Video: JHU and BBS say it is eyewash

12 March 2013 01:40 pm

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the Bodu Bala Sena today said the Halal controversy was not over and that the decision taken by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to do away with the Halal logo was an attempt to deceive the people.

At a news conference this morning, JHU parliamentarian and Minister Champika Ranawaka challenged the ACJU for a debate on the Halal issue to prove that it had been legalized in the Qu’ran.

He said the Sri Lankan people are being deceived in to using products according to Halal regulations even though the Halal logo had been removed.  

“The Halal logo is just the last step in this process. The ACJU has not said the standardisation or the certification of Halal items has been stopped. We like to know whether Sharia law is still going to be used in the production, storage and transportation stages. We also like to know how products for export will be separated into Halal and non-Halal items,” the minister asked.

Meanwhile, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) today charged it was eyewash to scrap the Halal certificate for local products while offering to certify export oriented products free of charge.

“What we are asking is the eradication of the entire Halal process. Removing the logo is not an option, it is just one part. If the ACJU continues to issue the certificate to the export market, it will still create difficulties in local factories as it should be done according to the Sharia Law,” Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera told the media.

Commenting on the statement made by the ACJU together with some Buddhist monks and Chamber of Commerce officials, the BBS said the ACJU did not have the right to make such comments or propose solutions, since ACJU had not consulted the BBS when taking the decision.  

“We (Bodu Bala Sena) are the ones who came up with the issue. It had been only our effort all along the campaign. Even some of the Buddhist monks didn’t know the meaning of Halal until we exposed it to the public”, it said. (Jayashika Padmasiri, Olindhi Jayasundara and Lahiru Pothmulla)

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Pix by Kithsiri De Mel