M. H. M. Ashraff | |
|---|---|
| එම්. එච්. එම්. අෂ්රෆ් மு. ஹு. மு. அஷ்ரப் | |
 | |
| Leader of theSri Lanka Muslim Congress | |
| Minister of Shipping, Ports and Rehabilitation | |
| In office 1994–2000 | |
| President | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Prime Minister | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
| Member of Parliament forAmpara District | |
| In office 1989–2000 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-10-23)23 October 1948 Sammanthurai,Ceylon |
| Died | 16 September 2000(2000-09-16) (aged 51) Aranayake, Sri Lanka |
| Political party | Sri Lanka Muslim Congress |
| Spouse | Ferial Ashraff |
| Alma mater | Ceylon Law College University of Colombo |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Mohammed Hussain Mohammed Ashraff (Tamil:முகம்மது ஹுசைன் முகம்மது அஷ்ரப்; 23 October 1948 – 16 September 2000) was aSri Lankan lawyer, politician, government minister and founder of theSri Lanka Muslim Congress.
Ashraff was born on 23 October 1948 inSammanthurai in south-easternCeylon.[1][2] He was the son of Mohammed Meera Lebbe Hussain, a village headman, and Matheena Ummah.[3] Ashraff grew up inKalmunai where his maternal family, the Kariappers, were very influential.[4][5] He was educated at Wesley College, Kalmunai.[5][6] After school he joinedCeylon Law College, passing his examination with first class honours.[2][4][7]
Ashraff marriedFerial.[8][9] They had one son, Aman.[10]
After qualifying Ashraff startedpractising criminal law in theEastern Province in 1974.[2][11] He joined theAttorney-General's Department as a state counsel in 1975 after a short while returned to practising law.[2][3] He received aBachelor's degree and aMaster's degree (1995) in law from theUniversity of Colombo later and was appointedPresident's Counsel in 1997.[4][5][7]
Ashraff wrote short stories, poems and newspaper/magazine articles inTamil andEnglish.[5] He had a book of poems calledNaan Enum Nee published.[12] He worked as a part-time journalist on theDinapathi daily newspaper whilst studying at Ceylon Law College.[13] Later he published a left-wing magazine calledSamathuvam (Equality).[13] He wrote a Tamil book on the constitutional law.[2][5]
Ashraff was an admirer ofTamil political leaderS. J. V. Chelvanayakam and spoke atIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) meetings.[4] Following the Puttalam massacre on 2 February 1976 in which at least 6 Muslim civilians were killed by thepolice, Muslim MPs remained silent and it was left to Chelvanayakam to raise the matter.[14] Ashraff was appreciative of this.[14] Ashraff attended the Vaddukoddai Conference in May 1976 at which theTamil United Liberation Front (TULF) unanimously passed the historicVaddukoddai Resolution calling for the creation of an independentTamil Eelam.[4]
Ashraff and others formed the Muslim United Liberation Front (MULF) political party in 1977 to represent Sri Lanka's Muslim population.[4][11] Ashraff was MULF's legal advisor and theoretician.[2] MULF formed an alliance with the TULF to contest the1977 parliamentary election under the TULF ticket.[2][4] At an election rally Ashraff famously announced that even if big brotherAmirthalingam (leader of TULF) abandoned the Eelam goal, little brother Ashraff would continue to fight for it.[4] The TULF won 18 seats at the election but the MULF candidates performed badly, not winning any seats.[4] Ashraff left MULF in 1980 after it merged with theSri Lanka Freedom Party.[4][11] The TULF refused to allow Muslim candidates to contest on the TULF ticket during the May 1981 District Development Council elections which resulted in Ashraff ending his relationship with the TULF.[14]
On 21 September 1981 Ashraff and other leading Muslim politicians established theSri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) atKattankudy.[4][13] The SLMC was initially a cultural organisation.[4][13] TheBlack July anti-Tamil riots of 1983 and the ensuingcivil war betweenTamil militants and theSri Lankan government caused apprehension amongst the Muslim population.[4] According toM. M. Zuhair, the SLMC was later formed as apolitical party in order to prevent Muslim youth of the east from joining theLTTE:
"I had retainers from the Eastern Courts and the late M.H.M. Ashraff at that time had a wide practice in the courts of law in the East. Hashim, a former teacher and Advocate from Akkaraipathu who first alerted me to the coming events. His own son had become the Area Leader of the LTTE for Akkaraipathu. He was angry he could not stop his own son from joining the armed group. There were several other young Muslims who were joining the LTTE in numbers. They had lost confidence in both the UNP and the SLFP, and that was why they were joining the Tamils fighting for autonomy, he told me, and if this is not stopped, this would spell great danger, more for the Muslims outside the North-East. I spoke to Ashraff, I told him, the time has come for us to address this growing danger of Muslim boys joining the LTTE. He understood the repercussions and the likely fall-out. He was ready to give up his lucrative practice and form a Muslim Party, as the only way to arrest all possible damages. Ashraff said a Muslim party was the only answer to prevent Muslims joining the LTTE."[15]
