- Activists call for investigation
The attempt by Water Supply Minister Jeevan Thondaman to issue a formal apology through the Government for the forced cremations carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic has been rejected by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC).
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, SLMC General Secretary Nizam Kariapper said that they dismissed Thondaman’s apology as he was not relevant to the issue.
“The apology must come from the Cabinet of Ministers in place at the time under the leadership of [former President] Gotabaya Rajapaksa. It looks like a gimmick to get votes,” he said.
A gazette notification issued in April 2020 stated that all those who died from Covid-19 were required to be cremated, with the Government justifying the move by claiming that those who died from Covid-19 “may contaminate groundwater”.
Despite a World Health Organization (WHO) guidance document stating that burial was safe and human rights activists pointing to the cruelty of the Government’s policy towards the Muslim community which practises burying their dead, the compulsion continued until February 2021.
Human rights activist Shreen Saroor told The Sunday Morning that they estimated that at least 300 persons had been forcibly cremated during that period. Attempts by The Sunday Morning to contact Health Ministry officials for a clarification on this number proved futile.
“Instead of an apology, we need a probe into the cruel forced cremation policy and find the root of it as Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his book say he did not make this decision. The Government is trying to issue a formal apology and close all other avenues through which we can investigate what happened and find justice that goes beyond an apology. We need a serious investigation into this so that it isn’t repeated again in the future,” said Saroor.
Saroor further questioned whether the apology was an attempt by the Government to please the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries in order to obtain their support at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) later this year.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Public Security Minister Tiran Alles refused to comment on the attempt to provide a formal apology, saying that he was not aware of the matter.
In December 2020, the OIC expressed concern over the forced cremation policy and a few months later, in March 2021, Sri Lanka lost a vote at the UNHRC. At the time, reports showed that both former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had made diplomatic calls to the Muslim countries to obtain their support.
Although the Government reversed the forced cremation policy in February 2021, it then designated a site in Oddamavadi in the east of Sri Lanka for burials.
The Sunday Morning learns that the Local Government authorities in Oddamavadi show that 3,634 people were buried there – 2,992 Muslims, 287 Buddhists, 270 Hindus, and 85 Christians.
On Wednesday (3) Thondaman stated on X: “During this holy month of Ramadan, I extend my heartfelt apology to our Muslim brothers and sisters for the harm caused by the mandatory cremation policy during the Covid-19 pandemic. After I took responsibility as Minister for the water sector last year, I requested my officials to conduct an independent study to determine whether there was any truth to the allegations of risk to groundwater contamination by burials of those who succumbed to Covid-19. The findings of this study have now proven to us that the concerns regarding water contamination were misguided and the decision to forcefully cremate those who succumbed to Covid-19 was not based on any science.”
Thondaman said that he would be submitting a Cabinet paper with Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry for the Government to formally issue an apology.
Multiple attempts to contact Thondaman regarding the matter proved futile.