The threat of terrorism from Islamic State (IS) showed signs of dissipating during the last few days following the arrest of masterminds behind the attack. The government halted imposing curfew, and people returned to the streets more and more during

While Sri Lanka reflects on the Easter Sunday carnage with each passing day, the islanders have come to terms with understanding another reality; the country has to face the threat of terrorism again.

Today the talk is not about the Easter Sunday attacks but ‘the politics of distraction’. The word has been used by the US Ambassador, Alaina B Teplitz (‘The focus should be on the victims and their loved ones,’ she said and not conspiracies a

This May Day coming within ten days of the horrendous Easter attacks is bound to be muted as Sri Lanka recovers from the shock. These heinous crimes that have killed and maimed many hundreds go beyond the concerns of working people, and should be con

The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has only reacted and not responded to the developing unrest in the country by appointing a new Defence Secretary, Chief Justice, an Acting IGP and banning face coverings used by its citizens when they step out on th

Today is May Day, but acting with wisdom, major parties have called off their rallies in view of the still tense security situation, 10 days after the Easter Sunday massacres involving suicide bombers of two ISIS linked terror groups in Sri Lanka. In

For the very first time in my life, I missed an Easter Sunday’s Mass this year. No, it was not due to any forewarning that my father gave me or a bad omen that signalled me to stay in; neither was it some supernatural hunch to keep me and my family

Human nature is basically selfish and we humans tend to pursue progress at the cost of accepted norms and values. The progression of human civilization seems to be at an exorbitant cost and the connectivity engineered through that sadly leaves us so

The horrendous terror attacks brought attention to the role of social media. It now seems almost inevitable that any major social event will be assessed in some way on what role social media play.

An eminent Sri Lankan researcher on radicalization and terrorism, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, urges the Sri Lankan government, the island’s political and religious leaders, and civil society, to ponder over the ill-effects of physical, social and psycholo

On Friday, the imam of a Sufi mosque in Saindamarudu was alerted by the locals about a suspicious crowd in a house in the neighbourhood housing scheme called, Bolivia village. That is an exclusively Muslim housing scheme of 400 houses built after the

With the experience, the Sri Lankan security forces have gained during the more than the thirty-year-long war against the LTTE, the Sri Lankan chapter of the terrorist group that is behind the massacres in three churches and three luxury hotels on Ea

Almost all western countries such as US, UK, France, Canada, Germany and Australia have experienced flash terrorist attacks in the not too distant past. Terrorist attacks therefore unfortunately are a fact of life in the in the 21st century. If one t

April 21, 2019 will be remembered as one of our darkest of days. The deadly, near simultaneous suicide attacks that ripped through churches and hotels in Sri Lanka snatching 253 precious lives and injuring 521 individuals....

As recent events have shown, religious extremism is going to be the biggest challenge of our times. In every part of the world, extremists hijack religion to push their evil agendas, be it ISIS in the Middle East, Shiv Sena in India or the Bodu Bala

In the aftermath of the crushing of the LTTE by the armed forces of this country, the people of Sri Lanka firmly believed a genuine peaceful era had dawned, and the country would settle into a peaceful era which existed in the pre-JR Jayawardena era.

A week into the serial suicide bombings carried out by Islamist extremists, targeting places across Colombo and Batticaloa, Sri Lanka security forces are carrying out search and mop up operations across the country.....

Easter Sunday is celebrated by Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, as the day on which the crucified Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It is a joyful day on which Christians sing jubilantly – Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your vi

In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday slaughter which left hundreds killed or injured and made Sri Lanka an international lead story for the wrong reasons, peaceful and responsible citizens need to focus more on finding a solution than finding fault,

“The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no good ground exists; indeed the passion is the measure of the holder’s lack of rational conviction. Opinions in politics and religion are almost always held passionately.” ~

As the case with the Christians in Sri Lanka has been, the two million Muslims in the country too have not been able to come to terms with the situation after the barbaric terrorist attacks on innocent men, women and....

A fear psychosis in society was the immediate fallout from the brutal and shocking attacks on Easter Sunday morning that was driven deep into the social psyche with more frightening news in the days that followed; a suspicious vehicle exploded...

As Sri Lankans wake up each day praying for peace and a troublefree day there is still no room to shut our minds from the thought that terrorism still haunts this island nation. Schools are temporary closed and we have some solace...

As the country has been plunged into chaos and the people are struggling to recover from the shock of Easter Sunday’s terrorist carnage, my pains are multiple. It pains me to watch television news...

We in the Daily Mirror roundly condemn in the strongest possible terms, the bomb attacks on three churches – St. Anthony’s Church at Kochchikade in Colombo, St. Sebastian’s Church at Katuwapitiya in Negombo and Zion Church in Baticaloa and the

Just over a year ago, on March 6, 2018 to be precise, following inter-religious unrest in Digana and elsewhere Lakshman Kiriella (UNP) said in Parliament that ‘a resolution should be brought and Buddhists should apologize to the Muslims in connecti

Sri Lanka was so accustomed to the peace that dawned after the end of the war on May 19, 2009 that it relaxed security measures. The country, under two successive Governments, dispensed with all wartime restrictions and relaxed security measures dur

Reading the mind of someone practising the Islam faith would be much difficult than reading the mind of a terrorist. This could be because there are many breakaway sects of the Islam faith; each claiming purity of the religion in the way it is practi

The late Lalith Athulathmudali was at one time the Minister for National Security and one who took his responsibility very seriously and never forgot that he was primarily accountable to the people of this nation. The recent suicide bomb blasts were

Violence is designed to challenge our democratic values, which were formed and endorsed in saner times. When bombs are set off they bring out some of our natural instincts for safety and, in the process, weaken our connections to our values and erode