Wednesday, Aug 20, 2003
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By V.S. Sambandan
The incident in Sammanthurai, close on the heels of the gunning down of two Muslims in Trincomalee district last week, has again created a sense of uncertainty in the volatile region. While the situation in Trincomalee is "under control', in Amparai shops remained closed, transport services were suspended and government employees stayed away from work as the hartal entered the second day today. Security forces suspect the involvement of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sunday's killings. The LTTE, denying involvement, blamed "elements bent on derailing the peace process". The two Muslims were farmers who had gone to a Tamil village to harvest crops in Sammanthurai division, according to sources in the east. Muslims, numbering 43,700 are a majority in this division, which has a Tamil population of 6,822. Since last year's ceasefire agreement between the LTTE and the Government, more than 20 Muslims have been reportedly killed either in communal clashes or individual incidents. Reports of the emergence of Islamic militant groups have further complicated the already volatile eastern setting. For the Muslim civilians, the latest killings have raised questions about their security — an issue often raised at the political level. They feel that the Tigers have done little to assuage fears at the ground level. A Muslim resident told The Hindu that visits by representatives of the local peace committees, formed by Muslims and the LTTE, would help. The peace committees were formed as part of the mechanism to defuse potential flashpoints in the ethnically mixed eastern province, which has a strong mix of the island's three main groups — Sinhalese (3.11 lakhs), Sri Lankan Tamils (3.24 lakhs) and Muslims (4.52 lakhs) — spread across the three eastern districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai. However, according to some civilians in the east, these committees "have not been effective" as the local committees are "more at the political level and do not involve society leaders".
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