News

Military commanders appointed to lead a highly sensitive operation in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings are alleged war criminals and those who oversaw troops found by the UN to have abused children.

In the second week following a series of coordinated bomb blasts, which struck churches and hotes in Sri Lanka killing more than 250 people, the Army Headquarters announced that all Army, Navy, Air Force and Police areas within the Western Province and the north western Puttalam district have been placed under the newly formed Overall Operational Command (OOC).

They will be in control of the deployment of thousands of troops in Sri Lanka engaged in the search and seizure of homes and buildings, enforcing curfew and patrolling civilian areas.

Major General Sathyapriya Liyanage, named in a UN report for commanding a battalion accused of war crimes during the war against Tamil rebels 10 years ago, functions as the overall operational Commander in the establishment. (JDS Lanka)

Read the full report: The Men Now Patrolling Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has encountered a second security failure by allowing the unruly violent mobs to attack Muslim mosques and ordinary Muslim citizens particularly in the North Western Province and Gampaha District. This should have been an ‘anticipated backlash’ to the Easter Carnage inflicted by the IS terrorists three weeks before. However neither the law enforcement agencies nor the political authorities have taken necessary precautions in preventing such an eventuality.

As a result, at least one person has been killed, over 20 others severely injured and many families have been displaced. The number of attacked and damaged mosques and houses/shops reported to be nearly 100. The most damaged undoubtedly is the country’s image; and the inter-religious and inter-ethnic relations/harmony of the society.

It appears that still there is no proper coordination between the political authorities and the law enforcement agencies. This is apart from the apparent lack of coordination between various security and law enforcement agencies themselves - the CID, police, armed forces etc.

From First to the Second

It is just within three weeks that the second security failure has taken place.

The first security failure was most horrendous when nine suicide bombers of extremist Islamic organizationsin the country (National Thowheeth Jamath or NTJ etc.), supported and instigated by the Islamic State (IS) and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, were easily allowed to attack three Christian Churches and threeTourist Hotels on the Easter Sunday (4/21), irrespective of relevant authorities having all necessary information.

That was an unprovoked terrorist attack without recent connected incidents.

‘Neglect of security of the ordinary citizens’ does appear to be the main cause for that security failure. Otherwise, the police had made all necessary arrangements to safeguard the security of all political VIPs from the government to the opposition.

Three weeks ago the main targets were the Christian Churches and their congregations. As a result, 258 persons were killed and nearly 500 of innocent people were injured. Out of the dead, there were 41 foreign tourists. It appears that the Christian Churches were particularly targeted on the instructions from the leaders of the Islamic State (IS), as part of their counter offensive to the real or imagined ‘Crusaders’ or as a revenge for the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand.

‘The general failure of security and defence’ of course was another underlying reason as revealed by the failure of the police or the defence authorities to take appropriate action to protect or warn the Tourist Hotels about the terrorist threat. This is irrespective of the primary importance of tourism to the economy of the country. Even without the help of the police the hotels could have thwarted the terrorist attacks or protected their guests, if they were informed.

There are questions whether particularly the general failure of security had emerged as a result of too much of liberalization in the country.

The general atmosphere of this neoliberalism undoubtedly allowed the security personnel and the police to relax and consider everything hunky-dory. Then there were other concerns that if they had acted against people of a particular community, whether that could go against them politically under the present government.

Delay in Taking Action

However, what links the first failure to the second fiasco probably is the general degeneration of security arrangements in the country, the prevalent prejudices among particularly the police against minority communities, and still lack of coordination between the police and the military even under the present emergency regulations.

The initial incident this time in Chilaw on 12 May (Sunday morning)was good enough for the police and the security agencies to take firm action, if they wanted, in preventing what happened thereafter in the whole area and beyond in the North Western (Wayamba) Province, by Monday (13 May).

That Sunday was undoubtedly a reminder of what happened especially in Negombo three weeks before on the Easter Sunday. Communities in Negombo and Chilaw are largely connected through religion and family affiliations. The trigger was a Facebook post by a Muslim businessman in Chilaw saying "1 day u will cry,"against a posting by a Sinhala businessman, apparently criticising the Muslim community.

This was taken as a threat by the Sinhala businessman and along with others, the Muslim business premises was surrounded violently. The business competitions, apart from other reasons, have always played a prominent role in communal violence in the country for a long period. The police did intervene. But the intervention undoubtedly was not even. The Muslim businessman was arrested although the posting was a minor or ambiguous threat. Both of the culprits to the Facebook confrontation should have been arrested. But that was not the case for obvious police biases or fear of political victimization.

