Hakim 'not duly informed'
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader told Norwegian special peace envoy that Muslims returning to the North face harassment from Tamil Tigers.
Rauff Hakim, after meeting Erik Solheim on Wednesday told Elmo Fernando of BBC Sandesaya that he informed the visiting peace envoy that the LTTE does not allow Muslims resettling in Mannar and Jaffna to get back to their usual work. Hakim said that Muslims who are goldsmiths and scrap metal collectors are prohibited by the LTTE in getting back to their traditional trading practices. Erik Solheim briefed visiting US Assistant secretary of state Christina Rocca and LTTE political wing leader S P Tamilselvan as well as representatives of donor countries in Colombo on the progress of the proposed joint mechanism between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers for tsunami rehabilitation in the North and East. The apex body of the joint mechanism consists of a member each from the Sinhala Tamil and Muslim communities. However, the Muslim leader alleged that they were informed of the proposals only on Wednesday. "We were denied the opportunity to make more constructive input," he said. Solheim told Elmo Fernando that Muslim interests are also taken care in the proposal. "We feel that both the LTTE and the government, on this occasion, have done the utmost to try to accommodate Muslim concerns," he added.