Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the Government will not grant permission to operate Sharia Universities, and Madrasa Schools will be brought under the Education Ministry. Wickremesinghe was speaking after a discussion held at Temple Trees regarding the report prepared by MP Prof. Ashu Marasinghe on Sharia University and Madrasa schools.
Wickremesinghe stated that he decided to approve these proposals following a discussion held between Muslim Ministers and Parliamentarians regarding the controversial Sharia University and Madrasa schools.
The Prime Minister said he agrees with the proposals and views of the Muslim ministers and MP’s in this regard.
We will not grant approval for a Sharia University. There is no legal basis to run such a Sharia University. What we only can grant approval for degree offering institutions. There is no legal provision to operate a Sharia University,” Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said.
The Prime Minister also said that laws should be brought in the form of amendments to the University Act to prevent Sharia Universities coming into operation in the future.
About Madrasa Schools, Wickremesinghe said it has been decided to bring such institutions under the Education Ministry and added some of the education activities should be planned in consultation with the Muslim Affairs Ministry.
The Prime Minister also urged school students to engage with their usual activities as the security situation has come back to normal.
Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa today in a sarcastic manner said ‘very good’ upon being asked for his comments on reports of business Mogul Dhammika Perera preparing to contest the upcoming presidential poll.
When asked about reports of Dhammika Perera being ready to contest the presidential election, Mr. Rajapaksa said in Sinhala, hari shoke, hari shoke.”
When asked if that’s a good thing, he said, its good, very good.”
Journalists asked about the comments made by former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa that he would definitely contest the presidential poll.
Mr. Rajapaksa replied: He is also ready. Our party has to make a decision. Will announce the decision on time. The party has to convene to decide. We didn’t convene yet.”
He also commented on the the no confidence motion brought against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen
The no-confidence motion is going through a select committee now. As the opposition, we will decide whether we should go to this. We should think based on our conscience whether we should go there and sit, being already aware of the committee has a majority representation of the government,” Mr. Rajapaksa said. (
The Attorney General (AG) has directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to launch a comprehensive probe against top security officials including former Defence Secretary, IGP, State Intelligence Chief, Commanding Officer of the Special Task Force and the Senior DIG of the Western Province, informed sources said.
Sources said the AG had made these directions based on the two interim reports and recommendations of the board of inquiry appointed by the President following the Easter Sunday bombings.
The AG in two letters to the Acting IGP has directed that a comprehensive criminal investigation be conducted by the CID against the IGP. It has further directed Acting IGP to forward investigative material pertaining to the said investigation to him for consideration,” sources said.
He had also directed the Acting IGP to refer the matter to the National Police Commission (NPC) to take disciplinary action against the Senior DIG in charge of the Western Province, Commanding Officer of the Special Task Force and the Chief of State Intelligence for their lapses in duty.
A proposal by the ruling party to appoint a special Select Committee to produce a report on the Easter Sunday attacks was passed at the parliament without a vote.
Accordingly, the Special Select Committee will be made up by 40 parliamentarians to report information on the Easter attacks to the parliament.
The committee will comprise of 20 MPs from the ruling party, 13 MPs representing the main Opposition, 05 MPs from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and 02 MPs representing Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).
The Committee will look into whether intelligence officers had received information on the Easter Day attacks prior to the attacks and if so, adequate measures had been taken to prevent or minimize such attacks.
The Committee should produce its report either within 03 months from its inaugural meeting or before the completion of the 03 months on a date set by the parliament.
Meanwhile, a request from the Opposition for a date to debate the no-confidence motion against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen has led to a tense situation at the parliament, today (22).
Subsequently, the Speaker adjourned the parliament until 10 am tomorrow morning (23).
The Attorney General has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to launch a full criminal investigation against the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara.
The Attorney General has taken this decision considering the two interim reports of the Special Investigation Committee of three members to look into the Easter Day attacks forwarded to him.
Accordingly, the Attorney General submitting two letters to the Acting IGP with this regard has requested for a full criminal investigation against IGP Jayasundara.
The letters have further requested full criminal investigations against the former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, the National Intelligence Chief, and the Commanding Officer of the Special Task Force and the Senior DIG of Western Province.
The letters have instructed for disciplinary actions against these officials through the National Police Commission over negligence of duty.
On 21st April 2019 what was to be a special day for Catholics/Christians ended up a day of tragedy. We are still to know the exact number of death but we do know that 9 Islamic radicals thought of ending lives of innocent people in 3 churches and 3 hotels and had taken months to prepare for the killing. What we also know is that from 4th April Indian intelligence had sent warnings with venues, dates and even names of the assassins to Sri Lankan authorities and none of these warnings had reached the Cardinal to stop Sunday mass or the hotels to beef up security. The Government however took own precautions and decided not to attend church! There is much that the Government must answer for and simply handing Rs.1lakh as compensation cannot wipe the blood of accountability. Can we trust a government that is responsible for such negligence especially when politicians linked to these terrorists have no action taken against them primarily because of the handouts they would have been enjoying. The country was freed of 30 years of terrorism from the blood sacrifices of close to 30,000 soldiers while another similar number remain injured for life. It was the lack of political will to end LTTE that resulted in Sri Lanka suffering 30 years of terror and all citizens are now asking the same question. Radical Islam leading to acts of terror must immediately be eliminated to ensure no future generation suffers the scrooge of terror.
Daily news from 21st
April to 21st May is highlighted below to showcase the dangers we
have at hand. Discoveries of not just swords but arms, ammunition, military
uniforms, Buddhist monks robes, white clothes, SIM cards, drones, sophisticated
satellite equipment, fake NICs, women, principals, teachers, moulavi’s and even
parliamentary staff members being arrested for links with these terror elements
is shocking all citizens. It is nothing that can be forgotten and nothing that
we can move forward without knowing answers and knowing what the government is
going to do about the culprits big or small, however powerful they are.