A police curfew was declared in the Chilaw municipal area immediately in the afternoon which was lifted the following morning. It is alleged that it was during the curfew hours that a mosque and some shops were attacked in the Chilaw town.

Considering the possible eruption of violence in potential other areas like Kurunegala, the curfew should have been imposed in those areas as well. Immediately after the Chilaw incidents, there had been clear movements and rallying of gangs in the Kurunegala town in motor bikesand vans. The army should have been deployed immediately without the incompetent and largely biased police trying to handle the situation themselves.

The Failures

When curfew was imposed in Kurunegala and five other police areas, it was almost early Monday morning. It is alleged that it was during the curfew hours again that most of the mosques and Muslim houses in Kuliyapitiya, Bingiriya, Hettipola and Dummalasuriya were attacked and damaged. Apparently the security was tight in the Kurunegala town, but not in the localities.

When three suspects who were involved or planning attacks were arrested in Kurunegala on Sunday afternoon, the police had come under immense pressure. It is not clear how far those were political. However the culprits were released giving some ease for those who were further intending trouble making and hate attacks. That is what actually happened on Monday.

A single day security lapses are good enough for the organized extremists to overturn a total security situation in a country. This is also what exactly happened on the Easter Sunday.

It was only by Monday evening that island wide curfew was declared and the army was effectively brought into curtail the situation. The island wide curfew was imposed again on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and hopefully the situation is now under control. There is evidence however that the army, like the police, also were lenient on the mobs.

It is reported that nearly 100 culprits have now been arrested including the leader of the Mahason Balakaya Amith Weerasinghe, and the leader of the Sinhale Api (‘We of the Sinhala Land’), Dan Priyasad. These organizations should have been banned a long time ago. Those Sinhala extremist organizations were involved in previous attacks against the Muslim community.

It is also unfortunate that the government took over three weeks to ban those terror related extremist Islamic organizations who were responsible for the Easter Carnage. The relevant gazette was issued only on 13May.Of course there are certain procedures to follow, but the steps should have been quicker. These are some reasons why the people were restless and angry, allowing the extremists to capitalize.

Conclusion

Even if the initial Chilaw incidents were unavoidable, there was no room for the escalation of such events in other areas, if proper security measures were taken promptly. The army should have been called into service immediately. There can be risks if the army is involved continuously, but theimmediate risks may be minimal compared to what can happen without their intervention and the country going into continuous violence and chaos.

The reported incidents of at least one or two army personnel assisting the mobs in Thummodera should be fully investigated and otherwise the projected credibility of the present Army Commander would be diminished/destroyed.

Ensuring ‘security of civilians’and the ‘enforcement of law and order’should be blindfolded irrespective of religion, ethnicity, class, political affiliation or any other distinction. These should be the future goals in recruiting and training of the police and army personnel.

Apart from what I have said about (1) the degeneration of security arrangements under neo-liberalization, (2) the apparent prejudices among the police/army officers against the minority (Tamil, Muslim and Christian) communities, and (3) the general failure of security coordination between the political authorities and the security authorities, there are various other political interpretations given to the events and lapses. Those are not discussed here.

Most alarming however are the accusations and counter-accusations traded against each other by the government and the opposition politicians. Apart from the said accusations, what appears alarming are the unbridled emotions, sensationalism, prejudices, reliance on rumours and expressed hatred. It is apparent that there is something fundamentally wrong with the political culture and psyche of the people and the politicians alike in the country.

(Laksiri Fernando)

The Court of Appeal dismissed a writ application seeking a Writ of Quo Warranto against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today.

Petitioner Sharmila Gonawala, a Colombo Municipal Council member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and Co-President of the Women's Organization for Justice, filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeal, seeking an order in the nature of a Writ of Quo Warranto declaring that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is disqualified to be a Member of Parliament and thus the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as a member of Parliament void and that he has no right to continue to hold office as a member of Parliament. 

However, the bench comprising Justices Shiran Gunaratne and Priyantha Fernando upheld the preliminary objections raised on the maintainability of the Writ of Quo Warranto application against Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and dismissed the petition. 

K Kanag-Isvaran PC appeared for the Premier while Suren Fernando appeared for the UNP General Secretary. Uditha Egalahewa PC appeared for the petitioner.

A series of cyber attacks were launched on around 10 Sri Lankan (.lk and .com) websites.The website of the embassy of Kuwait in Sri Lanka was also targetted through the cyber attacks.

