Forgotten Muslims
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The refugees were evicted from northern areas by the LTTE in 1991 |
Muslim refugees at the
Norochcholai Alamkudah Mullaitivu B refugee camp are doubtful of a fresh
start of a new life in Wanni.
MS Abdeen, a refugee in Puttalam camp, said there future is uncertain as
there is no civil administration in LTTE-controlled areas.
'You can take action against police if they beat us here. But can you do
anything against the LTTE?'
Adambava Fausul Haq recalled how the LTTE took everything they had after
ordering them to leave homes within three days.
'Leave in three days'
Thousands of Muslims in northern Sri Lanka were ordered to leave their
properties by the LTTE in 1991.
They were only allowed to take minimum of their posessions and limited
amount of cash. Everything else got confiscated by the Tamil Tigers. This
act is described by some as ethnically cleansing the North.
Tamil Tigers later apologised to Muslims after it was heavily criticised by
human rights activists.
'Tigers say Tamils are discriminated against by Sinhalese. But they did the
same thing against Muslims,' said a senior peace envoy from Norway to the
BBC Sinhala service.
Future
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The Norwegian envoy met Muslims evicted by LTTE for the first time |
Adambava Fausal Haq another
refugee from the camp feared whether the Muslims will be able to return to
their homes in Kilinochchi.
"Tigers say Wanni is Tamils' land. I don't think we'll be able to have a
normal life there."
The Muslim refugees however were hopeful that the future wouldn't be bleak
after all.
"The LTTE should try to improve the relations with Muslim people," MS Abdeen
said.
After a visit to the camp Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim announced that
the Muslims will also be included in the proposed joint mechanism for
tsunami reconstruction.
That was the first time Norwegian envoy visited Muslim war refugees evicted
from northern areas by the LTTE in 1991.
Joint mechanism
However, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader strongly criticised the
lack of consultation with the Muslims.
' LTTE does not allow Muslims resettling in Mannar and Jaffna to get back to
their usual work,' Hakim told BBC Sandeshaya (BBC Sinhala) after meeting
Solheim on Wednesday.
Muslims who are goldsmiths and scrap metal collectors are prohibited by the
LTTE in getting back to their traditional trading practices, he said.
The apex body of the joint mechanism consists of a member each from the
Sinhala Tamil and Muslim communities.
Hakim alleged that they were however informed of the proposals only on
Wednesday.
"We were denied the opportunity to make more constructive input," he said.
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