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Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana met US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo in Washington DC on Thursday.  

Pompeo reiterated the United States’ condemnation of the attacks that Sri Lanka suffered last month, which also killed five Americans, and strong U.S. support for Sri Lanka in its fight against terrorism.  He also welcomed Sri Lanka’s renewed commitments to accountability, justice, and reconciliation.

Foreign Minister Marapana noted appreciation for U.S. support in the aftermath of the bombings and conveyed Sri Lanka’s interest in deepening cooperation to prevent future attacks. 

Both welcomed the approval of a USD 480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact as an important development that will contribute to prosperity and economic sovereignty in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan authorities said on Wednesday they had the situation "under control" after mosques and Muslim-owned shops and businesses were targeted in a violent backlash after the Easter Sunday terror attacks.

A second overnight curfew imposed nationwide ensured there was no repeat of Monday's violence against Muslims, who make up some 10 percent of Sri Lanka's population of 21 million.

Many Muslims have been bracing for revenge attacks since three churches and three luxury hotels were bombed by local Islamist extremists on April 21, killing 258 people.

"The situation is now totally under control," said military spokesman Sumith Atapattu.

"There were no incidents of violence overnight and we are arresting groups of people responsible for taking part in mob attacks."

Ruwan Gunasekera, a police spokesman, said that more than 80 people were in custody as of Tuesday evening.

Official sources said police deployed special teams to review CCTV camera footage to identify the perpetrators of the riots and many arrests were being made on this basis.

More police and army units were seen deployed in the troubled area as the authorities lifted the nationwide curfew on Wednesday morning.

But Muslims in North-West Province remained nervous and stayed indoors Wednesday, after sword-wielding rioters killed one man late Monday while vandalising scores of shops and mosques.

In Bingiriya, where some 2,000 people went on the rampage, Muslim cleric M.I.M. Siddeeque said the community was worried.

"Our people are still afraid to go out," he told AFP by telephone.

Military spokesman Atapattu said security forces were arresting small groups of suspected trouble-makers and handing them over to police.

They were being held under emergency laws under which convicts can be jailed up to 10 years, police spokesman Gunasekera said.

Among those detained was Amith Weerasinghe, a man from Sri Lanka's majority Buddhist Sinhalese community and on bail for his role in similar riots in March last year in the central Kandy district.

Another man arrested was identified as Namal Kumara, a deserter from both the army and the air force for his alleged role in leading mobs.

Meanwhile, the police also made several changes in the command structure by removing senior officers in the troubled areas after allegations that officials did nothing to stop the rioters.

Parliamentary speaker Karu Jayasuriya condemned the violence and appealed for calm.

"The attacks on mosques, the burning of houses and shops, the attacks on innocent people cannot be condoned in any way," Jayasuriya said in a statement.

The attacks came during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

A state of emergency has been in place since the Easter bombings and security forces have been given sweeping powers to detain suspects.

Internet service providers said the telecoms regulator on Tuesday extended a social media ban to Twitter.

Earlier, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Instagram had been blocked to prevent the spread of messages inciting violence.

Niger's defense ministry says 28 soldiers have been killed after an ambush by jihadists.

The attack took place on Tuesday not far from the volatile border with Mali where Islamic extremists are known to operate.

A defence ministry statement says the soldiers came under attack by heavily armed assailants with explosives.

The attack took place about 45 kilometers (27 miles) from where an ambush in October 2017 killed four American soldiers and four soldiers from Niger. 

Their convoy was attacked by more than 100 extremists while searching for a high-level Islamic State group leader.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday urged all Sri Lankans to awaken the collective strength of the peace-loving people against the acts of racial and religious hatred.

“I address you today as the Speaker of Parliament and as a responsible elderly person who loves this country, not as a politician”.

“These incidents did not take place in the first horror of terrorist attacks, when people were hurting and grieving. Instead the fact that they are taking place three weeks after the attacks makes it evident that there is an organized group seeking to fulfill narrow agendas through this unrest” Speaker Jayasuriya said in a statement.

