Rishard Bathiudeen happy with Mahinda Rajapaksa’s assurance

COLOMBO: Opposition MP Rishard Bathiudeen said he is happy with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s assurance that Sri Lanka will begin giving permission for Muslims who die of COVID-19 to be buried.

But Bathiudeen, a former minister in the Cabinet of Rajapaksa, said that the government should implement it by withdrawing the compulsory cremation rule.

“Many people have been cremated before and their families are living in great agony. I am happy that they showed some compassion even at this stage, but it has to be implemented soon because people are dying every day,” he was quoted as saying in an AFP report.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa’s assurance on Wednesday came in response to a question from an opposition MP in Parliament.

Sri Lanka has required the cremation of all people who die from COVID-19, saying the virus in human remains could contaminate underground water.

People have protested the rule over the past year, calling it unscientific and insensitive of religious beliefs. The UN and the US have also raised concerns with the government.

The World Health Organization and Sri Lankan doctors’ groups have said COVID-19 victims can either be buried or cremated.