The Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, though today’s debate concerns the Ministry of Justice, the Minister is not present, which is disappointing.

¶ 03 I must raise a grave matter. Two youths from my area—Riyadh Sameem and Mujahid Saharan from Musali, Vellimalai in Mannar—who had come to Colombo for work, were shot at a salon. One was killed; the other is fighting for life in the ICU. They are poor. Riyadh’s father did not even have money to travel to see his son in hospital. I called the President and requested: please stop such killings; otherwise, tourism will suffer; the fear of the war era is returning. People feel unsafe even in ordinary places like salons. The hospitalized victim should get all required treatment to save his life, and the affected family must be compensated. The government must urgently act to prevent such killings and provide redress.

¶ 04 Another matter: during the Gotabaya government I was jailed for three months for transporting people by bus from Puttalam to Mannar to vote. I was acquitted within six months as innocent. Yet cases against two or three engineers and a consultant—alleged to have helped me—have dragged on for 4–5 years. Officials of the Attorney General’s Department are here. I, the main suspect, was freed, but they continue cases against those accused of helping me on false charges. Police tell court the AG’s report has not been received. Please ensure the AG’s Department expedites and concludes such cases without undue delay.

¶ 05 On narcotics: you say drugs come from Jaffna, Mannar, Kalpitiya. If you wish, you can control it. Do not keep the same Navy officers long in those postings. I informed the Deputy Defence Minister that a voice recording surfaced implicating an officer in drug smuggling and commissions. He said action would be taken, but only a transfer was done—no investigation. Ministers go to Mannar and are entertained by smugglers; smugglers bankroll them. If ministers eat at the expense of smugglers, how will you save the country? I humbly ask ministers to act prudently and not be backed by smugglers.

¶ 06 Yesterday in Sammanthurai I went to buy Qur’an copies and found a shortage. Why? Because of Sri Lanka Customs restrictions. There is no restriction on bringing Buddhist, Hindu or Catholic books into Sri Lanka, but only on bringing Qur’an copies and Tafsirs for the two billion Muslims worldwide. Further, Islamic books cannot be imported without Ministry of Defence approval. This was not ordered by this government but by the worst, cruel ruler Gotabaya. Why is it still in force under Anura’s administration? Twenty-five MPs have signed requesting release of Qur’an copies stuck at the Harbour. In Colombo today one cannot buy Qur’ans; I tried to buy 40 and the price was high due to this Customs problem. I kindly request ministers here to address this.

¶ 07 On the Mahar Mosque: it was closed under Gotabaya’s government. Muslims there have no place to pray. Ramadan has come; they cannot perform Taraweeh or religious duties. You appointed a Muslim as Deputy Minister for Religious and Cultural Affairs. Since we came here, we have asked to reopen the mosque. This is not Gotabaya’s rule but Anura’s rule. At least in this Ramadan, urgently reopen the mosque for the people.

¶ 08 On the Mannar–Puttalam road: since it is Ramadan, I will be brief. During my tenure as Minister, this road—over 100 years old and belonging to the Department of Wildlife—was opened. When it was opened, a racist group filed suit. The Department of Wildlife Conservation fought continuously against that case. Now your government has withdrawn that case saying the road will not be opened. Do not mislead people with falsehoods here. Either reopen that road or provide an alternative coastal route. Otherwise, after Ramadan we will mobilize protests. If such a road were in the South saving 80–90 km, what would you have done? Think!

¶ 09 When this road is used, 80–90 km are saved. Suppose there were a route from Ampara to Colombo saving 100 km—would you close it? Would you close one at Ambantota? Or Gampaha? Because Tamils and Muslims live in Mannar, your eyes are blind.

¶ 10 The Minister responsible for Roads, Hon. Bimal Rathnayake, is not here. He talks like an expert on Wilpattu. He claims no inch of the Wilpattu area was harmed and no resettlement occurred there. In fact, Muslims were resettled on their own lands—from which they were once expelled. After 20 years when they returned, the area had become forest; resettlement required clearing. I did it lawfully. I challenge anyone to prove otherwise. Do not lie that clearing resettlement lands in Mannar to reopen Mannar–Puttalam road destroyed Wilpattu. Immediately reopen that century-old road to the people.