[caption id="attachment_112982" align="aligncenter" width="1091"] Activists and members of the Muslim community protesting against the Government’s decision to proceed with mandatory cremation of the Covid deceased[/caption]  

• Right to dignity in death violated

• PM's effort to resolve issue blocked

The controversy over the mandatory cremation of those dying from Covid-19 reached the boiling point on Thursday (7), as Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi announced that the country will continue to cremate all dead bodies, irrespective of any ethnic or religious considerations. She told Parliament that the report by the experts committee recommended that cremation would be the ideal method for the deceased and therefore, the Ministry does not have an intention to deviate from the report on the basis of any ethnic or religious considerations. However, the Minister’s statement made in Parliament contradicts the recommendations made by the expert panel appointed by the Ministry last December to provide their expert opinion on the safe disposal of human remains of Covid-19-infected people, it is learnt. In its report submitted recently to the Ministry of Health, the 11-member expert panel including virologists, microbiologists, and immunologists observed that both cremation and burial are permissible under strict guidelines. The members of the panel consisted of University of Colombo Chair Professor in Microbiology Prof. Jennifer Perera, University of Sri Jayewardenepura Professor in Microbiology and Centre for Dengue Research Director Prof. Neelika Malavige, consultant virologists Dr. Geethani Galagoda, Dr. Saranga Sumathipala, Dr. Nadeeka Janage, Dr. Rohitha Muthugala, Dr. Dulmini Kumarasinghe, Dr. Janaki Abeynayake, consultant immunologist Dr. Rajiva de Silva, consultant microbiologist and vaccinologist Dr. Kanthi Nanayakkara, and consultant microbiologist Dr. Malika Karunarathne. The panel was requested to provide scientific evidence and expert opinion on the behaviour of the SARS CoV-2 virus remaining in a corpse of a Covid-19-infected person after death, and also to provide recommendations on whether burial is an option for the safe disposal of a corpse of a Covid-19-infected person. Likewise, several other recognised bodies of medical experts have also voiced a similar opinion. The College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka (CCPSL) said last week that there is no solid evidence indicating that the burial of dead bodies of Covid-19 victims would increase the spread of the virus. “With the available scientific evidence and the impact of the decision on cremation on pandemic control activities at large, CCPSL concludes that, adhering to global guidelines, each citizen of Sri Lanka should be allowed to be cremated or buried as per his/her and the family’s desire within the strict guidelines recommended by the Ministry of Health,” the CCPSL stated. In the meantime, the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) also said in a statement last week that based on the observations it has made and relying on currently available scientific information, the burial of Covid-19 bodies could be permitted in Sri Lanka. The Association noted that based on the limited scientific evidence available at the initial stages, a decision was made by the Director General of Health Services of the Ministry of Health to cremate all dead bodies of Covid-19-positive patients. “This has the potential to cause much civil unrest. As a result, it was also found that people were generally reluctant to co-operate with the Covid control measures implemented by the Government. Many of them avoided seeing doctors, and hence there were several deaths occurring at home without them seeking medical attention or treatment,” the SLMA said. However, as per the Government’s Covid-19 regulations, the bodies of “all Covid-19 victims will be cremated within 24 hours of the death”, despite the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which state that the victims could be buried or cremated. In such a backdrop, the Government’s decision has set off heated opposition as well as often angry questioning from the Muslim community and rights activists of the country, as they claim the Government has taken an arbitrary decision to go ahead with the forced cremation, disregarding the rights of its citizens.   Should victims be cremated or buried?   Dignity in death is recognised as a human right the world over. A majority of the population across the world prefer to bury their dead. Numerous national civil society organisations, religious groups, and individual activists have also written letters and signed petitions to the Government, calling for a change in policy. The United Nations (UN) Office in Sri Lanka Resident Co-ordinator, UN special experts, and regional human rights groups have separately written to the Government, calling for the policy to be changed to ensure the Covid-19 dead are handled with dignity and human rights are protected. In the case of Covid-19, the pathogen novel coronavirus transmits from one person to another through droplets. This means that it requires body fluid to keep finding new victims. Usually, burial takes seven to 10 days in the decomposition of a body, and the body retains fluid for three to four days. Scientists around the world have, however, claim that the novel coronavirus can be transmitted during the preparation of the body for burial or if the grave is shallow, over three to four days after the death. In the case of cremation, ashes don't present that risk. Meanwhile last week, the Youth for Justice Sri Lanka (YJSL), a coalition of youth-led organisations and youth activists, called on the Government to revise its ongoing policy of mandatory cremations for Covid deaths, which is causing tremendous hurt and distress to many Sri Lankans. It stated that the authoritative voices from within the scientific community have made statements to suggest that cremation is not mandatory for Covid deaths. The SLMA, the CCPSL, as well as world-renowned Sri Lankan virologist Prof. Malik Peiris and MP Prof. Tissa Vitharana have publicly announced that based on the available scientific evidence, burials of the Covid-19 deceased can be permitted. Most importantly, the recent report by the expert panel of virologists, microbiologists, and immunologists, led by Prof. Jennifer Perera, has recommended both cremation and burial for the Covid-19 deceased by adhering to the safety precautions, the YJSL said. “The policy of mandatory cremation has generated growing unrest among communities and can have serious implications for Sri Lanka’s future, with developments that could derail the work we have done with young people in the last decade,” Senel Wanniarachchi of the YJSL said. “We are the generation that was brought up amidst a brutal civil war and suffered its consequences in varied ways. We believe that if necessary steps are not taken to rectify the situation immediately by allowing the Muslim and Christian communities to perform their last rites in line with their religious beliefs, the youth of this country will have to suffer the repercussions of these decisions which appear to be both short-sighted and racially motivated,” he added. The organisation urged the Government to act on the advice of the scientific community and immediately end the ongoing policy of mandatory cremation. Meanwhile, it has come to notice that individual medical experts in the field of virology are maintaining silence on the issue, as attempts made by The Sunday Morning to obtain comments from several experts of associations were futile. Likewise, Prof. Malavige, a member of the 11-member committee, also refused to comment on the issue. Secretary to the State Ministry of Primary Health Care, Epidemics, and Covid Disease Control Dr. Amal Harsha de Silva also refused to comment on the matter and requested the newspaper to contact Minister Wanniarachchi. In the meantime, a source attached to the Ministry of Health, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sunday Morning that the issue has created a serious situation within the Ministry itself at present. However, the topic is still being discussed within the Government at present, he stressed. Moreover, Secretary to the Ministry of Health Dr. S.H. Munasinghe, Minister Wanniarachchi, and Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena were not reachable by the time the paper went into print.   Photo Pradeep Dambarage