Muslim Minister of the Sri Lankan Government today expressed their unequivocal condemnation of the “premeditated and planned” attack on a mosque in Grandpass and called for an independent investigation.

Issuing a joint statement the Ministers urged the President to immediately conduct an independent investigation into this “sad and dastardly act of violence” inflicted on a peaceful congregation of devotees assembled in the sacred sanctuary of a mosque. 

They called upon the President to instruct law enforcement agencies to apprehend and punish the perpetrators of this “anti-national act.”

The Muslim Ministers also stated that yesterday’s incident is views as the most recent sequel to a chain of events that have occurred in the country for several months.

“The lukewarm and ineffective measures taken by the law enforcement agencies on previous occasions when Muslim communities and their mosques were deliberately attacked seem to have emboldened some extremist groups who seem determined to create chaos in the country that is still in search of national reconciliation after a prolonged war,” the statement said.

They called on the President and the government to take decisive action to halt the trend of “openly espousing religious hatred” towards the Muslim community and also to set up a credible institutional mechanism to ensure inter religious harmony.

The joint statement was signed by Senior Minister A.H.M. Fowzie, Minister Rauf Hakeem, Minister Rishad Bathiyutheen, Minister A.L.M. Athaulla, Minister Basheer Segu Dawood, Deputy Minister M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Deputy Minister Faizer Mustapha and Deputy Minister A.R.M. Abdul Cader.

Joint Statement of the Muslim Ministers of the Government of Sri Lanka