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Burial issue still can’t rest in peace

04 Mar 2021

With the Government’s long-delayed but much-anticipated decision to permit the burial of the Covid-19 dead, the burial-cremation dilemma has reached a crescendo; Sri Lankans, however, cannot help but wonder whether it has, in fact, come to an end. The Government has come under fire for its decision to permit the burial of the Covid-19 dead in the Iranatheevu Island in the Gulf of Mannar, and it now has to deal with the furore among the community dwelling in the Iranatheevu Island. Since last year, the Government seemed to have little to no interest in permitting the burial of the Covid-19 dead, as despite the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued guidelines sanctioning the burial of the Covid-19 dead, and pressure from human rights activists and organisations, the Government continued to maintain that the burial of the Covid-19 dead may adversely affect the environment, particularly through contamination of groundwater. From the beginning, the Government’s stance on the burial-cremation issue was not very firm, and discussing and taking decisions on this issue also took place at a snail’s pace. While various members of the Government have expressed contradictory sentiments for and against the burial of the Covid-19 dead, not only the Government’s previous stance in favour of cremations, but also the process of permitting burials was not very clear. What’s more, the government appeared disinterested in paying attention to scientific facts in this connection. This resulted in allegations that the Government was ignoring the recommendations of the scientific community in order to oppress the minority Muslim community by depriving them of the opportunity to bury their dead according to their religious beliefs. In this context arises the question as to whether the decision to allow the burial of the Covid-19 dead was a result of mounting pressure from activists, or a last resort when it became evident that contamination of groundwater was not a good basis to restrict burials. Or, was it a result of this year’s United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session where the matter of the oppression of minority communities was raised? The reason behind the Government’s decision to permit burial matters, because without a genuine need or interest, there can be no genuine effort. Sri Lanka has seen far too many incidents that suggest that the governments that ruled and are ruling the country are more inclined to taking decisions to address the situation than the issue, and dealing with outcomes than the underlying causes. In fact, Sri Lanka is so dependent on short-term solutions that we have almost forgotten the difference between dealing with a situation and dealing with an issue, and that is perhaps where it all went wrong. Permitting the burial of the Covid-19 dead is merely a part of the solution Sri Lanka is in need of, and issuing a Gazette and guidelines is also just a first step. The Government has a responsibility to come up with a proper plan to carry out the burials, and that is the only way to put to rest the burial-cremation issue and any lingering feelings of discrimination or prejudice. Protests demanding that the Government permit the burial of the Covid-19 dead are not the pressing issue anymore; ironically, what we have now are protests against burials. The Government’s reluctance in allowing burials in the last few months has already caused a great deal of tension both among the country’s Muslim community and also among the progressive members of other communities. The recent protests against the burials in the Iranatheevu Island are a sign that the burial-cremation issue and the tensions it entails are not over, and that the Government still needs to plan and take actions regarding the matter.  


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