முஸ்லீம் தமிழர்கள் மீது இலங்கை அரசின் ஒழுங்கமைக்கப்பட்ட தாக்குதல் தொடர்கிறது!

சார் இப்ப சொல்லுறீங்க, உங்க ஆளுங்க ஆதரவு இருந்திருந்தா சிறுபான்மையினர் இந்தநிலைக்கே வந்திருக்க தேவையில்லை. இதை ஒரு குறை கூறுவதா கநினைக்காமல் ஒர் ஆக்கபூர்வமான விமர்சனமாக எடுத்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள்.

Muslim congress may split due to cold war between party leader Hakeem and Chairman Segu Dawood – by D.B.S. JEYARAJ

This column shifts its focus away from the Tamil National alliance this week and turns the spotlight on the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress instead. The premier political party representing the Muslims of Sri Lanka is once again in the grip of an intra-party crisis with the time bomb of split cum defection ticking away. The name of that bomb threatening to explode is Basheer Segu Dawood!

53 Year old Basheer Segu Dawood is the “Thavisaalar” or Chairman of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress(SLMC).The former school teacher hailing from Eravoor was elected to Parliament in 2010 from the Batticaloa district in Eastern Sri Lanka. Segu Dawood is currently a cabinet minister in charge of Productivity Promotion.Earlier he was the deputy minister of Cooperatives and Internal Trade.

Internal dissension,splits and defections are nothing new to the SLMC. It is a prevalent phenomenon from the time when MHM Ashraff was numero uno.This tendency however accelerated and expanded after Rauff Hakeem took over party reins. The current crisis at present is due to what may be termed as a personality clash tinged with political differences between Rauff Hakeem and Basheer Segu Dawood. This clash of the Titans has the potential of erupting into a major split in the party unless remedial action is taken. This however may be too late as recent events indicate that the conflict has widened and deepened beyond the point of no return.

Tension has been simmering between Hakeem and Segu Dawood within party folds for quite a while. Yet the most recent flashpoint has been over the issue of Elections to the Northern, North-Western and Central Provinces.The three provinces have together ten administrative districts.As is well-known the Muslim Congress is contesting as a separate entity under the tree symbol. In Nuwara-Eliya it is aligned to a group of parties contesting under the mammoty symbol of the Up Country Peoples Front(UPF).

Significantly the SLMC is not contesting under the betel symbol of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance(UPFA) in any of the districts in the three provinces. This despite being a constituent of the UPFA Government headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Basheer Segu Dawood is opposed to this position in principle.Rauff Hakeem on the other hand was in favour of the SLMC contesting alone.

HIGH COMMAND

The Apex body of the SLMC is the “ Uyar Peedam” or High Command. It was the High Command that decided to field candidates separately for the provincial polls. There was a frank exchange of views when the High Command met to discuss the issue.The SLMC “Thalaiver” or leader Rauff Hakeem who chaired the meeting told members at the commencement that President Rajapaksa wanted the Muslim Congress to contest on the UPFA symbol of betel as part of the Govt. Hakeem said that he preferred the Muslim Congress contesting alone and outlined his reasons.Thereafter the floor was open for discussions.

Party chairman Basheer Segu Dawood opined that the SLMC should contest on the UPFA ticket as it was part of the Govt and that it would be unethical for the Muslim Congress to campaign against the Govt while being part of it. Basheer had already made this view through the media.This argument however was challenged by a very senior member of the party SMA Gaffoor. A lawyer by profession , Gaffoor was the first organizational secretary of the SLMC when Ashraff re-structured it in 1986. He is also the deputy head of the “Majlis Shura” the umbrella organization of Muslim religious organizations in Sri Lanka.

Gaffoor argued eloquently that the party should contest separately. It was widely felt that he was actually reflecting the views of Rauff Hakeem who wanted the SLMC to contest independently. Most members of the High Command thereafter took the cue from Gaffoor and tore Segu Dawood’s stance into shreds. The High Command had at one time consisted of 25 to 30 members. But in recent times Rauff Hakeem had used his powers as leader to broadbase membership bringing in nominees from local authorities where the SLMC was represented.This had led to Rauff Hakeem gaining absolute control of the High Command now comprising more than 70 members.

Some Muslim Congress Parliamentarians and a few others were also of the same view as that of Segu Dawood but maintained deafening silence as they realised that the overwhelming majority was for contesting independently. Basheer too quit arguing after a while. It was obvious that the High Command consisting of mainly Hakeem loyalists would endorse the views of the leader.Thereafter the SLMC High Command unanimously resolved that the party contest separately. It is the practice in the SLMC to conduct inner party debates on crucial issues but not promote division through voting. So once it become clear which side has a majority that decision is finalised unanimously.

PUTTALAM

Once the decision was taken the party high command also finalised the names of senior party leaders to be in charge of election related matters in districts facing polls. Parliamentarians MT Hassen Ali, Mohammed Aslam , Muthaliph Bawa Farook and Eastern Provincial councillor Jameel were placed in charge of the North.Rauff Hakeem and Eastern Provincial minister Nazeer Ahamed are in charge of Kandy and Matale districts.Faizal Cassim MP was put in for Kurunegala. Puttalam was placed under Basheer Segu Dawood and Kalmunai Mayor Siraz Meerasahib.

According to Muslim sources Basheer Segu Dawood did not demur when appointed in charge of election work in Puttalam. However the cabinet minister from Batticaloa came out with a subsequent statement that in his view the SLMC should have contested as part of the UPFA because it was unethical to campaign against the Govt while being part of it. Since the party was now contesting separately Segu Dawood stated he would not engage in canvassing for the SLMC while being a cabinet minister as it was against his conscience . He further said that if the party compelled him to campaign then he would resign his ministerial portfolio and do so.

