Senaka Weeraratna

Is the manner of calling for proper  investigation of the Bloody Easter Sunday Tragedy a true pursuit of Justice or an invidious attempt to side track the focus and instead indulge in blame games in step with the religio – political loyalties and leanings of the callers for ‘Justice’?

Eight suicide bombers died on that day and they took with them the lives of 269 innocent people who happened to be in three churches and three luxury Hotels. 

These suicide bombers are directly responsible for these deaths. Because if they did not blast themselves nobody would have died. Every one of them was captured on camera immediately prior to the blast. Their identity is indisputable. So is their culpability for this horrendous crime. 

The next question is, why did they do it?

We all know that they were radical followers of Wahabism, an extremist group which Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith himself identified a few days ago in his speech at the 3rd anniversary of this tragic incident.

This was a very well planned operation and executed in a fairly sophisticated manner. What was the motive in sacrificing their precious lives?

It is not uncommon to note that all over the world radical followers of extremist Islamic groups commit suicide for a purported Islamic cause. 

The ‘ Mahamolakaru ‘ in almost all  instances was a radical ideology perhaps wrongfully interpreted. Recent events in Siyalkot, Pakistan on December 03, 2021 where a Sinhalese Kaffir was lynched ( burnt alive) by a mob of over 100 people immediately after Friday prayers and the death of a Sri Lankan Muslim, one Samsudeen, who was shot to death by the Police in a New Zealand Supermarket after he had stabbed seven innocent shoppers, some critically, because they were Kaffirs ( unbelievers), show the deadly influence of radical religious thinking.

In the eyes of the radicals, to die for a cause sanctioned by their religion is in order and permissible. But to sacrifice one’s life for the cause of a Kaffir ( unbeliever) is not okay. It is Haram. 

To put it bluntly, did the eight Islamic Suicide bombers die in order to place a Sinhalese Buddhist on the throne of Sri Lanka, which was a long shot at that time? If so, How would they explain their conduct to their God (Allah) and justify the mass murder of 269 innocents on that day?

The holy scriptures of Islam are unlikely to sanctify killing for a cause unrelated to Islam. 

It is more easy to rationalize the conduct of the Suicide bombers on the basis that they killed Christians in Churches in Sri Lanka to avenge the deaths of over 50 innocent Muslims in two Mosques in New Zealand.

Sri Lankan Govt. Policies

The factors that assisted the suicide bombers to carry out the deadly operation was the unintended co – operation given to them by the leaders of the Yahapalana Govt. 

Appeasement policies such as Multi Culturalism and Reconciliation played right into the hands of terrorist groups, because these policies acted to dampen the enthusiasm of the Police to perform their duties and go after the suspects due to the fear of a backlash and a possible reprimand from their political bosses that the Police was now becoming an obstruction to Reconciliation between ethnic groups.

There is evidence to establish the point that the Police Intelligence officers were negligent and found wanting. But the mens rea required for such lapses is far different to the mens rea required for mass murder. 

 The Catholic Church has a right to demand justice because most of the dead from the bombings were Catholics.

But it must limit itself to seeking justice and not convert the tragedy into a political football, and unnecessarily name and shame Buddhist monks as some of the placards carried at the ‘ Go Home Gota Village’ at Galle Face Green depict.

Despite the mob lynching of Prem Kumar, a Sinhalese, in Pakistan, we must admire the fact that the wheels of Justice have moved swiftly in that country. Six of the suspects have been sentenced to death and a high number given long prison sentences. 

This scenario has yet to take place in respect to the Bond Scam, Easter Sunday Massacre, and other corrupt dealings in Sri Lanka.

Where there is a will there is a way. It is unfortunate, but it must be said that there is no political will, by and large, to bring the corrupt to justice in Sri Lanka.

Senaka Weeraratna