A silent protest was held in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo against the government’s policy of cremating the bodies of Muslim victims of COVID-19 pandemic despite the World Health Organisation (WHO) approving burials.
Sajith Premadasa, the main Opposition leader, led the protest, which was also attended by civil society groups.
Muslim groups allege their community’s coronavirus victims were being forcefully cremated against their religious belief. They say some of them have been buried secretly.
The process of cremation is forbidden within Islam and Judaism, which require members of the faiths to be buried.
The authorities claim that burials may lead to further spread of the pandemic. The Government has appointed an experts’ panel to make recommendations on the issue of burials, but it has yet to come up with any recommendations even after 9 months, the Muslim civil society groups say.