly taken place in our area. We wish to identify, in particular, the forces that are financing, patronizing and orchestrating such activities. The fear of a deep state looms in our minds, too, as it may not be under the Government’s control. This could be beyond Government control and be a deep state operation. Investigations must be conducted strictly according to law.

¶ 05 Previously, despite early warnings from the Muslim community, authorities failed to act responsibly, resulting in Zahran’s Easter Sunday bombings — which we also consider a deep state-type operation. We do not want another incident where, despite early warnings and cooperation by the Muslim community, the authorities have failed to act in a timely and responsible manner. In fact, there is a prevalent culture of early warning within the Muslim community, which needs to be nurtured and respected.

¶ 06 Tomorrow, malign forces may try to blame us and exploit Ministers’ statements. Therefore, we clearly state that the Muslims of Kalmunai are always ready to cooperate to prevent extremism. However, it is the Government’s duty to ensure official statements do not create unnecessary fear and suspicion. Otherwise, the old, false narrative that “Islamic extremism is being propagated within the Muslim community” will be revived and used by racist, extremist forces to suppress us. The term “Islamic extremism” itself is fundamentally contrary to Islamic principles.

¶ 07 Therefore, the Hon. Minister should issue a clarification and, based on proper investigation, inform this House of actions taken. Additionally, since the beginning of Ramadan, the SLBC has been conducting the Iftar Muslim programme successfully, supported by significant advertising revenues from Muslim businesses — we are happy.

¶ 08 However, a nightly one-hour Islamic programme broadcast by SLBC for over 75 years has, from yesterday, been cut by 15 minutes to 45 minutes. Please immediately restore it to one hour. Thank you.