21st April 2019 – Easter Sunday
Explosion at St. Anthony’s Church Kochchikade
5 more explosions reported at Katuwapitiya
Church in Katana, Zion Church in Batticoloa, Shangri-La hotel, Cinnamon Grand
Hotel & Kingsbury Hotel
Death toll at 12noon – 138 persons
Death toll at 6p.m. – 207 persons
32 foreigners declared dead (by 29 April – 12
foreigners whereabouts unknown – presumed as blown to bits) Foreigners were
from 13 countries
Van used to transport explosives seized with
driver in Wellawatte
13 arrested – 10 handed to CID
22nd April 2019
Death toll at 9a.m. – 290 persons
20 suspects arrested over 21/4 in 24 hours
Improvised explosive devise detected near the
departure area of Bandaranaike International Airport & disposed by Army
PM says Govt was alerted of attacks before
bombings
President returns from Singapore
4p.m. – controlled explosion near Kochchikade
church – instead was gas cylinder and Rs.1000 notes
5:19p.m. – suspicious car parked in Welisara searched & Negombo road
cordoned off
INTERPOL arrives in Sri Lanka to support
investigations into bombings (no Interpol when Sri Lanka suffered 30 years of
LTTE terror)
24 suspects arrested in connection with Easter
bombings – 9 remanded
3p.m. – 87 explosive detonators found in Pettah
23rd April 2019
Death toll at 9a.m. – 310 persons
President issues gazette declaring State of
Emergency in Sri Lanka
0945a.m. – suspicious package at Kollupitiya
railway station searched
19 suspects arrested over Wanathawilluwa
explosives haul released due to political influence? (later OIC informs
Judicial Service Commission that Colombo Magistrate released suspects despite
objections of police)
CCTV footage of Katuwapitiya Church suicide
bomber released
State Minister for Defense Ruwan Wijewardena
says 21/4 is revenge for Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand
President admits lapses on part of Sri Lankan
defense authorities
PM says intelligence information received but
admits lapses in an interview to NDTV
Now FBI wants to assist Easter Day
investigations
10a.m. controlled explosion of bike in Wellawatte
Factory allegedly used to build bombs for Easter
attack identified in Wellampitiya
12noon controlled explosion of suspicious parcel
in Katana
State Minister for Defense Ruwan Wijewardena now
says attacks carried out by ‘splinter group’ of NTJ
Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka calls 21/4 an
operation with years of planning
Now UK sends counter-terrorism police to Sri
Lanka
MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakse calls for immediate
arrest of Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando & IGP Pujitha J
New Zealand PM says no intelligence linking Sri
Lanka attacks to Christchurch
US says it had ‘no prior knowledge’ of Sri Lanka
attack – US ambassador
18 suspects arrested in connection with 21/4
2 persons and van arrested in Warakapola
25 April 2019
CCTV footage of Shangri-la & Cinnamon Grand
hotel bombers released
Drones barred within Sri Lankan airspace
The Intellectual Community of Muslims requests
to suspend all small organized Muslim groups
Australian PM confirms Sri Lanka suicide bomber
studied in Australia
Hemasiri Fernando Defense Secretary resigns
Suspicious lorry registered under Shangri-la
bomber seized
ACJU says none of the suicide bombers will be
given Muslim burial
198 detonators found inside abandoned parcel in Nuwara Eliya
16 arrested across Wattala, Bandaragama, Thirappane, Theldeniya, Balangoda, Matale,
Vavunathivu
CCD arrests Mohamed Bathurdeen deported from
Dubai (Brother of Rishard Bathurdeen)
3 arrested with 21 locally made grenades at Modara
26th April 2019
Health Ministry revises death toll to 253
persons
CCTV footage of Dehiwela suicide bomber released
MP WIjeyadasa Rajapakse says Mujibur Rahman
should take responsibility for attacks
Zion church bomber identified as 27 year old
Nasar Azar married to Sarah & residing in Kattankudy
PM says joining foreign terrorist groups not
against Sri Lankan law in interview to SKY News
Shootout between STF and armed group during
search mission in Kalmunai
6 arrested in Kilinochchi
3 nabbed with 1kg of c-4 explosives in Wellawatte
Gunfight in Sainthamarudu leaves 16 dead
including 6 children
Kalmunai raid kills Zaharan’s father & 2
brothers. Zaharan’s wife Fathima Sadia is alive with daughter
Noordeen Mohamed Thajudeen Colombo Municipal
Member arrested with 26 swords in Slave Island as well as 20 garments of
clothing similar to military uniforms
27th April 2019
PM apologizes for failing to prevent Easter
bombings (after almost a week)
Gotabaya Rajapakse says he will run for
President & tackle radical Islam
Rishard Bathurdeen denies links with NTJ
terrorists
Suddenly Millennium Challenge Corporation
approves grant funding for Sri Lanka
National Thowheed Jamath & Jammiyathul
Millathu Ibrahaim banned in Sri Lanka but not gazetted
The 6 suspects arrested in Kilinochchi further remanded
Indian police uncover Sri Lanka terror plot
after arrests in India
Suspect nabbed with 51 sticks of water-gel
explosives, 215 detonators in Trinco
Driver of Zaharan arrested – Mohamed Sharif Adam
Lebbe (Gafoor) aged 53
49 knives recovered from mosque in Maskeliya store
room
Negombo Deputy Mayor arrested possessing sword,
dagger and 37 mobile phone batteries
28th April 2019
Some Arabic and Madrassa schools teach extremism
– says former President Chandrika
Mahinda Rajapakse says no need for Indian NSG
support, Sri Lanka can tackle terror on its own
US embassy says Easter attack investigation
support doesn’t mean long-term presence of US security (ok sure)
Elder brother of Shangri La 2 suicide bombers Mohamed Ibrahim
Ifthikar has been arrested at Dematagoda
area
IS claims the dead in Sainthamarudu were their
members
Mohamed Fawaz – Deputy Leader of Thowheeth
Jamath arrested from housing complex in
Keselwatte
Polonnaruwa Welikanda police division arrests
guns & live ammunition in a farm belonging to a Muslim who was not at home
but servant taken into custody
Weligama Maduragoda police conducts search
operations to find Rs.1.2m under bed of a not so well to do family who could
not explain how they got so much money.
Zaharan’s close associate Abdula Latheef Mohamed
Zaheer questioned by Medwatchchiya police
Dickwella – 4 swords / 10 Muslims arrested on
suspicion / 850 houses searched / Saudi passport found in one house
29th April 2019
18 vehicles (9 bikes, 6
vans, 2 cars & 1 cab) used by the 8 suicide bombers investigated. Mohamed
Mubarak Mohamed Azam the Kingsbury hotel suicide bomber had 3 bikes, 1 van and
1 cab registered under his name. The other vehicles had been registered under
names of the suicide bombers wives/close relations
Van blown up by security
forces near St. Anthony’s church belonged to Kingsbury hotel bomber (though he
arrived in a trishaw)
Kalpitiya – man arrested possessing 22 NICs of
women
Pakistani handler of suicide bombers arrested
Sulaiman S Ali, arrested with 41 uniforms in
Lunugala, Batawatte. 18 passports and 7 NICs found
Zaharan’s chief priest arrested
Raddolugama – 20 year old Muslim youth arrested
with an air rifle & 6 swords
NTJ Colombo district head Mohamed Farook Mohamed
Fawaz kept for 72hrs questioning
New Defense Secretary appointed – Maj. Gen.
Shantha Kottegoda
Medigiriya – 4 Bangladeshi’s arrested
Preachers teaching at schools without visa to be
deported says Govt
Moh. Nawshad former Wattala-Mahabage Municipal
Chairman & member of SLPP also member of NTJ who had sponsored a mosque in
the area flees country. His brother Moh. Rifaz caught with 2 walkie-talkies
& a NTJ banner
Motorbike used in Batticaloa church attack found
in a house in Thihariya
CID & TID question 59 arrested over Easter
Sunday attacks. 15 suspects including 2 women interrogated by TID. Fathima
Latifa wife of Zaharan Hashim is Abdul Kader Fathima Kadiya
Anti-aircraft ammunition and detonators found in
Welipenna
IGP sent on compulsory leave – acting IGP is
Chandra Wickremaratne
Cardinal warns Govt – don’t let us take law into
our hands
Kantale
– person arrested with 25 CDs containing information on ISIS
Jamia
Manarul Huda Arabic College searched and several mobile phones, burqas and
books containing activities of LTTE recovered from school
Wariyapola-Katupotha – 4 swords and army boots
found in house on a 25 acre property.