This attempt to take the moral high ground was in essence a subtle attack on Rauff Hakeem. Since Hakeem too is the minister of Justice in the cabinet,what Segu Dawood is trying to do is to draw attention to that fact and portray Hakeem in a negative light.The line projected is that the SLMC leader was an unprincipled person who was campaigning against the govt he was part of while the party chairman was a principled politician who was not campaigning against the Govt to which he belonged.On the other hand if the Muslim Congress did compel him to campaign Basheer would then resign or threaten to resign his minister post thereby pressurising Rauff also to follow suit.

This manoeuvre was akin to what Segu Dawood resorted last year too when the Eastern Provincial council polls were held.Then too, he had wanted the SLMC to contest along with the Govt.When the party struck out independently, Basheer tendered his resignation letter to President Rajapaksa by facsimile and publicised it in the media. He was then the deputy minister of cooperatives and internal trade.He came out with the same argument then that one cannot campaign against the Govt one is part of and that if one were to do so then the post held in the Govt should be sacrificed. The aim of this posture then (and now )was depicting Hakeem as an unprincipled opportunist at one level and if possible forcing him to resign his cabinet portfolio if possible at another level.

RESIGNATION

There was however more to this posture of seeking Hakeem’s voluntary resignation from the Govt on a matter of principle. According to informed Muslim circles had Hakeem tendered his resignation last year he would not have been re-appointed a minister again. Hakeem would have been left in the lurch while Segu Dawood would have been appointed cabinet minister in his stead. This would have enabled a power shift to occur within SLMC parliamentary ranks and Segu Dawood would have engineered a move to split the party and join the Govt with the breakaway MP’s.

This scenario did not materialise as Rauff Hakeem did not fall into the trap and simply stayed put as minister while campaigning against it. Hakeem however made amends for defying the Govt by aligning with the UPFA in forming an Eastern Province administration.The decision to support and be part of the Provincial Govt after a bitter campaign against the UPFA was resented and opposed by a vast number of the Eastern rank and file in the SLMC.Hakeem however stood firm and threw in his lot with the Govt despite his popularity eroding to a great extent among the SLMC activists described as “Poralighal”or militants by MHM Ashraff himself.

Basheer Segu Dawood however did not remain out of Govt office for long. He was appointed cabinet minister in charge of Productivity promotion soon thereafter.This was done when Rauff Hakeem was out of the Island. Neither the leader of the SLMC to which Segu Dawood belonged nor the party was informed of this move. It also transpired that the much publicised deputy minister post resignation had been an illusion all along.Apparently the resignation letter had never been formally submitted after faxing.Thus the President had never accepted the resignation officially. It was only prior to receiving his cabinet portfolio that the earlier resignation came into force”officially”.

Basheer was quizzed by the SLMC High Command over accepting the sudden windfall of a cabinet portfolio without the party’s consent or knowledge. According to Muslim Congress sources the former pedagogue from Eravur responded with an inncocent face that it was a surprise to him also. He had been suddenly summoned to “Temple Trees” and sworn in as minister Basheer stated. Describing the incident , SLMC sources said Basheer had replied “Kan Simittaamal” (without batting an eye-lid).

EXPLANATION

He was however not believed as almost everyone there knew that cabinet appointments do not fall out of the air suddenly without any preparation or efforts by the parties concerned. Yet Segu Dawood did childishly try to insult the collective intelligence of the SLMC High command. Though several bayed for Basheer’s blood ,Hakeem was generous to a fault and opted to accept the explanation. The SLMC leader gave his party chairman the benefit of the doubt.Rauff ended the matter by giving Basheer his “conditional blessings” and wishes.Hakeem also did not raise the issue with President Rajapaksa.

Now Basheer is once again causing a stir, raising the issue of campaigning against the government while being in it as a matter affecting his conscience.There is certainly an element of truth to this assertion but what is hypocritical about this stance is that Segu Dawood had no qualms of conscience when accepting a cabinet portfolio without the knowledge of his party or in promoting SLMC support to the UPFA to form an Eastern province administration after fighting against the same Govt at the polls.

What is more many SLMC members suspect that the demand pressurising Hakeem to resign his cabinet portfolio and campaign is a ruse to leave the SLMC leader out in the cold. Muslim Congress sources are very sure that Segu Dawood is out to deprive Hakeem of being a minister.They allege that they have proof of Segu Dawood asking the upper echelons of the Govt to remove Hakeem as a minister when the party was trying to formulate an independent stand vis a vis the Govt. They say that the information about Segu Dawood’s “treachery” came from the Horse’s mouth itself. Segu Dawood has also allegedly gone on record that he had more bargaining clout than the SLMC with the Govt.

Segu Dawood’s recent actions are also resented and highly suspect in the eyes of many Muslim Congress stalwarts. At a time when the SLMC is challenging the Govt at the polls , five of its key high command members deserted the party and crossed over to Govt ranks. They were given nomination by the UPFA to contest in the districts of Vavuniya,Mullaitheevu, Mannar and Puttalam. Rauff Hakeem using his powers as party leader has issued expulsion notices on all five namely A.L. Ilham, S.H.A. Careem, S.K.S. Muthaliph., M.H.M. Najath and S.A. Yehiya.The Party High Command will meet shortly and ratify Hakeem’s verdict.

RESPONSIBLE

What SLMC circles allege is that Basheer Segu Dawood is responsible for the defection of these five key high command members. It is being said that Segu Dawood is working against the leader and the party like a fifth columnist. They say Segu Dawood is working hand in glove with ministers Basil Rajapaksa and Rishard Badhiyutheen to undermine Hakeem and fragment the SLMC.He is allegedly wooing a few Muslim Congress MP’s to join him and cross over to the Govt at the right moment.

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