Mangala pledges to build Oluvil Port

ROHAN Mathes reporting from Oluvil

ADDRESSING a rally to mark the Minister M.H.M. Ashraff's fifth death anniversary in Oluvil on Saturday, Shipping and Aviation Minister Mangala Samaraweera pledged to construct the Oluvil port, a concept of the late minister.

Minister Samaraweera said that Ashraff performed a yeoman service to the country, in the shipping sector as Shipping Minister from 1994. He elevated the Colombo port to international standards and developed other outstation ports as well.

The port of Oluvil was his brainchild, and he strove to complete it during his lifetime. However, his Ministry has decided to go ahead with the project with Danish funding which has been already arranged.

He said that Ashraff was a true son of the soil, in the calibre of the slain Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. He served not only his Muslim brethren but also the Sinhala and Tamil communities equally and sans prejudice of his ethnicity or creed.

It was Ashraff who compensated over 40,000 odd mothers who lost their sons, and it was Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Ashraff who dismantled the infamous Batalanda torture chamber.

Although he is no more with us, his wife Ferial Ashraff and his close allies such as Minister Cegu Issadeen, Deputy Minister Anwer Ismail, Minister A.L.M. Athaulla and others are prepared to take his good work and ideals forward.

He urged the Muslim community to ascertain with care and diligence, who was a sincere friend of the Muslims, Rajapakse or Ranil Wickremasinghe, before voting at the presidential elections.

Wickremasinghe has acted against the interests of Muslims, he charged. Rajapakse has been a true friend of Muslims locally and internationally. He has championed the Palestinian cause for several decades. Wickremasinghe is now trying only to secure Muslims' votes, he said.