Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. G.L. Peiris says that Sri Lanka is a country that allows everyone to practice their traditions and cultures equally and without any discrimination or hindrance.
Prof. GL Peiris made the remarks at a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Mr. Joseph Al-Othaimeen, ahead of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Recalling a telephone conversation between President Gotabaya Rajapaksha and the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation earlier this year, Minister Peiris spoke about the long standing relations and close bonds between Sri Lanka and the Muslim world.
Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to accept the Palestinian state, also former President and current Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has established the Sri Lanka-Palestine Friendship Association as a young Member of Parliament and served as its President for the past 25 years. The Minister said that Sri Lanka has continued to support the Palestinian struggle and in recognition of this, a road in Ramallah has been named after former President Rajapaksa.
The Foreign Minister commended the Islamic Cooperation Organization for its support to Sri Lanka in multilateral forum, including the Human Rights Council, where they opposed the segregation of countries for political purposes and called on them to allow their national problems to be resolved.
Secretary-General Al-Othaimin appreciated the close and long-standing relations between Sri Lanka and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and its member countries. He noted that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is concerned with the well-being of Muslims globally and has always urged members of the Muslim community to respect local cultures and the law of the land.
He noted the dangers of communities living in isolation and not interacting with other nations. He said it was a path to division and catastrophe, leading to extremism.
He appreciated the dialogue with the Government of Sri Lanka and the steps taken to allow members of the Muslim community who died in the Covid-19 epidemic to be buried in accordance with Muslim traditions. He emphasized that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation was working against extremism, violence and hatred, adding that “misinformation is on the rise due to social media and other tools that spread false information around the world, creating tensions between communities.”
The Minister also said in response that due to the existing systems in the country, a number of outstanding positions in the government, public and private sectors have been taken over by members of the Muslim community.