As if the nearly three-decade long war, which killed tens of thousands of combatants and several thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire was not enough and complacently thinking all the while that nothing of that nature would ever again take place in Sri Lanka, the entire country was shocked and shattered by the trail of death and destruction left in its wake by six suicide bombers on Easter Sunday morning.
The bombs they exploded killed at least 253 innocent worshippers and hotel guests including foreigners and children with nearly five hundred left wounded, some of them critically, while in some instances entire families were wiped out.
Field Marshall and United National Party MP Sarath Fonseka in his speech in parliament last week described the Easter Sunday carnage as the worst-ever calamity to rock and shock post-war Sri Lanka. He said even during the height of the war were such a large number of people killed or injured on any one day or at any one time. The Field Marshall, who himself was severely wounded by a woman suicide bomber, pointed out that national security was not a job for amateurs but should be handled and directed by somebody well-versed and experienced in such matters.
The senseless and heartless tragedy and the misery unleashed that ill-fated Sunday was the despicable handiwork of mentally screwed-up suicide bombers who could not care less as to whom they mowed down. Among those who died were mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, who knew nothing about the causes propagated or the beliefs professed by these brain-washed Islamic fanatics turned extremists, turned terrorists, consumed with hate for fellow human beings, who do not subscribe to their fundamentalist and extremist ways of thinking.
Having said this, we wish to convey our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the members of the Intelligence Services, the Armed Forces, the Police and the STF for performing their duties in such a dedicated and committed manner at the risk to their lives; tracing the whereabouts and hideouts of these terrorists, locating their deadly weapons caches of bombs, suicide jackets and detonators and taking them and those behind the bomb explosions into custody.
It is also absolutely paramount at this point to underscore the fact that while politicians and political leaders both inside and outside parliament were doing a Pontius Pilate by washing their hands of all responsibility for the unprecedented bloodbath on Easter Sunday and passing the buck to everyone else other than themselves with the President, who addressed the media heads on Friday saying that all those who weakened or diluted the security forces and the intelligence services are the ones who should be held responsible for the carnage.
But considering the effective and efficient manner in which the members of the Intelligence Services, the Armed Forces, the Police and the STF carried out the search operarions and the other duties assigned to them puts to rest, once and for all, the canard that our intelligence services and the security forces had been weakened or diluted.
They proved once again, not in so many words, but by action that they were top of the league while what was clearly evident was that the-powers-that-be had in no uncertain terms failed to take note of and properly analyze the threat levels and the warnings that were issued well before the Easter Sunday attacks took place. It also highlights the fact that our security services only needed the proper orders at the proper time to have prevented the senseless loss of precious lives.
Meanwhile, President Maithripala Sirisena has banned the National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem (JMI) and in an effort to support the on-going security measures and help the Armed forces identify the wanted perpetrators, he had also banned the wearing of burqas and niqabs.
Sadly though the blight that disfigures Sri Lanka at difficult times such as this when caught on the back foot is the blame-game usually indulged in by politicians of all hues whom we sent to Parliament. It’s high time that they stopped this child’s play and got down to the hard work of re-uniting and rebuilding Sri Lanka, which has once again been left battered and bruised by the inhumanity of a few Islamic extremists, who are hell-bent on destroying the peace and harmony that prevailed in Sri Lanka.
Let us without hesitation cooperate with the security forces and irrespective of our caste, creed or community, let us as one people of one nation, do whatever possible to heal the wounds of our Motherland and make it safe and secure for every single Sri Lankan to live in.
