The Hon. M.K.M. Aslam

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, first I thank His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith for standing for justice at that time.

¶ 02 Before entering the debate, I must address how some Members spoke—especially Hon. Mujibur Rahman. He shouted about “releasing containers from the Port,” but where was he when the Central Bank was robbed? He spoke as if “we” committed the Easter attacks and are masterminds. Where was he then? Even days after the attack, what did his government do? The attack was on 21 April; by 13 May, mobs attacked places like Hettipola. Do you justify that? Such things happened under their government too, yet they say nothing, and blame only this government as if it alone must be accountable.

¶ 03 We grieve the injustice to Christians and insist on justice. Equally, Muslims across the country still suffer. Thousands were detained—747 arrests reported—and many more cases under PTA and other laws against Muslims with no wrongdoing proven. If there is evidence, punish. But you watched while warnings were available. The President and Prime Minister were at odds; what is the value of a Security Council in such a state?

¶ 04 How much justice has been achieved now? The mover of this Motion stood then with the “blue” camp; how is he now connected? People suspect fear of Pillayan being released. Understand that. The 13 Navy personnel killed in 1983 was turned into an ethnic issue; similarly, the Easter attacks were turned into a Sinhala-Muslim issue. We must save this country. This is a necessary debate—our government is taking it up rightly for the first time.

¶ 05 Our mosques were filled with dogs; shoes were inspected by security; thousands were jailed; at work, in business, at schools, Muslims suffered. Our national leaders then stepped away from their portfolios briefly and rushed back—did they protect the country or Muslims? No. We, together with national forces, built a safe environment and will continue to do so.