Iranaitivu villagers, Muslims decry government decision on burial site

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COLOMBO –The Sri Lankan government’s decision to designate the troubled island of Iranaitivu, off the Kilinochchi coast in the Gulf of Mannar, as a burial site for Muslim victims of COVID-19, is expected to worsen the current tense situation in the island.

The small island, which measures 1km by 1.5 km, is currently partly controlled by the Sri Lanka Navy. However, hundreds of former residents are demanding all their lands back and have been regularly staging demonstrations around the island.

The navy wants to keep a naval post on the island as it is a vantage point to monitor smugglers moving contraband from the nearby Indian coast to Sri Lanka.

If the remains of Muslim or other victims of the pandemic are buried on what the islanders consider their ancestral lands, there is bound to be anger and further protests, said Ananth Palakidnar, a columnist for the Eelanadu newspaper.

The Parish priest of Iranaitivu, Reverend Father Pathi, has already issued a video statement, noting that some 100 Catholic families are living in the island and they do not like Covid-infected bodies being buried in the village as it’s a tiny hamlet where the water table is very low. “We, the villagers, will stage a protest against this new move on Wednesday (3) not because we dislike the Muslims, but we don’t want our village to get infected by the virus,” he said.

Iranaitivu has some 400 families claiming ownership and many of them are Roman Catholics. The island is also short of drinking water sources.

The navy recently rebuilt the churches on the island, installed new jetty and introduced solar power to the inhabitants.

However, the school and other installations are still not built and although many residents have returned, their children continue to live in a settlement called Iranamata Nagar on the mainland.

Cabinet spokesman and Minister of Media, Keheliya Rambukwella, said the “decision was taken on Monday (March 1) and most of the initial processes have been completed to a level where “bodies can be taken to the place to bury”.

He said details regarding the process will be informed to the relevant authorities and general public by the health officials later Tuesday.

“The burying will be done according to the health authorities guidelines,” he said.

Muslim leaders said “several sites have been offered for burials.” Among them according to officials is one in Sainthamaruthu near Kattankudy in the Eastern Province.

Hilmy Ahamed, Vice President of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka in a statement issued on Tuesday warned the government decision to grant burial in Iranaitivu islands was a bigger blunder than the forced cremation of over 300 Muslims.

The statement noted that Jeniffer Perera committee had clearly approved burial in all Muslim burial grounds subject to strict adherence to quarantine rules and placing the body in double body bags, and asked, “What more is needed when science has proven beyond any doubt that the corona virus cannot contaminate ground water sources?.

It also pointed out that the dead cannot spread the disease while waste water from quarantine centres would certainly do, and questioned, “How come the bright boys chose an inhabited island if they still believe the virus can contaminate ground water?”

Ahamed also said the Muslim Council was contemplating going to the Supreme Court with a petition against the decision.

Meanwhile, former minister and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Leader Rauf Hakeem tweeted, “Banish the bodies to Iranaitivu! They created the false narrative and wish to prove they were right all along. There is no end to their sadistic pleasure in harassing a hopelessly traumatized community. Pathetic racism prevails!”

Former Governor and Leader of the National Unity Alliance, Azath Salley, was quoted in Colombo Times as deeming the decision a  violation of all international norms, noting,  “The Muslims community has offered several convenient places but the government has gone as far as Iranaitivu, 267 kms away from Colombo, to complete the last rites for the Covid victims.”

Women Human Rights activist, Shreen Saroor was also quoted in the Colombo Times as saying, “This shows the political will of this government with regard to granting a right enshrined in our constitution. There is no science behind denying burial and now after so much of international pressure they are staging a drama and pitching Muslims against Tamil Catholic who managed to return to Iranaitivu after 25 years of being in displacement due to navy occupation.”

-ENCL/economynext.com

 

 

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