MP Dayasri Jayasekera alleges Muslim Affairs
Minister Haleem allowed construction of 400 NTJ mosques – a large number of
NGOs had funded these mosques – We demand to know where these 400 mosques are and who funded
them
3 pressure minds, RPG bullet and other
ammunition found buried near restaurant owned by a Muslim in Kanagarayankulam,
Vavuniya. Owner arrested
30th April 2019
SLTJ’s posters for seminars targeting O/L
students in 2018 found in Kaduruwela
High-sensitivity device recovered from house in
Kaleliya in suspicious threewheeler
Kotte Municipal Councillor H M Ali Usman &
brother Raja Mohideen Sultan arrested with 3 swords and a machete knife
Suddenly US says terrorists plotting more
attacks. But same US envoy said on 24th April that US had no
knowledge of 21/4 atttacks
38 year old External lecturer of a university,
father of 4 conducting lectures in mosques belonging to NTJ arrested in
Mundalama in Madurankuliya with 18 sim cards, 2 laptop computers, 2 mobile
phones and one iPad.
NUTA says Batticoloa Campus has to be brought
under Govt
EP Governor’s office – 2 officials N M A Kareem (assistant
manager) and M I Nazar (public relations officer) arrested with T-56 bullets
Gampola – documents belonging to Thowjeed Jamaat
found in a shoe shop in which suicide bombers Mohamed Ibrahim Zahid Abdul Haq
and Ibrahim Sadik Abdul Haq had hidden themselves
Bathurdeen’s coordinating Secretary Mohamed
Zanus arrested – Wedithalathivu Rural Bank Manager and 2 other businessmen were
among arrested. Zanus is also the Mantai West Co-operative society chairman. 10
detonators found near public toilet near shop belonging to Zanus
Ban on social media removd
Suddenly – UN Counter
Terrorism experts in SL – United Nations
Under Secretary General for Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos
CCTV footage of Dehiwela
bomber released – Abdula Latif Jameel Mohamed had been to UK in January 2006
and returned to Sri Lanka in September 2007.
1st May 2019
Mullaitivu police state 9 walki-talkies used by
security forces and clothing similar to army uniforms among other items found
in a luxury hotel under construction in Alampil area.
12 persons arrested with swords, parts of
firearms, cothing material similar to army uniforms, posters, banners, fake
passports, NICs, birth certificates and CDs belonging to Thowheed Jamaath
Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Riskan close accomplice of
Zaharan Hashmi arrested in Subharatheepura in Kuliyapitiya
Tip-off received by Balangoda police recover 18
bullets from a tea estate in Bulathgama, Balangoda
A search operation in Gorokgahamada in Balangoda
– sword recovered from garden of a 37year Muslim youth
31 arrested in Kalpitiya in Mandalakudawa – 30 males
& 1 female
20 suspects & weapons found in Akurana area
represented by Minister Haleem – 3 words, high speed internet router, parts of
air rifles, CDs belonging to Thowheed Jamaath, attendance registry for Thowheed
Jamaath lectures, cash deposit receipts in favor of TJ discovered in several
Muslim households in the area
Explosives and weapons found in MPs abandoned
land in Mallar area in Samanthurai – 20 pistol ammunition, 8 bullets, army
uniform & belt. Security forces had inspected house next to land and found
200 gelignite sticks, 200 detonators, 46 wire chords and 100kg of ammonia.
Police dogs go to house of driver of an MP from
Digamadulla district where they discover a pistol
2nd May 2019
40 year old arrested with military uniform and
other equipment at Kovilkulam in Vavuniya on tip off of a suspicious house in
the area
NTJ’s Colombo District organizer Mohamed Farook
Mohamed Fawaz remanded until 7th May as per orders of Colombo
Magistrate after 72hour interrogation by police
Terrorist Zaharan’s sister Mohammed Fathima
Madaniya Niyaz arrested in Kattankudy with Rs.2m currency notes.
Fathima Ilham wife Moh. Ilham Ibrahim is
Bathurdeen’s first cousin who died in house at Dematagoda is daughter of
Alahudeen Jewellers. Alahudeen is Bathurdeen’s mother’s brother. Alahudeen is
ACMC Treasurer. Alahudeen has houses in Singapore, Malaysia & Mannar. She
has the female suicide bomber pictured with bracelet on hand.
Suicide kit recovered from house in Kattankudy
belonging to the brother of NTJ leader Zaharan, Rilwan.
Mohammed Marsuk Mohammad Rizli, security official
of Eastern Province Governor Hisbulla arrested by Modara police for illegally
possessing rubber stamps belonging to Govt – bail given for Rs.1lakh surety
Over 800 artillery shells found at steel factory
in Ekala. 100 empty shells of bullets used for T-56 assault rifles found
Van arriving from Thihariya to Anuradhapura
inspected to find white clothing similar to those found in Sainathamaruthu
Police & Army search in Mt. Lavinia hotel
road – 2 Pakistanis arrested without proper identification
Police STF in Ratmalana inspecting beauty
parlour in Borupana find 14 walkie-talkie, 8 CDs and suspected Muslims taken
into custody
Matale-Kalubewela area, Iraqi national in a
house arrested without visa
Nittambuwa – Mohamed Ibrahim arrested with
modern drone, laptop camera and recordings of Zaharan Hashims speeches
Vavuniya – armed forces uniforms, boots and
other suspicious items found, suspect arrested
Anuradhapura – inside mosque army clothing
found, 1 Muslim arrested – inside his room more reading material on Osama, US
war training & other reading material found
Welikanda Muslim village – under a tree 2 remote
controlled claymore mines found
Yatiyantota & Ruwanwella equipment to locate
mines found – 2 suspects arrested
Udunuwara hous near Batadeniya Muslim mosque –
bombs found – 2 inside house arrested
Dummalasuriya on tip off by residents parcel
thrown over Baragoda bridge – person who threw parcel from trishaw apprehended
by residents
Kalutara South – near Kudapalliya mosque swords
found
Aluthgama – Dharga Town 2 suspects arrested with
20 fake NICs
Moneragala Jumma mosque – police dogs find
extremist materials, CDs, Maulavi taken into custody
Moneragala town – house near mosque in a shop, a
truck similar to armed forces with driver taken into custody
Kadawatha police – Hunupitiya, Enderamulla, 15
suspects arrested with 34 passports, 1 laptop, 102 phones, swords and machetes
Mannar, Mantai junction near Andampan bridge
inspecting a parcel, police find a gun covered in grease
Kurunegala in a house near Maliyadeva college, a
sniper rifle found with swords and machetes hidden in a room upstairs
Bodies of 10 terrorists who died inside house in
Sainthamaruthu buried without religious rituals
Siddiqui Ahamed Danish, a reuters journalist remanded
by Negombo magistrate for forcibly attempting to enter Maris Stella College,
Negombo
Suicide kit discovered inside a house in
Kattankudy owned by Rilwan brother of Zaharan Hashim – Leader of NTJ
TNA MP Mavai Senathiraja requests govt provide
extra military security to North (wow what a change of tune)
3 staff of a powerful UNP Minister arrested at
the Central Mail Exchange with 600 defamatory letters addressed to Buddhist
temples.
