Human rights for Minister Bathiudeen?

There has been a constant barrage of reports trying to lynch Minister Bathiudeen before a case has been heard. He has been easy prey for anti-Government elements to rally trying desperately to portray Bathiudeen in the same category as others, before his hearing.

What is dismal is that Bathiudeen is being judged by one single incident that is being reconstructed. Attempts are being made to give a communal (Muslim-Tamil) twist to the events, and Bathiudeen’s role is grossly misrepresented, as rooting for the Muslims and against the Tamils. These kinds of acts do not contribute to ethnic harmony. Further ethnic harmony is not limited to the ‘Sinhala-Tamil’ ethnic axis but also to the ‘Muslim-Tamil’ ethnic axis.

Those who are knowledgeable of the role that Bathiudeen played as Minister of Resettlement for the over 200,000 displaced in the immediate aftermath of the defeat of the LTTE, will not buy these interpretations of pro-Muslim and anti-Tamil by those who want to give a communal twist to events.

TNA MP Sri Kanthan addressing Parliament during this period has gone on record stating: “We understand that around 100,000 displaced people are resettled. MP Basil Rajapaksa and Minister Rishard Bathiudeen are seriously involved in the resettlement program. We wish to pay our thanks and tribute to them.”

Another point of distortion is that no mention has been made that Bathiudeen was not even in Mannar during the morning of the reported incidents, but attending to Ministerial duties elsewhere. This fact itself is being carefully ignored by those who are re-choreographing what was happening in Mannar and presented to the general public.

Why are the facts being changed and for whose benefit? A member of the Mannar Bar Association in an online interview has already said Minister Rishad Bathiudeen did not lead the demonstrations held in front of the Magistrate Courts, and reported later attacks on the building.

Now that there will be a judicial process that will be gone through on the Minister’s reported interactions with the Mannar Magistrate, it behoves those who are commenting on the events related to the case to be accurate and truthful, and not hide their private reasons under the cloak of human rights and ethnic positions.

Concerned Citizen