The Speaker pointed out that the way people conducted themselves when confronted by terrorism, drew the respect of the world. “But that these acts of violence will earn us the disgust of the world at large, and especially those friendly Middle Eastern and Islamic nations is no longer preventable” he added.

The Speaker also requested the President and the Prime Minister to speak in one voice and communicate with the people and the Defence Secretary, IGP and armed forces chiefs to brief the people daily on the security situation.

Following is the statement issued by the Speaker:

“I address you today as the Speaker of Parliament and as a responsible elderly person who loves this country, not as a politician.

“At different times throughout history, this country has faced situations of conflict and unrest, but never before has it resulted in three weeks of complete paralysis.

“My own eyes have witnessed the devastation wrought by the fires of racism and youth insurrections that have led to a breakdown of relations between communities of people. The day the 1983 Black July riots began, I was on my way to the Kelaniya Temple with my wife and children. I was not involved in politics at the time. At the Elphinstone Junction, a crowd of more than 100 people blocked my path and made a request.

“Sir,” they said, “buy us some petrol so we can save the Sinhalese race”. I was shocked by the request. I replied:

“You are not trying to save the race. You are trying to set fire to our future.” I told them it would be future generations that would have to pay for all this.

For 30 years, our country was devoured by those flames. We lost our place in the world. The same fires destroyed the futures of innocent children, even the children of those who set the country alight.

Vengeance and hatred nurtured and nourished terrorism.

“Following the Easter Sunday attacks, the ordinary people of this country conducted themselves in a far more civilized, intelligent and patient way. As I express these sentiments, I extend my respect and gratitude to all religious leaders who offered guidance to their followers about how to respond to the tragedy.

“I believe that you have all understood how much every sector has suffered from paralysis and inefficiency in the three weeks that followed.

“It is deeply unfortunate that rather than overcome these challenges and begin to rebuild, incidents that cause hatred to spread have been reported.

“These incidents did not take place in the first horror of terrorist attacks, when people were hurting and grieving. Instead the fact that they are taking place three weeks after the attacks makes it evident that there is an organized group seeking to fulfil narrow agendas through this unrest.

“All I have to say to them is this. “You are laying the groundwork for your country to burn for a few more generations. I urge all citizens to bear in mind that these are the futures of your children that you are setting ablaze.

“The way our people conducted themselves when confronted by terrorism, drew the respect of the world. But that these acts of violence will earn us the disgust of the world at large, and especially those friendly Middle Eastern and Islamic nations is no longer preventable.

“It must be emphasized that anyone helping to spread the fires of religious and racial hatred is a stakeholder in the destruction of the lives of our children, to whom the future truly belongs.

“If I may recall the words of our Teacher Lord Buddha, who taught that hatred does not cease by hatred, and urge everyone to act with patience and restraint at this time. I humbly request the religious leadership to come forward in this moment to quell these fires. I urge the political leadership to appeal to the people to remain calm.

“I reiterate my request to HE the President and the Prime Minister to speak in one voice and communicate with the people. The Defence Secretary, IGP and armed forces chiefs should brief the people daily on the security situation. Only then will the people feel confident. Only then will the rumours that are spreading like wildfire be stopped in their tracks. So far, every rumour that has been spread has been proved to be untrue.

“As the Speaker of Parliament, my appeal to all citizens is that we do not allow the country to be plunged into darkness once more, the way it was in 1983.

“Reflecting on yesterday’s incidents creates a deep sense of sadness for me. The attacks on mosques, the burning of houses and shops, the attacks on innocent people cannot be condoned in any way.

“These actions push Sri Lanka further into the abyss. I do not believe that any person who has a semblance of feeling about this country, could resort to such actions.

“We must act intelligently now. The Muslim Affairs Minister is striving to resolve these issues patiently, with the full blessings of the Muslim community. The Ministers of Justice, Education and Higher Education are involved in consultations with relevant sectors to draft new laws and regulations.

