Hakeem credits Muslim Ministers’ statement for police action on Grandpass
Wednesday, 14 August 2013 00:00
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By Dharisha Bastians
A hard-hitting joint statement by the Muslim Ministers in the ruling UPFA coalition and a swift condemnation of the assault by the US Embassy in Colombo has pushed the police to act on Saturday’s attack on the Grandpass mosque, according to Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader Rauff Hakeem.
Addressing party activists and residents from the Colombo Central and Grandpass areas at the SLMC’s Darussalam Headquarters on Monday night, Minister Hakeem explained the background to the attack on the Masjid in Grandpass, a SLMC Spokesman told Daily FT.
The SLMC Chief said that police were currently studying the close circuit television footage of the attack on the mosque in order to identify the attackers.
Hakeem credited police action to the strong joint statement from Senior and Deputy Ministers in the ruling UPFA, that criticised the Government and law enforcement for failing to punish those responsible for a recent spate of attacks against the Muslim community before the Grandpass attack, the spokesman said. He also told party activists at Darussalam that the police was keener to find those responsible because of the swift condemnation of the mosque attack by the US Embassy in Colombo.
Saturday’s attack on the Grandpass mosque during sunset prayer spiralled into violent clashes between Sinhala and Muslim mobs in the area that left at least 12 people injured and caused extensive damage to houses and property. In its statement the morning after the attack, the US Embassy said that the incident was particularly troubling in light of a number of recent attacks against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka and called for the prosecution of perpetrators in this attack and an end to religious-based violence.
Minister Hakeem who left for Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah Pilgrimage to Mecca last night, said that steps would have to be taken to prevent such attacks in the future, the SLMC Spokesman said.
