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Hakeem welcomes
LTTE offer for peace talk
Minister and SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem yesterday welcomed an LTTE
invitation for talks to discuss grievances of Muslims of the north
and east. "Now that they have invited us we will certainly
talk to them. Prior to that we will be discussing matters with community
leaders representing other political groups," Mr. Hakeem said.
The invitation from the LTTE communicated via Norwegian peace facilitators
came after Muslim parliamentarians met the Norwegian Ambassador
and Monitoring Mission members to express concern regarding the
Muslims being ignored in the peace process. Last week, the Eastern
Province Muslims agitated that they were being harassed while the
cease-fire was enforced. In Valachchenai and Batticaloa, fishermen
came on to the streets in protest against economic victimization
at the hands of extremist Tamil factions.
Following these reports, Muslim parliamentarians of various political
hues came together to speak for the Muslim cause, and champion the
rights of the Tamil speaking Muslim people who also live in the
North and East of the country.
Mr. Hakeem said that hundreds of thousands of displaced Muslims
were now living outside the North and East. He said about 25,000
of them who were living in abject conditions in refugee camps could
be persuaded to settle down in the North and East if a conducive
climate was created for their return.
Mr. Hakeem said that the LTTE statement on Friday was not seen as
a concession to Muslims but as an acceptance of reality. "However,
it is only when the LTTE agrees to genuine and sincere power sharing
arrangements with their Muslim brothers that the Muslims would be
convinced that they have indeed endorsed and accepted this concept
with sincerity," he said.
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