Azath Salley

Mohamed Azath Sanoon Salley (born 18 September 1963) is a Sri Lankan politician and the eighth Governor of the Western Province.

Azath Salley
8th Governor of Western Province
In office
3 January 2019 – 3 June 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Preceded byHemakumara Nanayakkara
Succeeded byA. J. M. Muzammil
Personal details
Born
Mohamed Azath Sanoon Salley

(1963-09-18) 18 September 1963
Colombo, Sri Lanka
CitizenshipSri Lanka
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partyNational Unity Alliance (NUA)
Other political
affiliations		MTNA, UPFA, UNP, SLMC (past)
Spouse(s)Renoza, Rusna
ChildrenAmina Salley and Nafees Salley
Alma materDS Senanayake College, Colombo

Salley was the deputy mayor of Colombo, and the founder/leader of the National Unity Front (NUF).

He has two children, Amina (daughter) and Nafees (son).[1]

In May 2013, Salley was arrested and later released by the Sri Lankan Forces under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) after he called Muslims to launch an "armed struggle" during an interview.[2][3]

Salley founded the National Unity Front, an Islamic political party. He was a member of the Central Provincial Council. He worked in partnership with the United Arab Emirates High Commission in Colombo to help the needy during the Islamic Holy Month of Ramazan.

On 3 January 2019 he was sworn in as the eighth Governor of the Western Province. However, as a result of the 2019 Easter Bomb attacks by radical thowheed jamath Islamists, Azath Salley along with all the Muslim politicians were forced to resign after a corrupt Buddhist Monk named Athuraliye Rathana[4] protested against Salley's alleged ties to extremists. Which were proven wrong after investigations, [5] [6] Athuraliye Rathana was rumored to be paid by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to stage the protests at the Temple Of The Tooth Relic in Mahanuwara, Sri Lanka.

Salley was somewhat of a controversial figure after the COVID-19 pandemic, as one of the only Muslim leaders in the island to talk against the government's forceful cremation of COVID-19 victims.[7][8] He has been strongly critical of the Rajapakse family in Sri Lanka, calling it a "Racist Nationalist Party", with the family having two Presidents and a Prime Minister along with a number of cabinet positions. Salley accuses the family of misuse of state funds during the (2005–2015) Mahinda Rajapakse regime and the (2019–to date) Gotabaya Rajapakse regime.

Salley has always been strongly critical against racists irrespective of their race, such as Abdul Razik, Udaya Gammanpila, Madhumadava Aravinda and Wimal Weeravansa.

Salley is a National List candidate for the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, headed by Sajith Premadasa for the upcoming elections.

References
  1. "Nafees Salley (@NafeesSalley) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. Translation Of Azath Salley’s Controversial Interview
  3. "Azath Salley expresses support to terrorism". Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  4. "Athuraliye Rathana Thero - Wikipedia". en.m.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. "Azath Salley sworn in as Western Province Governor". Daily Mirror. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  6. "Protests by Buddhist monks force two Muslim governors to resign in Sri Lanka". Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. "Sri Lanka makes cremations compulsory for coronavirus deaths". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. Times, Colombo (10 May 2020). "Muslim's death has become a controversy due to Covid-19: Azath Salley". Colombo Times. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by
Hemakumara Nanayakkara		 Governor of Western Province
2019		 Succeeded by
A. J. M. Muzammil


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