The government's decision to resume diplomatic ties withIsrael also caused problems.[4] In 1985, violence, stoked by the Sri Lankan government, erupted between Tamils and Muslims living in the Kalmunai-Karaitivu area, causing Ashraff to re-locate toColombo.[4] Controversially, Ashraff compared his situation toMuhammad'sHijrah fromMecca toMedina, ignoring the fact that he had left his supporters behind in Kalmunai whereas Muhammad took his followers to Medina.[14]
In Colombo Ashraff worked atFaisz Musthapha'schambers.[14] It was there that he came acrossRauff Hakeem.[14] Exploiting the political situation in Sri Lanka, Ashraff transformed SLMC into a political party in November 1986, taking over its leadership after ousting Ahamed Lebbe.[4][14] Ashraff wasn't entirely happy with the 1987Indo-Lanka Accord but nevertheless supported it.[4] The SLMC contested the 1988 provincial council elections, winning 29 seats including 17 on theNorth Eastern Provincial Council, becoming its main opposition party.[14] The SLMC supportedUnited National Party candidateRanasinghe Premadasa at the1988 presidential election.[4] Ashraff played a key role in the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment to theConstitution of Sri Lanka which reduced thecut-off mark to enterParliament from 12.5% to 5%, helping smaller parties such as the SLMC.[2]
Ashraff contested the1989 parliamentary election as one of the SLMC's candidates inAmpara District. He was elected and entered Parliament.[16] He was re-elected at the1994 parliamentary election.[17] Prior to the election the SLMC had entered into an electoral pact with main oppositionPeople's Alliance (PA).[4] Following the PA's victory the SLMC joined the new government.[4] Ashraff was sworn in as Minister of Shipping, Ports and Rehabilitation on 19 August 1994.[13][18] Two other SLMC MPs became deputy ministers whilst Hakeem became Deputy Chairman of Committees.[4][5] Ashraff lost the shipping portfolio later.[4] Ashraff's ministerial career was not without controversies - he was accused of creating jobs for Muslims at state-owned institutions under his control and giving priority to Muslim areas when it came to rehabilitation projects.[4] Ashraff often got into disputes with fellow Muslim ministerA. H. M. Fowzie which resulted in Ashraff threatening to resign.[4] Ashraff, who was supreme "Thalaivar" (leader) of the SLMC, dealt harshly with dissension in the party.[4] At the time of his death three SLMC MPs had been suspended from the party by Ashraff.[4]
By 2000 relations between the SLMC and PA had become strained.[19] Earlier, in 1999, Ashraff had founded theNational Unity Alliance (NUA) with the aim of creating a "united Sri Lanka by 2012".[20][21] Ashraff resigned from the government on 22 August 2000, stating that he was severing all ties with the PA and that the SLMC would contest the2000 parliamentary election on its own, and left for pilgrimage to Mecca butPresidentChandrika Kumaratunga refused to accept his resignation.[4][19][22] On returning to Sri Lanka Ashraff settled his differences with the government and resumed his cabinet position.[22] However, just before Ashraff died he had sent faxes to the media stating that the SLMC and NUA had severed all ties with the PA.[23][24]
On the morning of 16 September 2000, at around 9.30am, Ashraff boarded aSri Lanka Air Force (SLAF)Mi-17 helicopter at the Police Grounds atBambalapitiya.[22][25] The flight toAmpara District was to have taken him overKandy,Randenigala, Maha Oya and Iginiyagala.[25] Besides Ashraff there were 14 others on board - nine party officials, three bodyguards and two crew members.[22] About 40/45 minutes after take-off the helicopter lost radio contact with air traffic controllers.[25] Another SLAF helicopter was sent to search for the missing helicopter in the Hasalaka-Randenigala area.[25] The wreckage of Ashraff's helicopter was found in flames onBible Rock near Aranayake inKegalle District.[22][25] By the time the SLAF rescue team landed and reached the site, the police, assisted by locals, had removed most of the bodies.[22][25] Ashraff's funeral was held on the same day, at around midnight, at Colombo's Jawatta Muslim burial ground.[26]
The weather at the time of the crash was good.[22][25] The authorities initially claimed that engine failure had caused the crash.[24] The government immediately ordered an inquiry into the crash and in January 2001 President Kumaratunga appointed a Presidential Commission to inquire into the crash.[19][27] However, neither found any conclusive evidence for the crash's cause.[7]
| Election | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 parliamentary[16] | Ampara District | SLMC | 56,464 | Elected |
| 1994 parliamentary[17] | Ampara District | SLMC | 69,076 | Elected |
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| National List (29) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
