The mysterious murder of Sergeant Haniffa of the Sri Lanka Police a few days ago, is a case worth bringing to light for justice to be served. 1/ Police Sergeant Haniffa, a father of 5 and from my hometown of Eravur, was serving at Welikanda Police Station in Pollonaruwa.

Haniffa was known to be a very honest man, who diligently carried out his duties with a strong will to oppose corruption and fraud. 2/

In the early hours of August 12, 1990 I awoke in Colombo to the phone ringing loudly. A frantic voice of a friend from Eravur was on the other line. “They have come and they are going house to house killing us all! Please help!” he yelled. I knew immediately what he meant. (1) For me it was as if it was deja vu all over again. Just 9 days prior on August 3rd, the LTTE had gunned down 147 innocent Muslims while they were praying in the mosque in nearby Kattankudy. (2)

I have been to the COVID burial site in Oddamavadi thrice in the last few months to bid my final goodbye to relatives. In all of these instances, I have witnessed the strict treatment by the Govt & military, where they harshly enforce restrictions on grieving relatives. (1) For example the arduous process a relative goes through for burying a COVID deceased from Colombo is as follows: if deceased passes away in hospital, the hospital authorities release the body to the military in the early hours of the morning in the presence of a loved one. (2)

17 years ago on June 22nd, the Leader of my party made me risk my life, betrayed me & made me a scapegoat to save face and then demanded that I resign my seat in Parliament. I had merely only followed his orders & also did what I thought was the best thing for my country. (1) During the ceasefire period starting in 2001, with the full support of my Party Leader, I developed a close working relationship with the Military leader of the LTTE, Colonel Karuna. Due to this, I was first on the Govt side to know of his split with LTTE Leader Prabhakaran.(2)

Just spoke with Niyas, the father of two-month old Baby Mohammed - the infant whose body was forcibly cremated in Weligama. Baby Mohamed was born on the day of Milad-un-Nabi (birthday of Holy Prophet Muhammad pbuh) on Oct 30th and hence was named after the Prophet.(1) Niyas said that Baby Mohammed was his second child, born after nine years. His wife, Shihana is a diabetic and has high blood pressure, and had a difficult pregnancy. (2)

While in the process of helping clear a Muslim body today, I learnt from a senior health official that a circular has been issued by MOH to restrict PCR testing on a dead body ONLY if the Rapid Antigen Test conducted prior was NEGATIVE. (1) This particular deceased had tested positive via antigen and as such the MOH regulations mandate that PCR testing is not necessary and the body can be disposed by cremation without further inquiry. (2)

What is it to be Sri Lankan? The answer to this question is something that I struggle with. Should it not mean that we are a citizen: a citizen of a proud, diverse nation with respect and equality for all. A nation that is united. A nation that celebrates our differences. (1) However, the year 1956 marked the first significant show of overt oppression against an ethnicity. (2)

With increasing domestic pressure and indisputable evidence provided by internationally accredited experts, the Government has now appointed a new 11 member expert committee on 24.12.2020 comprised of reputed virologists and qualified experts. (1) The stated position which has been disclosed repeatedly by the President, PM & Health Minister since the beginning of COVID-19 regarding permitting burials is to “go with the recommendations of the experts”. (2)

Since the beginning of our struggle against forced cremations last March, amongst many others, there have been several individuals in the media fraternity both locally & internationally, who did not hesitate to be ambassadors for the truth and take this struggle to the world. While this injustice is far from over, I wish to sincerely convey my appreciation to all of you for being our voice. Thank you for doing the right thing and being honourable, steadfast and righteous in your own right, helping our continued struggle to #StopForcedCremations!

I have noticed that a lot of the discourse on social media consists of blaming the 6.9 million Sri Lankans that voted this Govt into power, for the prejudice and bigotry of today. Don’t. In my opinion, they are not to be blamed. They should in fact be pitied. They were duped. They are victims of and are a direct result of the fear factory engineered, produced and directed by this Government, equally shrewd politicians and certain biased media outlets to wield power, influence and manipulate public opinion.