Ex-security forces chiefs present report on
Easter attacks to the Opposition Leader
Kalmunakudi in Kalmunai – Mechanical engineer
arrested over links to terror acts of 21/4. A car (EP KM 5059) taken to police
custody & STF report that blood stains could be observed in car. Mobile
phone containing suspicious photos of attack found on suspect
Pulmudai – Trincomalee – 2 persons arrested
along with 89 detonators, 8 tubes of water gel and 2 detonator chargers. One of
the arrested was employed as a security guard at the Pulmudai hospital.
Vehicle check in Vavuniya for vehicles arriving
from South after intelligence receives warning that suicide vehicles entering North
– 12 motorcycles, 2 vans, 2 cabs, 2 cars, 1 three-wheeler and 1 buddy lorry
among 20 vehicles searched.
3rd May 2019
Muslim Religious & Cultural Affairs Director
M R M Malik says there are 1669 Islam ‘madrassas’ & 317 Arabic schools
registered under the Dept of Muslim Religious & Cultural Affairs – how many
are illegal
Central Province NTJ financial controller
arrested in Gampola living in rented house close to where Haq brothers,
identified as suicide bombers had been hiding. Police find more than 200
transactions from banks since 2017. Haq brothers were hiding in Anuradhapura
after the bomb blasts on Easter Sunday had arrived in Gampola & were living
in the 2nd floor of their uncles shoe shop purchased by one of the
suicide bombers for Rs.6.5m
Suspicious car, 5 swords, shotguns, fake NICs,
ATMs, machetes, 11 knives, 12g of drugs found – 18 suspects from Alawathugoda,
Madawala, Wattegama, Naranwita, Doluwa, Welimada, Nuwara Eliya, Rampadeniya,
Maskeliya and Dickoya areas arrested.
Kurunegala- Arabic language, CDs, DVDs
(216pieces), ammunition rounds, mobile phone handsets, two extra batteries
recovered
Polonnaruwa, Kaduruwela, Galella areas – 7 mobile
phones, 1 T-56, 9SIM cards, 2 swords, 1 motorbike apprehended during cordon
& search operations
Maligawatte, Colombo 10 recovered 7 swords &
suspicious army type uniforms
Rishard Bathurdeen leaves for Muscat
4th May 2019
Micro pistol, 6 bullets, 3 walki-talkies, small
axe and sword found at cemetary in Kattankudy – 2 arrested
2 suspects arrested after an automatic pistol, 9
bullets, 2 air pistols, air rifle found inside car during search at checkpoint
near Sri Rahula ground in Katugastota.
Muslim Association of Sri Lanka refutes
allegations on funding any religious organizations
2 Jaffna university students arrested during
special security check & remanded
Beruwela police arrested 2 men & 13 women
& seized 4 swords, 2 knives, 8 mobile phones, 1 pair of binoculars, several
CDs and Rs.18laksh in cash
Intelligence reports indicate Islamic extremists
in Sri Lanka may plan attack to damage bridges across the island
5th May 2019
250 sets of army uniforms found in a shop in
Galle
Kattankudy – Zaharahn Hashim’s training ground
discovered in a 10 acre land. Owner arrested. Next land belonging to
brother-in-law who was arrested by Saudi police
6th May 2019
CID identifies more than Rs.140m in cash &
other assets worth over Rs.7billion belonging to terrorists involved in Easter
Sunday attacks. 73 suspects are still being questioned by CID and TID. 54
suspects including 7 women under CID custody. 19 including 2 women under TID
custody
Police raid leased guesthouse ‘Blue Eye Inn’ at
Dharmapalapura Road in Nuwara Eliya used for training by Zaharan from leads
provided by State Intelligence unit after interrogating individual considered
to be one wo provided technological know-how to followers of Zaharan. Sessions
attended by 35 participants including those who blew themselves up on Easter
Sunday. 2 suspects who indirectly aided Zaharan to conduct classes also
arrested.
Raid at house in Thalapitiya, Galle – 1000 military
uniforms, weapons & suspects seized
Nawalapitiya – 2 swords, hand axe, 6 knives
containing a polythene bag, sack at Salem bridge on Mahawelia Riverbank
2 men & women arrested – Horowapothana area.
Sword and 49 CDs found, Interrogation of Arab school teacher who had close
connections to Zaharan, remanded
25 acre land in Riditenna area of Valaichchenai
police division used for terrorist training. 220 sticks of gelignite,
motorcycle & other equipment also seized
Search in Rathna Udagama, Kirikanduruwatte areas
in Rathgama. 3 suspects arrested with 8 swords
Cache of anti-aircraft bullets found in Vavuniya
7 suicide bombers from Kattankudy identified as
followers of NTJ arrested in Hambantota – suspects trained very discretely in
Hambantota over a long period
7th May 2019
Dept of Muslim Affairs informs all mosques not
to use loud speakers too loudly to announce azan
15 swords surrendered to Beruwela police
Kilinochchi gun factory raided – locally manufactured
guns recovered & owner in factory arrested after raid on illegal arms
manufacturing plant in Poonakary in Kilinochchi
8th May 2019
Negombo – former SLMC PC Member Shafi Raheem
arrested with 8 sophisticated cell phone jamming device
Rs.3m worth of military uniforms found in Matale
9th May 2019
St. Anthony’s Church suicide bomber arrived in
vehicle belonging to suicide bomber of Kingsbury hotel. Same vehicle exploded
by security forces on 22 April 2019
Mohamed Aliyar – close associate of Zaharan
Hashim arrested in Kattankudy. He carried out financial transactions with
Hashim.
12 Muslim teachers who refused to change Nikab
transferred from Puwakpitiya Tamil Maha Vidyalaya in Avissawella by Western
Province Governor Azad Salley
Kochchikade suicide bomber’s brother among 3
arrested
Case filed against Secretary of the Ceylon
Thowheed Jamaath Abdul Razik arrested in 2016 on charges of inciting religious
disharmony & making derogatory remarks to Ven. Gnansara Thero set to be
taken up on 25th July
Director General of Government InformatioN
Nalaka Kaluwewa instructed all media to refrain from broadcasting footage of
weapons including swords and knives during search operations
Aluthgama Dharga Town near mosque – swords and
books distorting Buddhism found
US official injured in Easter attacks succumbs
to injuries in Singapore hospital
US exerting influence internally by taking 9
judges to US alleges MP Gammanpila with names in Parliament
10th May 2019
MP Kadar Masthan calls for general amnesty for
suspects
Hartal in Trincomalee demanding removal of
Governor Hisbullah
Suspect living in a luxury house down Galwihara
Rd, Dehiwela arrested in Maradana with Rs.8.3m in cash and gold
Disciplinary action against Wellampitiya police
following interim report
Court orders DNA tests to confirm identities of
Shangri-la bombers
Abdul Razik responds to allegations by
Pulasthini’s (Sarah’s) mother. Sarah is wife of Katuwapitiya Church bomber. She
was allegedly abducted & forced to convert to Islam according to her mother
who said daughter is held by Abdul Razik the secretary of Ceylon Thowheed
Jamath. Mother says Razik abducted her and married her to Atchchi Muhammadu
Hashtun from Maligawatte. Sarah was names as one of the 6 wanted suspects. She
is believed to have died in the Kalmunai house explosion. DNA being carried out
to verify identity.
