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By Amal Jayasinghe COLOMBO (AFP) - A senior Sri Lankan ports minister, Ashraff, killed in a helicopter crash, was buried here early Sunday amid nation-wide mourning although the funeral was marred by attacks against rival politicians.
Ports minister M. H. M. Ashraff was killed along with 14 others Saturday when their helicopter crashed into a mountain in central Aranayake region, shortly after announcing his party would cut ties with the ruling coalition. Ashraff's remains were brought to the capital Saturday evening for a funeral ceremony that lasted well beyond midnight. Thousands paid their respects both at his home and at the burial. At the minister's tightly guarded home, hundreds gathered to pay their respects to the former Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader. Police and rapid deployment units stepped up security and mourners were searched before being allowed in. The mood turned sour when bodyguards were forced to protect Sri Lanka's main opposition leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe, from slipper-throwing critics who shouted at him to get out. SLMC member and former lawmaker, Asitha Perera, apologized to Wickremesinghe but there were uglier scenes when transport minister A. H. M. Fowzie, an Ashraff rival in the cabinet, tried to pay his respects. Mourners heckled and manhandled Fowzie by ripping his shirt off, and security officials were forced to fire warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd. "A few blows may have connected with the minister in the meelee," an aide to the minister said, adding that he was prevented from entering the room where the remains of Ashraff were placed. Inside the old colonial style home, military policemen dressed in red ceremonial uniform tried desperately to maintain decorum as they were pushed by hundreds of party supporters anxious to get close to Ashraff's remains. The minister's body was wrapped in a white cloth or "kaffa" and placed in the coffin-like "Sanduk" which was carried by mourners to the burial grounds. The Sanduk is kept in a mosque and people irrespective of their social status share the same Sanduk. President Chandrika Kumaratunga was seen condoling Ashraff's widow and the other bereaved members of the family. Kumaratunga had ordered a state funeral and the family urged followers to organize religious observances across the country. Shops and public transport were closed down on Sunday in Ashraff's home constituency in the Amapar district in the island's east, police said. Ashraff had maintained a good rapport with Kumaratunga but had an uneasy relationship with other members of the ruling People's Alliance coalition. Ashraff's charred body was one of 12 pulled from the tangled wreckage of the helicopter on Saturday. Police confirmed the Mi-17 helicopter had burst into flames on impact. An air force investigation was underway. The minister had boarded the helicopter on his way home to the eastern province of Amapar shortly after issuing a statement that his party would split from the ruling PA coalition. On the previous day, Ashraff had suspended a junior minister from party membership in a deepening internal squabble within the SLMC. |
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