Agreements have been reached on several controversial areas, including traditional Muslim women’s dress, madrasas and higher education institutes. I myself participated in some of these discussions. In the next few weeks, some of these issues that have given rise to debate and controversy will be resolved I believe. The majority of Muslims have no desire to turn this country into a fundamentalist nation.

“Let us not be cursed for our actions by future generations. I urge all Sri Lankans to awaken the collective strength of our peace-loving people against these acts of racial and religious hatred.

May the triple gem bless you. God bless you.”

The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) will conduct an investigation into the controversial private university in Batticaloa.

COPE chairman, parliamentarian Sunil Handunetti said that relevant parties involved in the university will be summoned before COPE on the 21st of this month.

The University Grants Commission (UCG) announced last week that the institution named the 'Batticaloa Campus’ was not approved to conduct any type of degree programme and that the university had not submitted a single document requesting to include a degree programme in its curriculum.

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to provide all possible assistance to Sri Lanka in its endeavour to strengthen national security by wiping out the scourge of terrorism.

The Chinese President made this promise during a meeting with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena at Presidential Palace held yesterday (14), the Presidnet's Media Division said in a statement.

He said that China is always ready to go hand in hand with Sri Lanka which is recovering after effectively facing the challenge of terrorism adding that the Chinese government will provide any assistance to Sri Lanka at any time.

President Xi Jinping, while condemning the Easter Sunday attacks expressed his condolence to the families who were affected by the attacks. He said that he is against any form of terrorism in any part of the world.

He also said the Chinese government has taken steps to provide a grant of Rs 2,600 million for security forces during this emergency situation on a request of President Maithripala Sirisena

The Chinese President has also agreed to immediately release 100 jeeps and many other equipment costing Rs. 1,500 million to the Sri Lanka Police Department.

The two governments also signed an agreement promoting closer cooperation in the field of defence following the bilateral discussion between the two leaders.

President Sirisena briefed his Chinese counterpart about the Easter Sunday attacks, steps taken by the government following the attacks and the new security mechanism put in  place by the government.

The discussion also focused on strengthening cooperation in the defence sector and sharing intelligence between the two countries.

President Sirisena said that the country does not have technological expertise and equipment to trace the individuals who are fanning the flames of terrorism by propagating false information through social media.

The Chinese President agreed to provide necessary technological expertise and equipment to the country immediately. He also informed President Sirisena that a Chinese technical team will be sent to Sri Lanka soon to look into the matter. Both leaders also discussed on the progress of development projects being implemented in the country with Chinese financial assistance.

Sri Lanka President said that he expects to complete the constructions of these projects soon.

They also discussed on the progress of Kidney hospital being constructed in Polonnaruwa with Chinese assistance. The Chinese President praised the cooperation given by the Sri Lanka as a true ally.

The Chinese President appreciated the drug eradication programme of President Maithripala Sirisena and said that he was confident that Sri Lanka will be able to win that challenge.

The European Union stated they are concerned about the recent incidents of communal violence that have occurred in certain parts of the country following the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. Furthermore, they also emphasized the responsibility of the media and the country's citizens in ensuring that misinformation does not spread and lead to more incidents of violence.  

While welcoming the arrests made in connection with the violence, the EU called on the Government to ensure that the rule of law is upheld and that the law is applied equally to all instigators and perpetrators of communal violence.

Issuing a Joint Statement today, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) together with the Embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, UK, Norway and Switzerland, underscored the fact that many European countries have experienced terror attacks and hate crimes in recent years. 

"We understand the toll it takes on communities and the possible long-term repercussions such incidents could have on a country's social fabric," the statement read.

"Clear leadership as well as the wholesale rejection of hate and violence are of paramount importance, and we encourage the Government to take all appropriate measures to reassure all citizens that it will protect and uphold their safety and their rights."

The EU called on the political, local and religious organsisations and other community leaders to continue to speak out against violence and all those inciting unrest and distrust and to make every effort to promote understanding and harmony between communities. 

Members of Sri Lanka’s police and military forces collaborating with mobs in vandalizing a mosque in north western Sri Lanka have been caught on video.

