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| Wednesday, 2 March 2005 |
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Hambantota District Secretary W. A. Piyasena yesterday contradicted a Tamilnet Report on February 28 allegedly attributing to the Dharma Kabir Mosque Administration where it said that 3,800 Muslims were killed and buried when in fact the total number of the dead in the whole district was found to be 3073 of all communities. District Secretary Piyasena said that the figures given by the government about the dead and the missing persons in respect of the Hambantota district was correct and hence the dead and missing Muslims were 496 and 444 respectively. These figures are correct as we have double-checked with the families living in the district who complained either of the dead or the missing persons. We have conducted a survey at the Grama Niladhari level and found the figures announced by the government and ours to be correct. The government announced the total number dead and missing around 4,500. The total number of dead was 3073. Making reference to the alleged complaint of the Hambantota Dharma Kabir Mosque Administration, the District Secretary said that figures presented by them were over exaggerated. One instance, the officials at the Mosque claimed that they have buried 3,800 bodies in one grave, which they could not substantiate and subsequently they brought the figure down to 350. When they were told that the Secretariat would have to take a Court Order to open the grave, they kept silent. If in actual fact they have buried such a large number they should have informed some authority to give credence to their statement. Going by the house-hold level, the number of dead in the district is around 3073 and with the number of people reported missing the total figure is around 4500. Hence the report that has gone in the Tamilnet is factually incorrect. |
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