Police set fire to the village and chase away 54 families: Governor’s (Brigadier) order

Police set fire to a Muslim village and chase away 54 families: Governor's (Brigadier) order

http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=10233

Police set fire to Muslim village and chase away 54 families: Governor's (Brigadier) order (Lanka-e-News, Nov04, 2010, 11.10PM)

Last 31st Sunday, a group of policemen have arrived at dawn and set fire to a Muslim village Kandalkadu and a Muslim mosque in the Kinniya District and chased away 54 families who were resident there.

The victims say that the police has told them that this suffering was inflicted on the poor villagers by the Governor of the East Brigadier Mohan Jayawickrema.

These unfortunate Muslims are long time residents of Kandalkadu village, and they have registered deeds which they received in 1933 and 1945.There are over 130 families who were displaced due to the war resident in this village and had taken up residence in Kandalkadu. They have gone to their homes after the Trincomalee District Secretary had given written permission to them to stay.

Though these victims have shown their deeds and the letter given to them by the District Secretariat, the police have not heeded any of their pleas. The police had said they have no right to be in those places and questioned how they came into those jungles. After saying that they should obey what they say, the Police have set fire to the houses.

The mosque that was also set fire by the police had been built in 1972, the Kandalkadu residents say. These victims are refugees in the Kinniya Al adhan Vidyalaya.

The Governor, Brigadier Jayawickrema Mohan had arranged for a meeting with these Muslim victims yesterday, he has later postponed it.

A report had been asked from the Kinniya Grama niladhariya. The Grama nildhariya has reported that the victims are resident for a long time ; they have the janasaviya and samurdhi reliefs ; and they are registered even in the electoral registers.

When Lanka e news tried to contact the Governor over the phone regarding this issue, a person answering the call told,Jayawickrema has not come to office today.

When Ranjith Silva's office was contacted, an officer answering said, the District Secretary had gone to the Kinniya District Secretariat.

The pictures depict the raging fire engulfing the houses; a house that has been completely burnt down; a family which is rendered destitute after the fire waiting with their remaining implements and wares; and the police guarding the place burnt down preventing anybody from entering the area.


Let's Send an Appeal Letter on bahlf of Rizana Nafeek

Assalmmualikum,
Dear Friends pray and act. Do whatever you can do to save a life. You could post or fax the following letter to saudi Ambassador in Sri Lanka.
___________________________________________________________
The Honourable Ambassador
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
39, Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 07
Tele: +94 11 2682087 (011 2682087)
Fax: +94 11 2682088 (011 2682088)

Your Excellency,

Young Sri Lankan girl named Rizana Nafeek under death sentence

I am certain that this name is not unfamiliar to you by now. She is awaiting death penalty in Saudi Arabia at the moment.

She left Sri Lanka many years ago to work in Saudi Arabia even before she turned 18. The death of the infant under her care occurred within a month of her starting work at the particular household. And now, even after an appeal, she has been sentenced to death by the High Court in Dawi Dami. She has been in the prison for more than three years now.

Considering all these facts, her being a child at the time of the incident above all, I would like to plead for clemency for the life of Rizana Nafeek. I am told that the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia may pardon her. Hence I am desperately appealing you to pass on this message to His Majesty, the King.

I am certain that you would do your best to facilitate pardoning this girl.

Thanking you.

Yours sincerely,
......................................... 

_____________________________________________________

Special Prayer for Rizana Nafeek

Muslims in Sri Lanka have been asked to conduct special prayers in mosques seeking Allah’s mercy to rescue Rizana Nafeek, who has been sentenced to death, from the hands of the executioner. We have requested the 1.5 million Muslims spread throughout the country to conduct special prayers to save Nafeek from the gallows,” Alavi Moulana, governor of the island’s western province, told Arab News from Colombo Saturday. “The only thing common among the Muslims all over the world is prayer and submission to the will of Allah the Almighty,” the governor said.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has made an appeal to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for clemency to Nafeek. Moulana said he met with the president on Friday evening before the president’s departure to China and Rajapaksa had told him that the appeal had reached the Saudi Royal Court, according to information he received from the Sri Lankan mission in Riyadh.
 “Our president was courteous enough to appeal for clemency to the young Nafeek who was arrested on May 25, 2005 and since then has been languishing in jail,” Moulana said. Moulana, who will lead this year’s Haj delegation, said the 5,500 pilgrims from Colombo would make a special offering at the Mount Arafat during the performance of Haj rituals for the sake of this maid. He also said that the government of Sri Lanka respects the laws and regulations of the Saudi government.

“We know well the country’s judicial verdicts should be respected by all those who are governed by them,” he said, requesting the parents of the deceased infant should show mercy on this young girl who had come here to improve her family’s condition back home.

The governor also said there are over 500,000 Sri Lankan workers in the Kingdom, which has the largest concentration of its workers in the Middle East. “We have no serious labor problems among them,” he said. “Most of them are resolved following negotiations and those unsuccessful deals end up in repatriating the worker at the expense of the government.”

Basil Fernando, director of the Hong-Kong based Asian Human Rights Commission, which funded Nafeek’s appeal, said his organization is seriously concerned about the sentence. He urged the Sri Lankan mission in Riyadh to explore avenues that can reach the affected family to solicit a pardon from the father of the deceased infant.

He appreciated the mission’s efforts to hand the appeal letter from the Sri Lankan president to the Foreign Ministry in Riyadh without loss of time and for other diplomatic moves made toward this direction. However, he added that any move to hold direct talks with the victim’s father would be highly appreciable.

Courtesy Daily Mirror.lk/ Arab News