CCTV footage obtained by JDS shows army soldiers and policemen with firearms joining with mobs attacking the Muhiddeen Jumma Masjid in Thummodera Nattandiya on Monday (13), while a curfew was in force.

Following widespread violence that claimed the life of a Muslim carpenter, authorities declared a province wide curfew from 5 pm on 13 May.
The CCTV recording from the mosque shows an army soldier apparently calling the mob towards the premises with a hand signal around 6.45 pm.

In less than a minute later, at least three policemen and five soldiers can be seen among the mob that started pelting the windows with stones.

Military vehicles

A member of the Jumma Masjid administrative council speaking under conditions of strict anonymity confirmed the authenticity of the footage.

“The soldiers were transported to the premises by a military vehicle,” he told JDS by phone.

After smashing the windows, the mob has moved with the security force members to the adjoining Muslim locality.

“The mob of about 400 went through the lane behind the Jumma Masjid. They attacked the Masjid ul Umar mosque and set fire to several homes. About 14 to 15 homes were damaged.”

He said that the villagers are now living in fear.

“How can we be safe when those who are supposed to be providing security are the same people who terrorise us?”

Read full story: http://www.jdslanka.org/index.php/news-features/politics-a-current-affairs/884-video-exposes-security-forces-collusion-in-sri-lanka-anti-muslim-riots

Secretary General of the UNWTO called on the global community to offer its unwavering support to Sri Lanka through Tourism at this critical moment noting that hotels, beaches and other sites of interests are open as usual.

In a video message published at Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Official Facebook page, the Secretary-General of the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili states the following,

“I have had the privilege of seeing Sri Lanka emerge as one of the world´s great tourism success stories, the country offers a warm welcome to visitors from all over the world, regardless of nationality or creed.

In return, tourism has provided many Sri Lankans with secure jobs, helping whole communities grow and develop. Tourism has also been a major factor in the past decade of national reconciliation, and contributed to bringing the people of Sri Lanka closer together.

Sri Lanka´s tourism sector is a beacon of hope and unity. That´s why those who seek to divide us, target hotels and other places where people come together. I offer my sincere condolences to those affected by the recent attacks, especially the families of the many victims.

I also call on the global community to offer its unwavering support to Sri Lanka at this critical moment. The country´s hotels, beaches and sites of interest are open as usual and ready to welcome you and by continuing to offer our support through tourism, we can help Sri Lanka recover and continue on its path towards peace and prosperity” UNWTO has also extended its immediate support for the recovery of Tourism Industry in Sri Lanka and a series of discussions have taken place between UNWTO Asia and the Pacific top officials and Sri Lanka Tourism Communications Team at the UNWTO Headquarters in Madrid, Spain following the Easter Sunday Attacks, a communiqué of SLTDA stated.

Although there was a two day parliamentary debate held to discuss the Easter Sunday carnage caused by the bombs that were exploded in three churches and several tourist hotels, no consensus has yet emerged as to the primary causes that led to the complete breakdown of the security situation and such an abject failure on the part of the state to protect the lives of the people, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said in a statement.

"If there is to be a solution to such colossal failures, there has to be a consensus in the political establishment, as well as among the people themselves, as to the causes of the failures and the ways to overcome them, AHRC said.

Mere talk about some particular person taking the leadership does not answer any of the more pressing questions. While the Maithripala Sirisena/Ranil Wickremesinghe leadership has pathetically failed to deliver the promises that were made in 2015 to create the requisite constitutional changes and generate other measures to restore the rule of law and order situation in the country, the decisions made by the former government to dismantle apparatus of the democratic state, in favour of one man rule, cannot be disconnected from what has happened in the previous weeks.

A security failure of such magnitude is not just failure of the security apparatus: it is the result of the state as a whole. When Thomas Hobbes wrote his famous “Leviathan” in which he formulated the need for a strong state that can make and uphold rules by which society can be held together, he provided the basis for the only way security could be provided for the people. By a strong state, he did not mean a theory. What Hobbes meant was the fully functioning institutions of the state, held together by strict adherence to the law, and the capacity of the state to sustain such a development.

