The catastrophe and the devastation, which were unleashed by rampaging mobs of Sinhala extremists nearly two weeks ago in several parts of the North-Western Province -- Negombo, Chilaw, Kurunegala, Kuliyapitiya, Hettipola, Dummalasuriya, Rasnayakapura, Kobeigane, Bingiriya and Minuwangoda -- where Muslims were attacked, their homes pelted with stones, their shops and factories burned down and several Mosques damaged and vandalised were stark reminders that most Sri Lankans had failed to learn the lessons that recent history has taught them, such as the dark days of July 1983, which led to a 30-year armed conflict that almost tore Sri Lanka apart.
It only underscores what George Santayana, a Spanish-born American author of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries said, “Those who cannot remember or learn from the past are condemned to repeat it”. We can no longer afford to do so having suffered enough. Incidentally it was on Monday, May 19, Sri Lanka commemorated the 10th Anniversary of the ending of the war against terrorism and its eradication from Sri Lankan soil gave us the opportunity to commit ourselves to live as Sri Lankans in a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic society in an environment of peace and harmony.
Our politicians and our political leaders, who are making self-righteous statements blaming everyone else, other than themselves for what happened on Easter Sunday and three weeks later by the incidents on May 12 and 13. Were our law enforcement agencies, which function under the purview of President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also the Minister of Defence and of Law and Order, once again caught unawares?
It is sad when one reflects on the fact that in the wake of numerous reports warning the authorities of a possible attack on Easter Sunday, April 21, the authorities in charge of national security appear to have blatantly failed to take steps to prevent or thwart the mindless attack by Islamic extremist-suicide bombers who blasted themselves at three churches and three hotels leaving 266 worshippers and hotel guests killed and nearly 500 wounded, maimed and disfigured for life.
There is no gainsaying the fact that if the warnings conveyed to the relevant authorities, for that matter even by India, were heeded this human tragedy could have been prevented and so many innocent lives saved if only proper orders were given to the Armed Forces and Police on time.
The efficient and effective manner in which they carried out the post-Easter Sunday operations only goes to prove that it was nothing but the lax, lethargic and sloppy attitude of the powers-that-be that stood in the way of preventing this mindless carnage.
None of our political leaders was brave enough to accept responsibility other than to beat around the bush or pass the buck. It is not a surprise nor is it a secret that our political powers-that-be are well versed in the art of exclaiming, ‘not me, not me’ whenever the country is mired in a crisis.
Be that as it may, under no circumstance could one wrong be righted or corrected by another wrong. It only makes matters even worse and the return to peace taking that much longer and harder. The North-Western Province incidents also highlight the fact that there are well-organised mobs waiting on the side lines looking out for an opportunity to take advantage of the slightest excuse to create mayhem and turmoil.
The residents of the recently affected areas claimed that the mobs were from outside and they were helped by some miscreants in the village pointing out the Muslim homes and shops.
In Minuwangoda, the largest Muslim-owned pasta factory was burned down with the losses estimated at Rs.700 million. Who is going to pay for all this wanton damage? It will definitely not be the politicians but as usual it will be the ordinary people of this country for no fault of theirs.
Meanwhile, we also recall the attacks on the Muslims in Aluthgama, Beruwala and Dharga Town in the Kalutara District in 2014 and the attacks against the Muslims in Teldeniya and Digana in the Kandy District in 2018. Several suspects were taken into custody in all these aforementioned incidents but the moot point that begs answers is what happens thereafter.
Is legal action taken and are those found guilty properly punished? If so we would like to know the details of the outcome for the sake of accountability and transparency and equally importantly so that others waiting on the side lines for an opportunity to jump into the bandwagon of violence and hatred to cause more misery and grief to innocent people would be deterred from doing so because there is no way that we can allow history to repeat itself.