TechCERT issuing a notice through Facebook recommends staying vigilant on monitoring system/Intrusion Detection System alerts. It also calls on web admins to ensure that adequate security countermeasures have been enforced.

The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team(SLCERT), TechCERT as well as the Sri Lanka Airforce Cyber Operations command are working to control the situation.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has handed over a no-confidence motion against the Government.

The no-confidence motion was handed over to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya in Parliament at around 10 am today (21), the Speaker's Office said.

Leader of the JVP, Anura Kumara Dissanayake told reporters that they are bringing a no-confidence motion as there is ample evidence in the public domain that the Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe led government failed to prevent the Easter Sunday bombings, despite the availability of solid intelligence reports from both local and foreign agencies that warned about an impending attack.

The public can decide on whether this government can continue to function at the next election as there is a common consensus among the masses that the incumbent government should not continue in office, Dissanayake said.

India has reiterated its full support to Sri Lanka to combat the threat of Jihadi terrorism.  

High Commissioner of India, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, conveyed this message when he called on Ven. Thiibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Mahanayake Thero of the Malwatte Chapter and Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Mahanayake Thero of the Asgiriya Chapter on Friday (17).

The High Commissioner had discussed the prevailing security situation in the country with the head prelates and emphasized India’s unconditional support for the island nation in its fight against terrorism.

In a shocking development, a Sri Lankan parliament official was among the six persons arrested by the police for their alleged involvement with the banned Islamic extremist group, National Thawheed Jama'ath (NTJ). 

The group has been held responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks in the country that claimed the lives of at least 250 people. 

During the initial probe, Kurunegala Police had arrested three suspects following the discovery of a NTJ training facility at a coconut estate after they had received a tip-off, Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara told media. 

Gunesekara added that the suspects, including the land owner, had been arrested on May 9 and continue to be on remand till May 25 after being produced before a court. 

The three suspects later revealed to the cops details related to two individuals connected with the case, including a Kurunegala hospital staffer. 

The questioning of the two suspects eventually led to the arrest of an individual in Alawathugoda area last Saturday, news agency PTI reported. Cops identified the suspect as an employee of the Parliament Hansard Department. 

The arrested individual had been employed at the Parliament over the last 12 years. The cops have reportedly discovered that the Parliament staffer was the main preacher of the NTJ and had even conducted preaching sessions related to the group across the island country.

The man was arrested by northwestern Kurunegala police, who have obtained a detention order for 90 days for his questioning the police spokesperson added. The 42-year-old accused is said to be a father of two children and a resident of Alawatugoda in the central district of Kandy. 

Nine suicide bombers had carried out multiple blasts across three hotels and three churches on Easter Sunday (April 21), killing at least 250 people. Terror group ISIS had claimed responsibility for the bombings, however, the Sri Lankan government has blamed the NTJ for the attack.

The government of Sri Lanka had banned the NTJ following the heinous attacks with cops arresting 100 people in connection with the case.

Expressing solidarity with the victims of Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, the Muslim leaders of the country have called for one united identity of the island nation. 

"We, as a community, have done a lot of soul searching following the attacks. We could not imagine that they came from us. We concede that we saw elements but didn't think it would turn to this," Public Development Minister Kabir Hashim as quoted as saying on Thursday. 

The need of the hour was to "forge a Lankan identity", Hashim said, while addressing a media conference in which former Ministers Imthiyaz Bakeer Marker and Ferial Ashroff were present. 

He added that there was "soul searching from within the community unbeknownst to many."

A Muslim leader said that admonishing a whole community of two million for what the terrorists did was unjustifiable.

"We immediately took steps to take on the issue of the Madrasas and want them regulated under the Ministry of Higher Education. We want to know what is taught at these Madrasas and who is teaching them, they all must be regulated. The overview of mosques and sermons, the steps to ban the Niqab were all done by the Muslims themselves before intervention of the government."  

"We are doing everything possible to quell any form of extremism," he added.

Former Minister Ashroff pleaded against marginalizing of an entire community due to actions of the terrorists.

"We are still in shock as to what happened on Easter Sunday. We are still grieving. We couldn't imagine that these terrorists could come from our community... But I plead of you to not look at an entire community with hate and suspicion" she said.

Protesters had torched Muslim-owned shops and homes earlier this week. 

They had also vandalised mosques in several towns as the anti-Muslim unrest spread in the aftermath of the April 21 attacks, in which over 250 people were killed.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has asserted that the proposed Sharia University will not be approved in Batticaloa. Wickremesighe said the government cannot approve Sharia Universities in Sri Lanka and will only approve degree awarding institutions.