Spoke to Fahim, the distraught father of Shaykh, the 20 day old infant who was forcibly cremated yesterday. Upon arriving at LRH at 10 pm on Monday night, the baby was subject to antigen testing which indicated positive, while both himself & his wife’s results were negative. (1) Fahim, bewildered by the fact that his baby’s results were positive and his & his wife’s (who was breastfeeding the infant) was negative, also heard that antigen testings usually result in false positives. He then requested from the doctor to conduct a PCR test on the child. (2)

It is truly disheartening that today’s 20th reported COVID death and the two prior to that were all Muslims, and the remains were cremated. By all means, this pandemic must be brought under control and the Muslim community has given its utmost cooperation. All we have asked...1/7 ...is for a dignified burial be afforded to the deceased in keeping with international norms, guidelines and regulations practiced worldwide. Why Sri Lankan health regulations maintain an exception to this is baffling given all of this. Given the non-cooperation of...2/7

Vote buying. Bribery. Corruption. Practices that have become commonplace in our democracy and our electoral processes. Practices that have increased with intensity rather than reduced. This being my 7th Parliamentary election, I have witnessed over time how it has evolved...(1) ...with vigor and effectively eroded not just the principles and established practices of how voters chose their representatives, but also led to poor governance in all our levels of government...(2)

The news of the brutal assault by police on Thariq Ahamed, a 14 year old autistic boy of Dharga Town, Aluthgama is shocking and the prejudice that ensued after by the Police and the JMO needs to be exposed. Thariq was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder since he was 4..(1) ... and his development has been hindered by it since. Today, he has the capacities of a 6 year old child. On the 25th of May, while curfew was imposed, Thariq had wandered out of his house on his bicycle and had ventured by the Ambagaha Junction in Dharga Town where there..(2)

This week, while we observe the 11th anniversary of the end of the Civil War in Sri Lanka, as someone who very nearly paid the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of bringing peace to my country; it pains me to witness how we have fallen back in time, and not moved forward.

1/15 My actions & painstaking efforts were not to bring peace to a particular ethnicity or a community, but for all my fellow Sri Lankans.

That resulted in enormous personal risk among which I covertly went “blindly into the tiger’s lair” not once, twice but several times.

2/15

It is appalling to know that yet another deceased, a 67-year old Muslim man of Madampitiya, who passed away on 5th May has been cremated on 6th May under the guise of being a COVID victim, yet mysteriously has not been publicly reported by the Government, MOH or the media! 1/7 What is further sinister is that the son of the deceased was then forcibly made to sign his consent for his father’s body to be cremated against his wishes, and then the entire family was threatened by the authorities to not divulge any of these details publicly! 2/7

The tragic circumstances and horrific treatment of the family of the deceased from Modara, who was misdiagnosed for COVID19, and thereafter cremated is important to take note. It also leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

The following is their account alone. 1/20 As recounted by her family to me, the deceased was a 44 year old Muslim woman (media reported her as 52 years old) who was suffering from a cold. Having no pre-existing conditions, she had gone to a local clinic and thereafter the NHSL where she was prescribed medication. 2/20

The despicable targeted discrimination of Muslims in #lka continues:

It came to my attention yesterday evening that a 54 year old Muslim woman from Weligama had passed away due to natural causes, & her burial according to Islamic rites was prevented by the Weligama Police. 1/14 I proceeded to obtain the contact details of the family, and the following ensued:

The deceased was, for the last 16 years, suffering from a complication of diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure, and was obtaining regular treatment for this at local hospitals. 2/14

Last night (30th March) around 11:50 pm, I received a frantic call from a member of the GMOA. He was calling to inform me that the COVID-19 patient who unfortunately passed away last night in Negombo was a Muslim, and preparations were underway to cremate the body.. 1/14 ..against Ministry of Health and WHO circulars and guidelines. I immediately attempted to reach DGHS Dr. Anil Jayasinghe to no avail. Thereafter, I contacted Hon. @Rauff_Hakeem and informed him of the proceedings. While I was speaking with him... 2/14