MNA applauds President for taking first step towards peace

MUSLIM National Alliance leader Hafiz Nazeer Ahmed made a plea to all politicians to stop playing with the lives of people, subsequent to reports of the killings of nearly 20 men in the East, most of them Muslims, states a Muslim National Alliance (MNA) in a press release.

"I have said it before and I will say it again that these incidents were intended to create a communal conflict between the Tamils and Muslims living in the East," said the MNA leader.

He added that he was pleased to see that people from both communities had acted with great restraint thereby foiling any obnoxious designs by vested interests.

Ahmed said his party was also a political force but that it was established to serve people and not to oppress or kill them.

The moment any politician feels that he or she has to 'eliminate' and opponent by violence then such a thought negates his or her existence and also violated the basic fundamentals of democracy, said Nazeer Ahmed.

He said he believed that President Rajapakse was great democrat and Sri Lankans looked up to him to bring about a peaceful environment in the country as enunciated in his 'Chintanaya'.

Ahmed said that he was aware of the difficulties the President was experiencing within the coalition with regards to his commitment to bring about peace in the country but added that in spite of many hurdles he had already taken the first step towards reviving peace talks.

'The Muslim National Alliance welcomes and applauds the President for taking the first step towards peace'.