The situation is volatile in Amparai district where the bone of contention is allotment of 500 houses built with Saudi assistance for the Tsunami victims. The Muslim Youth Forum is spearheading the protests of local Muslims while Jathika Hela Urumaya. (JHU) is backing the Sinhala community.
In all 500 houses were built with assistance from Saudi Arabia at Theegavapy in Pottuvil area. JHU is demanding that the houses should also be given to the Sinhalelse as they are the majority in Theegavapy. The demand has sparked off protests from Muslims. MYF staged a protest rally on May 30 at Pottuvil to condemn the allotment policy.
Differences between the Tamils and Muslims are re-emerging in the Eastern province, prompting the personal intervention of Sri Lankan Freedom Party Vice-President Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, who is also Non- Cabinet Minister for National Integration and Reconciliation.
Karuna met on June 1 with prominent Muslim leaders from the East including the Eastern Provincial Council Minister, M.L.A.M Hisbullah, Pradeshiya Sabha members and heads of various mosques. He reiterated the need for Tamil-Muslim unity. And requested them to extend greater cooperation to implement developmental schemes sponsored by the government.
A relief of sorts for the government in Colombo is the admission of The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) that its “national leader” V Prabhakaran had indeed died in action. On June 18, Kathirkamathamby Arivazhakan, head of the external affairs wing in the department of intelligence in the LTTE said in a statement that it had been confirmed that “Tamil Eelam National Leader…V. Pirabaharan has attained martyrdom”.
The announcement more or less coincided with two other developments – regrouping by Tiger remnants to form what they call a government in exile wedded to a policy of non-violence, and admission of Sri Lanka as a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