Buried cache of explosives belonging to
Sainthamaruthu bombers found from Kattankudy beach
11th May 2019
Malwane – school uniforms, aesthetic CDs found
3 day period to hand over illegal explosives to
police by 14th May 19
More arrests made as search operations continue –
suspect arrested in Kattankudy by police who had been trained in Hambantota
Acting on information
provided by Akkaraipattu Police, Navy recover several sharp items, an
unidentified grenade, a tablet PC, a personal computer and a binocular from the
Morawdi lagoon. During a search operation in Marassana in Thalawathuoya, Navy
personnel recovered 365 live ammunition, 72 empty shells along with three
magazines. All items handed over to Police for further investigations
12th May 2019
Trouble in Chilaw when the
residents of the area had objected a social media post to incite disunity among
races. The person who made the post was arrested by the police
13th May 2019
Curfew in Chilaw
Police curfew in
Kuliyapitiya, Bingiriya & Dummalasuriya from midnight 12May to 13th May
6a.m – mob riots
Social media temporarily
banned
I’m ashamed to see this
kind of terrorism from Muslim society – Brigadier Izadeen
14th May 2019
TID to record statement from suspect from
Karupayya Rajendran Abdulla arrested at Wellampitiya copper factory owned by
the suicide bomber at the Shangri-La Hotel. Nine other suspects who were
arrested at the said copper factory were granted bail on May 6th
Gazette issued banning three groups including
NTJ – extraordinary Gazette notification proscribing National Thowheed Jamath
(NTJ), Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim (JMI) and Willayath As Seylani – now official
after 27th April ban
Leader of Maha Sohon Balakaya Amith Weerasinghe
and the Director of Anti-Corruption Movement Namal Kumara have been arrested
UN calls on Sri Lankan govt. to ensure situation
does not escalate (no statement about swords and weapons being found but just one
incident and UN jumps into scene)
UN Special Adviser on the
Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng and UN Special Adviser on the Responsibility
to Protect Karen Smith said they are alarmed about the growing acts of violence
on the basis of religion, including attacks against homes, places of worship
and businesses, in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka
An island-wide police curfew will be enforced from 9.00 pm
Court calls for postmortem of Kochchikade bomber
Alawdeen Ahamed,
father of the bomber stated that his 22-year-old son had completed basic law
education and was qualified to enter the law college. his son left home on the
14th April to go to Kalmunai; however, he had not even phoned the father until
his death on Easter Sunday (21 April).
UK hate preacher Anjem Choudary radicalized
Lankan bomber Abdul Latheef Mohamed Jameel, 37, who was from a wealthy family
involved in the tea trade: Report. Jameel met the radical preacher while
studying at Kingston University. Jameel, a father of four children
15th May 2019
SL software engineer 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.
Aadhil Ameez, a 24-year-old, was the link between two groups that carried out
the attacks on churches and hotels. Aadhil was arrested in Gujarat on 25 April
2019
Mohamed Assam Mohamed Mubarak, the bomber at the
Kingsbury Hotel aide Mohamed Adam Lebbe arrested with several passports
16th May 2019
97 percent of Zahran’s gang already arrested –
Ruwan Wijewardene
EU concerned about incidents of communal
violence in Sri Lanka
Mohamed Rizwan with close links to Easter Sunday
attackers arrested in Mabola
Wife of Kochchikade suicide bomber Alawddin
Ahmed Muath, the 22-year-old law graduate gives birth to their 1st baby on 5
May. Muath got married 14 months
ago
CID finds 17 safe houses in in Negombo,
Katuwapitiya, Panadura, Sarkikamulla, St. Anthony’s Road in Kollupitiya, Tropos
Road in Mount Lavinia, Wanathawilluwa, Wattala Enderamulla, Mayura Place in
Wellawatte, Sainthamarudhu 09, Malwana, Thihariya, Kalagedihena, Kochchikade
Daluwakotuwa, Valachchenai-Ridiyatenna, Sabarathipura in Kuliyapitiya,
Hettipola , Katupotha, Ninthavur, and Samanthurai areas. and 7 training camps
of terrorists in Wanathavilluwa, Hambantota, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Aruppola,
Kattankudy, and Valaichenai areas
17th May 2019
He left saying he was going to Canada, Rifkan’s
father-in-law. Rifkan a close accomplice of Zahran Hashim –ringleader behind
the attacks
Two suspects – Noor Mohammadu Abdul Rasool and
Kana Mohamed Mijam, were identified as a principal and an acting principal of
two Muslim schools in the area.with close links to Zahran arrested at
Horowpathana
Karupayya Rajendran Abdulla arrested at
Wellampitiya copper factory further remanded.
OIC of Wellampitiya Police, submitting a report to the court, stated
that the investigations have uncovered close relations between the Insaf Ahmed,
the second suicide bomber at the Shangri-La Hotel and Karupayya Rajendran.
Insaf Ahmed has reportedly gifted Rs 200,000 for the Karupayya Rajendran’s
wedding – he also had 3 cheques each worth Rs 2.5 million
Kebethigollawa Magistrates Court allows to
detain two suspects Noor Mohammadu Abdul Rasool and Kana Mohamed Mijam,
identified as a Principal and an Acting Principal of two Muslim schools linked
to Zahran for 72 hours
Social media ban lifted
18th May 2019
On a tip off police
discover a stock of 500- 9mm ammunition and army guerilla kits from a Pharmacy
in Raja Weediya, Matale
Parliamentary translator
detained for involvement with NTJ in Kurunegala – suspect will be detained for
a period of 90 days for purpose of interrogation – He is also reported to be a
key speaker in the series of lectures conducted island-wide by the NTJ.
19th May 2019
36 Pakistani deportees escorted to community
centre in Vavuniya – on April 25th, nearly 600 Pakistani deportees were also
taken to a community centre in Nittambuwa area after being told to leave their
houses.
20th May 2019
A coconut land in
Kurunegala training centre – 6 suspects connected with 21/4 arrested. So far 69
are in CID custody and 20 are in TID custody for questioning
Weapons and ammo recovered
from several areas including Trincomalee
Zahran’s main organizer ‘Kalmunai Siam’ arrested
along with 4 other suspects. ‘Kalmunai Siam’ had trained in Hambantota area and
that he is a powerful member of the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ)
organization.
21st May 2019
Hettipola police arrest Pakistani employed at
private company without proper Visa
documentation
DNA test with daughter confirms Zahran Hashim
was killed in Shangri-La bombing
FR Petition filed by a father, who had lost his
son and daughter in the Easter Day terrorist attack, against IGP & fmr
Defence Secretary for failing to prevent the attacks on churches and hotels
even when intelligence information had forewarned.to be considered on May 31
As you can see there are safe
houses and training cells operating throughout the island in virtually all
provinces. Scores of foreigners are emerging in rural Sri Lanka, what are they
preaching? Businessmen have also been linked as funding these terror
organizations – who are they why are they not being exposed. All entities be
they mosque, madrassas, schools, businesses, shops ets with links must be shut
down for good and necessary legal action taken against them.
