He alleged that he was unable to present the ‘Muslim case’ at the peace talks as a result of the crisis in the party. But other sources say that the LTTE regard Mr Hakeem only as a member of the government delegation and are reluctant to accept him as a legitimate representative of the Muslim community.
The Colombo District Court, after a full hearing on 5 December, removed its interim order restraining Mr Hakeem acting as leader of the SLMC. On 13 December, the Court of Appeal rejected an application against this decision by the Athaullah faction. Six days later, Mr Hakeem issued a week’s ultimatum to the dissidents to re-join the party under his command or face dismissal.
But Mr Athaullah was defiant and his faction held its own delegates conference at Akkaraipatru in Batticaloa District on 25 December. Six people were wounded in a clash, three days later, between the two factions, when Hakeem supporters were making arrangements for a meeting in Attalaichenai.