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Sri
Lanka Muslim leader Rauf Hakeem
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By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, September 4 (IslamOnline) - Sri Lanka’s two important
minorities, Hindu Tamils and Sri Lankan Muslims, agreed Tuesday,
September 3, to participate in peace talks with the government, raising
hopes of Sri Lankan Muslims finally getting a fair play in the historic
talks to begin in Thailand September 16.
The
proximity talks in Thailand have been facilitated by peace broker Norway
in a bid to resolve the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka between Hindu
Tamils and majority Sinhala Buddhists that has killed more than 60,000
people over the last two decades.
Muslims,
who constitute seven percent of Sri Lanka's 18.7 million population,
have often been attacked and killed by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) in the past. They still complain of LTTE attacks in the eastern
province where the Hindu Tamils constitute a large population. Earlier
reports suggested that LTTE had been opposing a Muslim representation in
the talks.
However,
at a meeting Tuesday in London with Sri Lanka’s principal Muslim
leader and cabinet minister Rauff Hakeem, LTTE chief negotiator Anton
Balasingham agreed to a Muslim participation in the upcoming peace talks
in Thailand.
A
Norwegian statement said that SLMC and LTTE agreed to have a
"broader meeting" after the first round of peace talks in
Thailand.
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A
Muslim victim of LTTE attacks
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The
meeting took place at the residence of Norwegian ambassador to London.
As per details available, Hakeem will initially be regarded as a
government delegate to the peace talks while recognizing his leadership
of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC).
SLMC
plays a crucial role in the present Sri Lanka government which has a
thin majority of only two members in the 225-member parliament. SLMC’s
12 MPs are crucial to the government. Any pullout of the SLMC from the
government could rock the present government and have serious
implications for the peace process.
Norway
arranged a truce between the LTTE and Sri Lanka government forces which
has continued since February 23 this year. However, this does not always
deter the LTTE from attacking Muslims once in a while. In April, SLMC
leader Hakeem joined a pact with LTTE supremo Prabhakaran to sort out
Tamil-Muslim problems.
SLMC
leader Rauff begins negotiations as a government minister on September
16, but will later be allowed to participate as the third party to the
dispute. Nearly one-third of Muslims live in the eastern province among
Tamils, who don't seem to be too friendly.
Tamils,
themselves victims of majoritarian oppression at the hands of Sinhalas,
have of late realized the folly of antagonizing Muslims. There have been
reports of recent meetings between Muslims and Tamils, culminating in
the latest agreement.
