The Sri Lanka government formally apologised to the country's Muslim minority on Tuesday for forcibly cremating people who died of Covid-19 during the pandemic. The then government disregarded World Health Organization (WHO) assurances that burials based on Islamic rites were safe.
The government said a new law would guarantee that the right to funeral customs of Muslims or any other community were not violated in the future, according to an AFP report.
Muslims, who account for 10% of Sri Lanka's population of 22 million, traditionally bury their dead facing Mecca. However, the majority of the country’s population comprises Buddhists, who typically cremate their dead, as do Hindus.
Muslim representatives in Sri Lanka welcomed the apology but said the community was still traumatised.
Hilmy Ahamed, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, told AFP that they were going to sue the two academics — Meththika Vithanage and Channa Jayasumana — "who were behind for the forced cremation policy" of the government. The council will also seek compensation, he said.
The forced cremations stoked much controversy in Sri Lanka as Islam forbids the practice. This was seen by critics as a bid to target the minority community. In December 2020, a 40-day-old infant was cremated against his parents' wishes, Ahamed told AFP.
The then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa had banned burials even though his government faced international condemnation for violating Muslim funeral norms. In a book published this month, Rajapaksa defended his action, saying he was following the advice of Vithanage, a professor of natural resources, to not allow burials. Vithanage, AFP reported, has no medical background.
The forced cremations were stopped in February 2021, after an appeal by the then Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during a visit to Sri Lanka. Burials were subsequently allowed in a remote Oddamavadi area under strict military supervision and without the participation of the families.