In the meanwhile, the Govt has a
lot more to do about the victims of Easter Sunday. The dead are gone but there
are families who are traumatized and some are unable to work. There are
children without parents. The Church may have enough money but there are hearts
needed to reach out to these innocent people – to share their sorrow and pain
and help them salvage what they have left and move on however difficult it is.
For this some special program needs to be created under the auspices of the
Church and more than money people’s kindness is what is now required while it
is good for people to offer scholarships to children who may need it,
employment and other necessities in a humane way. Hopefully organizations do
not turn this into an opportunity for them to raise funds for personal benefit
as a means of tax evasions which is generally what happens with most charity
funds.
The people must exert pressure on
the government to hold a Commission of Inquiry into the failures of preventing
Easter Sunday and hold every single person accountable for the deaths of
innocent people.
April 02, 2019 “Information Clearing House” – To mark the 20th anniversary of the start of
NATO’s illegal
78-day bombardment of Yugoslavia,
over 200 distinguished guests from all over the world gathered for a conference
of the Belgrade Forum of the World of Equals.
The gathering titled Never
to Forget: Peace and Progress instead of Wars and Poverty” promoted genuine
internationalism. Participants came from Israel AND Palestine. From Iran and
Japan. From Britain, Germany, Italy, France and other NATO countries which had
taken part in the bombing. From Venezuela, Cuba, Bulgaria, Greece, Brazil,
Croatia, Canada and South Africa. India and Nepal, Austria and Switzerland,
Ireland, Portugal, Turkey and Lebanon. From the US AND Russia. This was the
real ‘international community’ on display.
Speaker after speaker
denounced NATO’s unlawful aggression, and stressed the wider significance of
the military action of 20 years ago, which not only lacked a mandate from the United
Nations Security Council, but was also in breach of NATO’s own charter.
Eva-Maria
Follmer-Mueller, president of the Mut zur Ethik Association in Switzerland,
described it as a historic turning point.”
Momir Bulatovic, the prime minister of Yugoslavia in March 1999, called the bombing a crime which only grows in significance”. He pointed out that it was the first step in a still ongoing war against other countries. He and subsequent speakers, (myself included), noted that since 1999 we’ve had US-led attacks on a series of independently-minded, strategically important and resource-rich sovereign states, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, while others, such as Iran and Venezuela have been subject to intense economic warfare. Each time we’re encouraged to see these conflicts as ‘stand-alones’ with the leader of the target state demonized, usually as the ‘New Hitler,’ and someone who ‘must be stopped’, but actually they are all part of the same war. A war for empire and the global hegemony of the US and rapacious international finance capital.
From Brazil, Socorro
Gomes, the president of the World Peace Council, reminded delegates that
Yugoslavia was a peaceful country that had not invaded anyone. To get round this, Kosovo was referred to in the
US and depicted on maps on the television as if it was a separate country, not
as a part of Yugoslavia.
The media war on Yugoslavia began long before the bombing.
According to HRW,
around 500 civilians were killed in the NATO air strikes. The
Russian Foreign Ministry puts the toll much higher, at around 2,000.
In Belgrade’s
Tasmajdan Park, there’s a very poignant memorial to the 89 children killed in the bombing, entitled ‘We were just children.’ Among the
victims was a brilliant 15-year-old maths prodigy called Sanja Milenkovic, who
died along with eight others, when the bridge in Varvarin was bombed at Pentecost. Marina Colic read out a very moving
tribute to Sanja from the German politician Willy Wimmer. Sanja’s last words
were Don’t be crazy Mum, who’s going to drop bombs on a small town”.
Answer: NATO. That’s who.
An exhibition outside the main hall in the Serbian Army House graphically illustrated the horrors of the bombing. Anyone seeing the pictures of dismembered, blood-spattered people being pulled out from debris following a NATO air-raid would ask the same question that I did: How on earth could any of this be justified as a ‘humanitarian’ action? The line that there was no alternative” is simply not true. Had Western powers been genuinely concerned over resolving differences between Pristina and Belgrade they could have brokered a deal between Rugova, the Kosovo Albanian leader, and Milosevic, the leader of Yugoslavia,
which would have allowed international peacekeepers (but not NATO forces) into
Kosovo to protect ALL of its citizens, and at the same time disarm the KLA. But they deliberately chose to bomb.
Speakers recalled that
at the Rambouillet Conference Milosevic was presented with an ultimatum to
which he could not possibly consent. This is backed up by the testimony of the late Lord Gilbert, a British Minister of State
for Defence Procurement, who, in 2000, admitted, I think certain people were spoiling for a
fight in NATO at that time. I think the terms put to Milosevic at Rambouillet
were absolutely intolerable: how could he possibly accept them? It was quite
deliberate.”
NATO got its war and
the direct material damage to Yugoslavia resulting from it has been put at $100 billion. The country’s infrastructure was targeted for destruction and you can still see the ruins from some attacks,
such as the one on RTS (Serbian television), which killed 16 people, in
Belgrade today. One of the most shocking aspects of the NATO ‘humanitarianism’
was its widespread use of
depleted uranium. Slobodan Petkovic, a
member of the Serbian government’s commission for determining the consequences
of the use of D.U., stressed there was no military need for NATO to use it. So
why did they?
In a really powerful oration, Liz Payne of the British Peace Council, said the bombing of Yugoslavia was a ‘deadly experiment’ and a blueprint for further aggressions across the world. We recall with horror the orchestrated terror and devastation inflicted purposefully and mercilessly on the people of Serbia by the US and its allies, including by the right-wing Labour government of Britain and the neoliberal Establishment in whose interests it acted”. She finished with the words While imperialism continues there can be no world of equals.”
Linking the events of 1999 with today, Professor Zahari Zahariev from Bulgaria said that the whole continent of Europe is ready for a new Helsinki process, a reference to the 1975 accords which were the high-water mark of
post-war detente between East and West.
In a thought-provoking
address, he distinguished between globalization, which is a technical process,
and globalism, which he called the ideology of imperialism”and it was
this ideology which was behind the attack on Yugoslavia and the other wars.
While many speakers lambasted the EU, Zahariev said the idea of European unity
is not imperialistic per se and that what we really need is to emancipate the
EU from neoliberal capitalism.
The question is: is
this really feasible given the strong links the EU has to corporate power and
finance capital?
Some of the loudest
applause at the entire conference came after Dia Nader de El-Andari, the Charge
d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Serbia,
declared No pasaran!” after a stirring address. In 1999, it was Yugoslavia in the crosshairs of the
imperialists, now it’s Venezuela,
with the US having the temerity to warn Russia, Venezuela’s ally, to get out.
Cross-continent
solidarity was also expressed by Chris Matlhako, of the South African Communist
Party. He called for the dismantling of US military bases, NATO and their
allies in Africa and elsewhere on the globe, and detailed the disastrous impact of the NATO assault on Libya,
which has been a big
boon to terrorist groups. We must work hard to block the US and its allies
unilateralism in the world today,” he declared.
President of the Serbian Generals and Admirals Club, Milomir Miladinovic, reminded delegates that despite the 78-days of bombing, Yugoslavia was not defeated militarily in 1999. We fought a glorious victory against the aggressor, these were heroic days in the face of the much bigger enemy”, he said.
