ASHRAFF A RACIST (99 Mar 24)
Mr. A. H. M. Fowzie has said that his cabinet colleague Mr. M. H. M. Ashraff is engaged in racist politics and that the latter is working against the P.A. government. Mr. Fowzie has declared this at a meeting held in the Yovun Nikethana at Anuradhapura. He has also said that he was given the ministry of Transport by the President when she could have given that portfolio to a Sinhala Buddhist. The minister has said that as the S.L.F.P. is not a racist party there is no discrimination against anybody and the race or the religion of a person is not considered when appointing to posts.
It is well known that Mr. Ashraf and Mr. Fowzie are not in agreement on many things. However this is the first time that Mr. Fowzie has said that Mr. Ashraff is working against the P. A. in public. Mr. Fowzie is a member of the S. L. F. P. while Mr. Ashraff is the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (S.L.M.C.), which has entered into a coalition with the P. A. The statement of Mr. Fowzie indicates that the S.L.M.C. is on their way out.
The Tamil racist parties and the S.L.M.C. have lost faith in the P.A. due to the failure of the government to introduce the package and they are now looking towards the U.N.P. to win their racist demands.