TNA parliamentarians address Muslims in Pulmoddai

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 May 2003, 02:25 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader Mr.R.Sampanthan addressing a meeting at Pulmoddai, a traditional Muslim village about 70km north of Trincomalee district, Saturday said that a lasting political solution could be found for the northeast problem only by ensuring equal rights and privileges to Muslims living in the province.

"A political solution that would endanger the interests of the Muslims in the northeast province would not last long and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is fully supportive of a political solution that would ensure equal rights to Muslims," added Mr.Sampanthan.

Senior local Muslim leaders in the Pulmoddai village received TNA parliamentarians Mr.Sampanthan and Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham at the Yan Oya ferry point.

Later in the evening at a meeting held at Pulmoddai Muslim Maha Vidiyalayam Muslim leaders aired their grievances and the shortcomings they undergo in the spheres of education, health, and electricity supply and road development and requested Mr.Sampanthan to take steps to solve their problems, sources said.

Mr. Cassim Thamby presided.


Pulmoddai senior Muslim leader and others receive TNA parliamentarians Mr.R.Sampanthan and Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham when they visited the village during the weekend

Mr.Sampanthan addressing the gathering said Tamils and Muslims are living in the eastern province for several centuries side by side. Their mother tongue is Tamil. Two third of Muslims in the island live in other provinces. One third of Muslims live in the northeast province. If two third Muslims could live with Sinhalese in harmony in other provinces why Muslims and Tamils in east could not live harmoniously in the northeast, Mr.Sampanthan asked.

Mr.Sampanthan added forces against the peace process are trying to create dissension between Tamils and Muslim to gain political advantage. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Sihala Urumaya and other extremist forces are trying to derail the peace process by making the two minority communities clash each other in their traditional homeland, he said.

Tamils and Muslims, as Tamil speaking people should be aware of the miscreants among them. Tamil speaking people in the northeast are now facing a critical situation to save their traditional homeland. "We should think in a realistic way and both communities should unite to achieve a linguistic region under a federal set up with internal self determination," said Mr.Sampanthan.

"I will not allow anyone to harm our Muslim brethren in the northeast. Even now Muslim Tamil scholars contribute immensely to the development of Tamil language and its literature and this should not be forgotten.

"Tamils cannot find a political solution to the northeast by doing injustice to another minority community," said Mr.Sampanthan.

Parliamentarian Mr.Thurairetasingham and several others also spoke.