According to Miladinovic, the JNA (Yugoslav National Army), lost just 17 tanks and 30 artillery pieces and withdrew from Kosovo practically intact. And the aggression from NATO didn’t come cost-free with the Yugoslav forces and their obsolete” equipment successfully taking
down a US F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber, appropriately enough called
‘Something Wicked’. That was a great moment for those who always support David
against Goliath and love it when the underdog lands a blow. In a nice
postscript, the retired army officer whose unit shot down the plane is now friends with the US pilot.
The conference ended
with me reading out the Belgrade Declaration. The history will note the
fact that in 1999, blindly following alien geopolitical interests, Europe
fought itself.” Never forget the great crime NATO committed twenty years
ago, and what it led to.
Neil Clark is a journalist, writer, broadcaster and blogger. He has written for many newspapers and magazines in the UK and other countries including The Guardian, Morning Star, Daily and Sunday Express, Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman, The Spectator, The Week, and The American Conservative. He is a regular pundit on RT and has also appeared on BBC TV and radio, Sky News, Press TV and the Voice of Russia. He is the co-founder of the Campaign For Public Ownership @PublicOwnership. His award winning blog can be found at www.neilclark66.blogspot.com. He tweets on politics and world affairs @NeilClark66
May 13, 2019 “Information Clearing House” – The official school of the United States’ Special Operations Command has published a new paper detailing a decades-long history of Pentagon-backed interference around the world, hoping to provide insight on how best to approach such efforts in the present and future. The 250-page study, “Support to Resistance: Strategic Purpose and Effectiveness,” was compiled by Army Special Forces veteran Will Irwin and published earlier this week by the official Joint Special Operations University, where he was a resident senior fellow. Though the report notes that its views “are entirely
those of the author,” its findings
present a comprehensive look at how the U.S. has supported efforts to pressure,
undermine and overthrow foreign governments.
The report includes some 47 case studies spanning
from 1941 to 2003, detailing a legacy of mixed results that
included assisting partisans against the Axis Power satellites
during World War II, bolstering anti-communist forces throughout the
Cold War and taking on post-9/11 adversaries in Afghanistan and Iraq. The numerous
Washington-orchestrated coups of the past 70 years were “not
included in this study as they did not involve legitimate resistance
movements.”
“This work will serve as a benchmark reference
on resistance movements for the benefit of the special operations community and
its civilian leadership,” the report reads.
The cases were broken down into three major support to resistance (STR) categories: disruption, coercion and regime change. The report found that “from 1940 to the present, nearly 70 percent of STR operations were conducted for disruptive purposes,” while “non-disruptive cases were about equally divided between coercion and overthrow.”
Of the 47 cases analyzed, 23 were deemed
“successful,” 20 were designated “failures,” two were
classified as “partially successful” and two more—both during World
War II—were called “inconclusive” as the broader conflict led to
an Allied victory anyway. Coercion was the most successful method at a
three-quarters rate of success or partial success, while disruption worked just
over half the time and regime change only yielded the desired result in 29
percent of the cases reviewed.
Other major findings included observations that most operations “were carried out under wartime conditions, with those being nearly twice as successful as cases conducted under peacetime conditions” and “support to nonviolent civil resistance seems to be more likely to succeed than support to armed resistance.” At the same time, they were also “most effective when conducted in direct support of a military campaign rather than as an independent or main effort operation.”
In eight of the 20 failures found, the author blamed security breaches that clued the enemy in ahead of time, sometimes potentially through coverage in U.S. media, as may have been the case with newspaper stories prior to the abortive CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.
The paper also acknowledged that this kind of
mission “most often addresses immediate issues and short-term rather
than longer-term interests,” though it defended unintended consequences of
U.S. assistance for Afghan mujahedeen, some of whom went on to form the Taliban
and Al-Qaeda, by suggesting the Soviet satellite state they were fighting may
have turned out to be an even more formidable enemy.
“One thing common to all 47 cases reviewed in this study is the fact that the targeted state was ruled either by an unfriendly occupying force or by a repressive authoritarian regime,” the author wrote, before asserting that in the present day, “Russia and China have boldly demonstrated expansionist tendencies.”
The U.S. has identified Russia and China as its top
rivals in recent years, with President Donald Trump specifically calling
the powers out by name in major strategy documents. Under Trump,
Washington has also waged economic wars with other stated foes such
as Iran, Syria and Venezuela—whose governments the White House has publicly
sought to oust, accusing them of human rights abuses as posing a threat to the
national security of the U.S. and its allies.This
article was originally published by “Newsweek”
–
In my
neighbourhood area in Preston Road Wembley Harrow there is a shop where you
find everything you require .Western Union money transfer also in the shop
selling every hardware item you need .Shop is owned by a Muslin boy from
Kurunagala who works day and night with Sinhalese staff. Last year I walked
into the shop to buy some items and asked the owner whether he can get me a
long bladed sword like machete as I needed to crop the trees in our garden .
He surprised
my when he bent down and pulled a 3 feet long sword like knife and gave to me
and charged me 17 pounds .He said that h will get one for his use.
Out of
interest I askes him why he does not show in in the racks and he said it is
prohibited
I confronted
him and asked why does he keeps one under his counter and he promptly replied.
He needs to
fight anyone who will come to the shop to harm him or the shop staff .He used
it once to scare of some mugger.
It is not a
surprise that they keep swords but the question is how many you need to protect
your self?
Sri Lankan
national leaders, both layman and the clergy of all denominations are engaged
in a praiseworthy effort to heal the wounded psyche of a nation. Yet we find
some unscrupulous people working towards their own agendas mainly using easily
accessible media like the email and YouTube.
Yesterday I
received an email from an easily gullible Sri Lankan living in New Zealand
requesting us to participate in street protests against imminent” American
occupation of our beloved motherland, mentioning that some Sri Lankans in other
countries are already protesting!
Another
person sent me a link to listen to a retired senior ranker of the Sri Lankan
forces revealing a horrifying covert action to hand over all land north of a
line connecting Trincomalee to Colombo for the use of the American forces.
As a person
who had a long professional association with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Lands, I
knew that there is a statutory procedure for acquisition of lands for public
purposes enshrined in the Land Acquisition Act. It is a long winding process
which requires consultations with the land owners, gazette notifications
at various stages as well as procedures for claims that could even go up to the
Supreme Court.
A
quick-fire land acquisition can only be done under the suspension of civil laws
in a war situation (once the war is over and the operation of normal law
resumes, land has to be returned to its legal owners) or when a person like
Uganda’s Idi Amin has appropriated dictatorial powers!
Since there
is no evidence that either of these currently happening in Sri Lanka, I cannot
understand why even the Sri Lanka’s so-called intelligentsia is swallowing
these stories hook, line and sinker!
By Mujib Mashal and Dharisha Bastians Courtesy The New York Times
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Even before the coordinated bombings that killed 250 people last month, Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister were in trouble — largely of their own making.
Now calls for President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to step aside when their terms are over, if not before, are mounting from opposition groups as well as from the ranks of their own parties.
