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Mujibur claims Government used Dr. Shafi to create racial tensions

20 Dec 2021

BY Pamodi Waravita Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB) Parliamentarian Mujibur Rahman accused the current Government of using the story built around Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen to gain power by creating racial and religious tensions. “We saw last week that the Health Ministry Secretary has ordered that Dr. Shafi be reinstated and his salary arrears be given. But the Public Service Commission (PSC)  is telling another story. This Government used the story it built around Dr. Shafi to come to power. After the Easter Sunday terror attacks, this Government, which was then in the Opposition, created religious and racial divsions. They used Dr. Shafi for that and told this story that he is sterilising Sinhala women,” accused Rahman, speaking at a press conference yesterday (19). Naming current Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa, Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila, and Our People of Power Party (OPPP) Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera, Rahman said they were at the forefront of this “drama”, and questioned what their thoughts on the matter are now. “It has been two years since this Government started investigations into allegations against Dr. Shafi. What happened to them? Where are those who made those accusations now? In addition to police officers, there were doctors and journalists involved in this drama too. Where are all of them now? Does it take two years to prove whether something like this happened or not?” further questioned Rahman. He said the story around Dr. Shihabdeen was used to create “fear in the majority population” in the country. Ministry of Health Secretary Maj. Gen. Dr. Sanjeewa Munasinghe told The Morning last week that he has instructed the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital to continue the salary of Dr. Shihabdeen, who was sent on compulsory leave by the PSC via the letter dated 19 June 2019, as per the provisions of the Establishments Code. He has also instructed to assign immediate reasons for the non-payment of salaries to Dr. Shihabdeen during the period in which the latter is on compulsory leave, despite the procedure to be followed for an officer on compulsory leave having been mentioned in the Establishments Code. However, the PSC reportedly said last Friday (17) that the Ministry of Health has not informed it of the decision to reinstate Dr. Shihabdeen. A Sinhala newspaper first ran a front-page lead story in May 2019, alleging that a Muslim doctor had performed illegal sterilisation operations on over 4,000 Sinhala-Buddhist mothers, just one month after the Easter Sunday terror attacks. With anti-muslim sentiment at fever pitch, the story spread like wildfire, leading to mass hysteria. The unnamed doctor in the article was later identified as Dr. Shihabdeen, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) shortly after on suspicion of unlawfully acquiring assets. Although over 1,000 women complained against Dr. Shihabdeen, stating he had sterilised them during C-Section procedures, the CID informed the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court in June 2019 that investigations carried out thus far had not proven that Dr. Shihabdeen had blocked the fallopian tubes of mothers, amassed wealth in an illegal manner, or maintained links with a terrorist organisation. When the case against Dr. Shihabdeen was taken up for hearing, the CID also noted the several irregularities in the process of arresting him. He has performed 4,372 caesarean surgeries at the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital, the CID informed the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court. The CID also produced a 210-page report to the court on the findings of their investigations on the assets of Dr. Shihabdeen and the complaints lodged by mothers who underwent caesarean surgeries under him. The CID had recorded statements concerning Dr. Shihabdeen from over 500 persons with regard to the investigation carried out against him. However, no evidence had been discovered connecting the doctor to the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) organisation that was behind the Easter Sunday bombings, or terrorist activities, as claimed by the complainants. Dr. Shihabdeen was detained under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) and the detention order was cancelled in July 2019 after the CID informed the Ministry of Defence Secretary that their investigation had revealed no evidence to justify keeping Dr. Shihabdeen under a detention order any longer. On 11 July 2019, the CID produced Dr. Shihabdeen in the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court, but despite the fact that the State did not object to bail, the Magistrate remanded him for a further 14 days, after which he was granted conditional bail on 26 July 2019.


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