Humans by their very nature are competitive and unless a well-enforced legal apparatus can control such competition, one person or a single group will try to destroy others and take everything for their sole benefit. This has been the universal experience of humanity throughout its history.

Perhaps no one saw man’s mean nature better than Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who exposed and described people’s capacity to behave much worse than animals if they are not restrained from doing so. What we have seen in the events of Easter Sunday is a behaviour in which no animal would ever engage. It was meanness and cruelty at its worst.No amount of rhetoric can convincingly deny that this capacity in human nature to be mean and brutish equally applies to Sri Lanka. In fact, the removal of restraining mechanisms has made the situation of Sri Lanka worse than in many other countries. This restraining capacity was removed by the 1978 Constitution, based on what is now described as unitary executive theory. There is no better prescription for ruining a nation than the practice of this theory. In Sri Lanka, this theory has now been in practice for more than forty years. This means that over the past forty years there has been a continuous disintegration of the restraining power of the state to control all forces of violence and unbridled greed.

The complaint of all the people today is that the politicians who play the leading role in both the government and the opposition are themselves mean-natured. Instead of leading the way to restrain the weak side of human nature, these leaders themselves exhibit these dark sides to such a degree that the topic about how to get rid of such leadership is perhaps the major theme being discussed among the people.
However, despite a consensus that the political predicament has gone terribly wrong, the people of Sri Lanka, including those who belong to the most educated sectors of society have not yet truly noticed the abyss into which they have fallen, nor do they have any ideas or ways to get out of this.

What is sadly lacking is the will of the people themselves to re-establish a strong state structure on the basis of the re-establishment of constitutional rules and legal structures by which the state can run its institutions for the benefit of everyone. The heart of the darkness in Sri Lanka is lawlessness. This darkness is so dense that all leaders can no longer see.

When the individuals who are responsible for running the basic mechanisms of the state are themselves so demoralized, no serious change can be expected. This political blindness can only cured by those who will be willing to think seriously about this problem and take upon themselves the task of bringing about the required measures that will guide the people to make a decisive change from the disabled state that Sri Lanka has become since 1978.

The mere mobilizing of military and the police, though necessary at the present moment, is not the final solution. In fact, this could bring about a ridiculous situation. Last week some police stations had only handful of officers to deal with complaints, as most of them were mobilized to assist with security operations elsewhere. In those places, the police officers could not attend to their normal routine duties.
AHRC underscored that Sri Lanka’s security problem needs to be understood in its full political context. 

"What this means is that we need to look into the historically proven methods of restraining violence in societies. Unless the thought process of people in the country is directed towards discussion and debate on that approach, the present calamity will continue to worsen."

An international rights group Thursday expressed alarm over the Sri Lanka army's decision to reinstate an intelligence officer accused of high-profile attacks against journalists, including the assassination of a senior editor.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said reinstating major Prabath Bulathwatte created new threats for the media in Sri Lanka, which is currently under a state of emergency following the Easter terror attacks.

Bulathwatte was arrested in 2017 in connection with a string of attacks against journalists during the former regime of strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse and is currently on bail.

However, army commander Mahesh Senanayake last week told a local television network that Bulathwatte has been reinstated to boost the battle against local jihadists following the April 21 bombings in which 258 people died.

"Promoting to active duty an intelligence officer who has been implicated in the killing of one journalist and the torture of two others severely undermines Sri Lanka's claim that it is fighting impunity for crimes against journalists," said CPJ Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler.

Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge was stabbed to death by members of a military intelligence unit in January 2009. Court records have named Bulathwatte as the key suspect.

The CPJ's Butler said reinstating Bulathwatte within the intelligence setup would create "new threats to journalists in Sri Lanka, who are not safe to do their jobs".

Sri Lanka's war-time military commander Sarath Fonseka has accused the then defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, brother of the former president, of running a secret unit used to target journalists and dissidents, including Wickrematunge.

Gotabhaya, who is a US citizen, has denied involvement, but faces civil action in the United States, where a case has been filed by the slain editor's daughter.

