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Plea for "autonomous area"

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Making a case for inclusion of Muslims as a "principal stakeholder" in the dialogue on the resolution of the ethnic conflict, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has sought an "autonomous area" comprising parts of the North and East for the community. Releasing what was characterised as a "framework of the concept paper" at a news conference here on Sunday, SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem said his party was looking at several models including the Union Territories envisaged under the Indian Constitution in this regard. He said the SLMC was committed to "Empowerment of all communities through federalism or a meaningful devolution of powers established under and protected by the Constitution. This should include an autonomous area comprising parts of the North and East specifically for the Muslim." Muslims, majority of who speak Tamil, account for an estimated 7.6 per cent of the 19.5 million population.

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