NEWS TODAY

SLMC Observes Party Founder Marhoom Ashraff’s Commemoration

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) is commemorating today ( September 16) the fifth death anniversary of its founding father Mr.M.H.M.Ashraff in the Eastern cities of Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara . A commemoration meeting at the hill country capital Kandy will be held tomorrow. The death anniversary is also being observed in other Muslim pre-dominant areas throughout the country. A well-attended commemoration meeting held this forenoon in Batticaloa was chaired by SLMC chairman Basheer Segu Dawood MP. In Trincomalee the commemoration meeting was chaired by party national leader Rauff Hakeem MP and a large gathering attended. The Ampara meeting organized by party's local leaders was also attended by a large number of people. The Kandy meeting which will be participated by party delegates and organizers from areas outside the North and East will be held at the Digana Village Hotel, Kandy tomorrow evening. The following day a consultative process with party delegates and organizers on the SLMC's with regard to the upcoming elections would be held.

JVP Learnt Democratic Politics from SLMC – Hasan Ali Reacts

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Secretary General ,M.T.Hasan Ali MP, challenged the JVP to prove that it has the same support as during the last general election by fielding its own candidate in the upcoming presidential election. Reacting strongly to a cynical remark of the JVP against the SLMC at its press conference at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute , Hasan Ali said that the JVP vote bank had diminished and the party would not poll even the 9.1 percent it polled at the last general elections if it fielded its own independent candidate in the presidential election.

In a press release issued on this, Ali has stated that JVP Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawansa had cast malicious remarks against the SLMC because they were unable to stomach the political strength of the SLMC as a deciding factor in election results. "Until the JVP made these remarks, we never believed that the JVP had acted in connivance with its ally UPFA in its efforts to destabilize the SLMC. The malicious nature of the JVP and its political bankruptcy have now come to light, Hasan Ali has stated in the press release.

He has further stated that:

" Founding leader of the SLMC, late Mr.M.H.M.Ashraff took advantage of SLMC's bargaining power during talks in 1988 with the then President R.Premadasa and got the cut off point in election results of political parties reduced from 12 percent to 05 percent, thus paving the way for the recognition of their rights of and political status. If not for that the JVP could not have even imagined of its present parliamentary representation and ministry portfolios.

"It was SLMC founder Mr.M.H.M.Ashraff who set the precedent to the political strategy of election alliance between minor and major political parties for the explicit purpose of augmenting parliamentary representation as well as consolidating the bargaining power of the minor parties. The JVP took recourse to this strategy through its alliance with the SLFP in the last general election, thus increasing its parliamentary representation and bargaining power.

"When the present leader of the SLMC, Mr.Rauff Hakeem quit the UPFA government in 2000 , the JVP took advantage of that situation to join hands with them to form a probationary government. That again was a privilege given to the JVP by the SLMC.

" Following Mao's dogma ‘ power comes from the barrel of the gun', the JVP resorted to man slaughter, pillage and cheap politics. When they failed miserably to achieve anything through such barbarous political ideologies, they took recourse to parliamentary politics following the example of Mr.Ashraff and, as such, they have no moral right to criticize the SLMC. "JVP Propaganda Secretary who claims that the SLMC is splintered should first of all prove their strength by contesting the upcoming presidential election."

Minister Ferial Ashraff back to SLMC?

Leading Tamil daily "Sudar Oli" reported today quoting SLMC sources that the Leader of the National Unity Alliance and Cabinet Minister of the ruling coalition Ferial Ashraff will join the SLMC again. Ashraff is disappointed with the Premier's entering into agreements with the JVP and the JHU to seek support for the Presidential elections, totally ignoring the Muslims' aspirations the report says. The report also claims that various other Muslim members of the government are also un-happy over the Prime Minister's move. According to Sudar Oli, a senior SLMCer has confirmed that the first round of talks to accommodate Ferial Ashraff has been accelerated. It also says that Foreign Minister also had recently stated that Minister Ashraff is un-happy over the Presidential candidate and Prime Minister aligning with the Sinhalese hardliners. The SLMC source has said that if Ashraff is re-joining the SLMC she will enter into an agreement with the party. When contacted by Lankamuslims.com, leader of the SLMC Rauf Hakeem simply said "No Comments".