Wickrematunge had accused the defence secretary of taking kickbacks in arms purchases, including a deal to buy used MiG jet fighters, and was due to testify against him in court when he was killed.

Mahinda Rajapakse, president from 2005-15, and several members of his family are under investigation for alleged large-scale fraud and murder during his presidency.

All deny any wrongdoing and in turn accuse the current government of a political vendetta. (AFP)

A Sri Lankan software engineer suspected by authorities in Sri Lanka of having provided technical and logistical support to the Easter Sunday suicide bombers was monitored by Indian intelligence agencies three years ago for links with Islamic State suspects, investigators said, according to the Reuters news agency.

Four sources in Sri Lankan investigating agencies said they believed Aadhil Ameez, a 24-year-old, was the link between two groups that carried out the attacks on churches and hotels that killed more than 250 people and wounded hundreds more.

Aadhil has been arrested and is in police custody, the sources said. His arrest has not been made public, but when asked by Reuters, Ruwan Gunasekera, the main spokesman for the Sri Lankan police, confirmed Aadhil was taken into custody on April 25, four days after the attacks. The spokesman declined to give more details.

A police official at India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) and another police official in the western state of Gujarat said they were providing assistance to Sri Lankan authorities.

Aadhil, who describes himself on his LinkedIn profile as a senior engineer/programmer/web designer with a masters degree in computer science and a bachelors in political science from U.K. universities, could not be reached for comment.

He does not yet have a lawyer and under Sri Lanka’s tough new emergency laws imposed after the attacks, he can be held indefinitely.

His father, M. Ameez, who lives in Aluthgama, a town south of Colombo, denied that Aadhil was involved with the plotters and said such “allegations are lies”.

The Indian investigators said they had been monitoring Aadhil since 2016 and named him in two chargesheets filed in Indian courts against suspected Islamic State operatives as being one of their contacts.

According to one of the chargesheets, reviewed by Reuters, he showed up in Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram chats with two of the suspects who are on trial for plotting an attack on a synagogue in the western city of Ahmedabad.

The two suspects Ubed Ahmad Mirza, a lawyer, and Stimberwala Mohamed Kasim, a hospital technician, were accused of planning “lone-wolf” attacks, according to the chargesheet.

Lawyers for both men rejected the allegations and said they were innocent. Both lawyers declined to comment on the possible role of Aadhil.

Aadhil has also been named in another chargesheet filed in court by the NIA for providing propaganda and online material to three Indians arrested in early 2016 for promoting Islamic State.

The three men, Sheikh Azhar ul-Islam, Adnan Hassan and Mohammed Rafiq Sadique Shaikh are on trial in a special Delhi court facing charges of criminal conspiracy to propagate the ideology of Islamic State, recruit, raise funds and facilitate the travel of people to Syria, according to the chargesheet.

Sheikh Mohammad Munawar, a cousin of ul-Islam, said the charges were fabricated and that he had no criminal record ever.

Families of the other two accused could not be reached. Their lawyers were not immediately available for comment.

Reuters was unable to determine when the Indians informed Sri Lankan authorities of the surveillance. The two officials declined to say whether they continued to keep Aadhil under surveillance after they completed investigation of the cases in India.

Indian intelligence services warned Sri Lankan authorities of a possible attack at least three times in April alone, officials have said.

Sri Lankan authorities have said two local Islamist groups – the National Tawheed Jamaath (NTJ) led by radical preacher Zahran Hashim and the Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim (JMI) – were involved in the synchronized blasts in Colombo, the island nation’s capital, and two other towns. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Two sources in Sri Lanka’s police Criminal Investigation Department and two military officials said Aadhil was the link between the two groups.

The groups used the dark web and WhatsApp to communicate, they said.

However, investigators don’t know yet whether Aadhil was simply a facilitator for the bombers, or if he was also one of the ring leaders involved in planning and executing the attacks.

Last week, police raided IT firm Virtusa, where Aadhil had interned in 2013, according to his profile. One current employee has been detained for questioning in connection with the attacks, police say, but no other details have been provided.