He also said that measures will be taken to bring all Madrasa schools under the purview of the Ministry of Education. 

His comments came as there is widespread opposition to the university in wake of Easter Sunday attacks which killed over 250 people including 45 foreigners.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan army chief has requested parents to send their children to school saying the security had been ensured in the country. Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said although special security measures had been taken at schools to commence the second term, most parents did not send their children to school due to rumours. 

He said that providing security to schools was the priority of police and the tri-forces. The army chief said all steps have been taken to provide security to schools and requested parents to send their children without any fear. His statement came as one month has passed since the Easter Sunday attacks on hotels and churches in Sri Lanka. Few programmes are being organized today in remembrance of those who lost their lives.

Sri Lanka's state institutions are halting advertisements to private television channels, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has said, alleging that they were contributing to communal disharmony.

"Any media institutions trying to make a business out of racism and human blood will be strongly opposed," he said.

Samaraweera was speaking to chairpersons of state banks at the finance ministry, a video of which he uploaded himself to social media this week. 

"Two television stations, Hiru and Derana, are working to a certain policy, to ruin the country in this situation," he alleged. "At the last cabinet meeting, my peer ministers criticized me for letting the situation build up to the current proportions." One of the two television networks confirmed that state banks have already halted advertising to them.  

State banks annually spend around 5.5 billion rupees in television advertising, and Hiru and Derana are among the country's largest networks. Advertising professionals said that other state-owned institutions are also starting to halt business with the two networks. (Economy Next)

The governments of Japan, India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly develop the Port of Colombo, Nikkei has learned, as the Indian Ocean becomes more integral to global trade.

The project's goals are to increase the port's container volume and enhance marine transportation in and around South Asia.

The deal comes as China has been using Belt and Road projects to increase its influence in the region, and with Japan aspiring to play a significant role in the area pushing its Free and Open Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean strategy.

The three partners will sign a memorandum of understanding by summer, and work will begin by next March.

The largest port in Sri Lanka, through which 90% of the country's seaborne goods pass, connects Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It had traffic of 6.21 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2017, making it Southwest Asia's busiest port. But the region's economies continue to boom and are expected bring the port to full capacity.

The three countries will develop the East container terminal, located at the south part of the Port of Colombo, which has been newly expanded. They will deepen it and develop a facility to allow large container ships to enter.

Government officials from the three countries are in working-level talks and expect to agree on the scale and form of the project by summer.
Corporate partners will also be brought on board.

Japanese Official Development Assistance will finance a portion of the project.

The move comes as China has been enhancing its influence in and around the Indian Ocean. Western governments have often criticized the power dynamics in the region, saying Sri Lanka handed over its southern port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease after it fell into a debt trap. Similar criticisms have been leveled against Chinese projects in the Maldives.

The Japanese government is also concerned. A Japanese government source said, "If the development of the Port of Colombo takes time, cargo might be transferred to Hambantota."

Some of Japan's primary maritime routes run through the Indian Ocean, so improved capacity of the region's ports will improve the security of tankers and commercial ships.

Army commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake, when inquired on a comment he had made to a print media on April 5th on whether he was influenced by a Minister to release a suspect that was arrested in Dehiwala, the commander stated that it was more of a request than an influence.

Lt. Gen. Senanayake made these remarks addressing a press conference yesterday (16).

The question and answer session between the Commander and the journalist is as follows.

Q: It was reported that Minister Rishad Bathiudeen had influenced you to release one particular suspect. Is it true?

A: The Minister called me and mentioned an individual’s name. He talked about their relationship and asked what I could do about it.

Q: Were you asked to release the suspect?

A: In the first phone call, I said that I will inquire into it.

Q: Even when he called me for the second time, I didn’t have time to inquire into it. During the third phone call, I asked him to ring me in an hour and a half so that I could give an answer.

Q: Which suspect was the Minister asking about?

A: There were many names similar to Mohamad so I can’t remember exactly. If you want, I will find out the name later. But I remember one thing. The suspect was arrested in Dehiwala. With the powers that have been vested in me, I could keep the suspect in legal custody for up to a year and a half.

Most of the army personnel deployed around the country were recalled called into conflict areas on the 13th and 14th of this month and the Army only used minimum force to control this situation, he said. However, if the situation got out of control, the Army has legal provisions to use maximum force, the Commander added.

The Army chief also said that the Army is always trying to control any situation using a minimum amount of force. He further said that the tri forces and the police have ensured the peace in the country and urged the public to have faith in the armed forces.