Sectarian political theatrics

Last week, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Leader Rauff Hakeem was featured in the news over his explosive statement in the Parliament where he alleged that Sri Lankan workers who are sent to Israel are provided with military training. His sensational claim was flatly rejected by Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara, and guaranteed that no Lankan would be deployed in the areas captured by Israel during the ongoing conflict.

The Government has made arrangements to send 20,000 workers to Israel to work in farm and construction sectors. A recent report by Reuters featured a supermarket manager in Sri Lanka (he earns Rs. 72,000 per month now) who is getting ready to land in the troubled country  to work in a farm for a monthly compensation which is equivalent to roughly 10 times what he earns currently. Many individuals have been compelled to seek overseas jobs in the wake of the high cost of living over the last two years. It is reported that around 580,000 people have left the island so far to work overseas since the onset of the economic crisis. The authorities in both Israel and Sri Lanka have an obligation to ensure the safety of workers from the South Asian Island owing to the prevailing turbulent environment in Gaza.

Since the outbreak of hostilities in Gaza, various political parties in the country have made efforts to achieve political mileage by appealing to the sentiments of the Muslim community. Last month, Vijitha Herath and Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited the Embassy of Palestine in Colombo and expressed their solidarity. However, what is striking to note is that even though the JVP portrays themselves to be the saviours of the working class, not a word was expressed by them denouncing the killing of Anula Jayathilaka – a Sri Lankan nurse who was slayed by Hamas fighters in early October.

The conflict in Gaza began when Hamas fighters breached the Gaza-Israel barrier on 7 October and killed civilians as well as attacked Israeli military bases. Since then, over 16,000 civilians in Gaza have been killed from Israeli military strikes as per reports. The brutality of Hamas and the disproportionate, merciless response of Israel which has resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe need to be condemned equally. Yet, certain sectarian politicians like the author of “We are a Part, not Apart” are more interested in achieving narrow political gains by making dramatic statements to enlarge their vote bases.

Hakeem was Minister of Justice in the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration from 2010 to 2014, a period which was characterised by intermittent attacks on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses. Nevertheless, Hakeem and his party did not break ranks with the Rajapaksas. The SLMC ditched the Rajapaksa regime only one week before the 2015 Presidential Election. Given the SLMC’s legacy of parochial politics, its leader’s recent attention-seeking exercise was nothing but a cheap effort to grab a few votes.

In fact, Javid Yusuf – who once served as Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat for Muslims – has often remarked that the SLMC from the time of its inception has been a party which has thrived on patronage politics, perks and Ministerial positions without being sincerely committed to any ideology or policy.

Recently, Ali Sabri Raheem, another Muslim legislator of a sectarian political party – the All Ceylon Makkal Congress – was caught red-handed by Customs officials for attempting to smuggle mobile phones and stocks of gold. The time has come to seriously examine the contribution of sectarian, Muslim politicians to their communities in light of their track records.