A member of Mr. Wickremesinghe’s party issued a public letter last week, asking the prime minister to make way for new leadership. Then, on Tuesday, a small opposition group in Parliament initiated no-confidence votes against both leaders, citing their failure to act on intelligence warning that an attack was imminent as well as their leadership in the aftermath.
The calls for accountability coincide with jostling for an upcoming presidential election, and they seem to have all but crushed the chances for both men, senior officials, party members and analysts said in interviews.
The decline of a coalition that had promised a Sri Lanka free from the shackles of its long civil war has created an opening for the former ruling family, the Rajapaksas, who ended the war but did so with a heavy hand. It is a reminder of how fragile the country’s democracy remains, with the threat of a return to what had been an increasingly authoritarian regime constantly hanging over the nation.
The former strongman president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, saw his attempt to grab power as prime minister quashed last winter. The presidential ambitions of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his brother and the notorious wartime defense chief, faced a major hurdle this spring: His luck running from accusations of atrocities ended with court cases filed against him in California.
Now, the former president is casting himself as a unifying leader. And Gotabaya Rajapaksa recently declared himself just the type of president Sri Lanka needs as it faces a security crisis.
Activists fear that the Rajapaksas could exploit the opening to return to power, just as the armed forces have gained sweeping powers, including the authority to arrest and detain at will, in the aftermath of the bombings. The army has also reinstated a major implicated in the murder and abduction of journalists, letting him lead a special team investigating the terrorist networks behind the bombings.
Communal tensions remain high following the bombings on Easter Sunday that were claimed by the Islamic State, with fears of retaliation against Muslims, who make up 10 percent of the population. Intermittent clashes have broken out.
Before the attacks, Mr. Sirisena had hoped to seek a second term despite becoming increasingly isolated. Mr. Wickremesinghe, the prime minister, also had ambitions for the presidency.
But Sri Lankans have been angry at both leaders. Members of the president’s and prime minister’s parties, as well as leaders of minority parties crucial to their coalition’s victory in 2015, made clear that they would not support either man as their candidate in an election scheduled to be held this year.
I write this not because I am against you, but because I now think your time has passed,” Rehan Wijeratne Jayawickreme, a member of Mr. Wickremesinghe’s United National Party, wrote in an open letter asking the prime minister to step aside.
On Tuesday, a small party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, brought a no-confidence motion against both leaders. Lawmakers cannot use such a motion to remove Mr. Sirisena as president, but the party wants to vote on his continuation as defense minister, a post he also holds.
Both of them are responsible,” said Gamini Viyangoda, a civil society activist who campaigned for the coalition of Mr. Sirisena and Mr. Wickremesinghe.
Mr. Viyangoda said Mr. Sirisena was completely exposed” after failing to act on multiple reports from local and international intelligence agencies warning that attacks on Sri Lanka were being planned. Mr. Wickremesinghe has tried to deflect blame by saying that Mr. Sirisena excluded him from security meetings, but Mr. Viyangoda said that was no excuse.
An unlikely coalition brought Mr. Sirisena and Mr. Wickremesinghe together in the 2015 election against Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had changed the constitution to allow himself a third term.
Mr. Wickremesinghe’s party formed the core of the coalition. In a creative move, it persuaded Mr. Sirisena, the secretary general of Mr. Rajapaksa’s party, to defect and run as the leader of the coalition against his boss. The strategy succeeded, and the coalition won.
But governing the country proved much trickier, and the two leaders clashed immediately. Mr. Wickremesinghe, feeling that he had made Mr. Sirisena president, rarely missed a chance to remind him. For his part, Mr. Sirisena felt that the risks he had taken in breaking with his lifelong party were not fully appreciated.
Last fall, their disputes turned into a full-blown constitutional crisis as Mr. Sirisena, seeking to shore up support, turned to the Rajapaksas, whose party could nominate him for a second term as president, officials said.
Mr. Wickremesinghe returned as prime minister, but he and Mr. Sirisena remained at odds. Critics say the friction between them may have contributed to the government’s failure to anticipate the Easter Sunday bombings.
The episode left Mr. Sirisena further isolated. He had already taken up a fight with the coalition partner that had brought him to power. Now, he had failed to deliver on his promise to make his former leader prime minister.
With the current situation, the people have rejected the current leadership of the country,” said Namal Rajapaksa, the son of the former president and a member of Parliament. So there is no chance for us to select anyone from this government, or President Sirisena, as our candidate.”
With presidents once again restricted to two terms, Mahinda Rajapaksa is ineligible to run. Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains a divisive figure among the minority parties that were decisive in the last election. The Rajapaksa family itself seems also divided on whether he should run.
But the uncertain security situation, and the frustration with the performance of the incumbent government, has created a much larger pool of undecided voters among the ethnic majority Sinhalese that the Rajapaksas could easily attract. A bigger swing vote among the majority could also undermine the minority parties’ ability to anoint the next leader.
Abraham Sumanthiran, a leader of the National Tamil Alliance, which played an important role in the movement that defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015, said fears that the Rajapaksas could use the moment of crisis to their advantage were palpable.
Most of those who were part of the movement are fearful that that could become a reality,” Mr. Sumanthiran said. But I don’t think we will go back to that. The minorities are yet not in a position to support a Rajapaksa — no way.”
A month after deadly terror attacks in Sri Lanka killed over 250 Christians celebrating Easter, investigators have revealed that the bombs used in the attack show the attackers had direct contact with Islamic State terrorists.
The link was established after the probe found triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, present at the attack sites. Due to its extreme volatility, IS militants call the explosive, which can be produced from readily available ingredients, the Mother of Satan.”
The group had easy access to chemicals and fertilizers to get the raw materials to make TATP. They would have had a face-to-face meeting to transfer this technology. This is not something you can do by watching a YouTube video.
The substance was used in several attacks claimed by IS, including the 2015 bombings in Paris and the 2017 attack in Brussels.
While it is evident that IS played a role in preparing the bomb for the attack in Sri Lanka, investigators still want to know just how deep the ties go. The Sri Lankan who led the Easter attacks, Zahran Hashim, traveled to India before becoming a suicide bomber. He also appeared in the IS video that claimed responsibility for the bloodshed.ALSO ON RT.COMExtremist cleric with possible ties to ISIS accused of masterminding Sri Lanka bombings
The probe has also confirmed that 220 pounds of raw TATP were seized in January, indicating that the government had even more warning signs than they previously let on. Sri Lankan security agencies had been warned by Indian and US intelligence about possible terrorist acts against churches, but apparently failed to act on the information.
The Government yesterday (21) decided to appoint a Parliament Select Committee to probe the allegations against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen levelled by the Joint Opposition (JO) before assigning date to debate the JO’s No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against Bathiudeen.
This decision was taken during the Party Leaders’ Meeting held at Parliament premises. The Opposition had protested the Government’s decision. However, the Government had insisted on appointing a Select Committee as none of the allegations against Bathiudeen had been proved so far.
Accordingly, the Select Committee is set to give its report on the matter after three weeks upon the date of appointment. After that, a date for debating the JO’s NCM would be given, the Government said.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya had said, he cannot intervene in the matter since it is the Government which gives dates for Parliamentary debates.
US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina Teplitz in her first interview with the print media after the Easter Sunday attack exclusively told the Daily Mirror how the United States is committed to aid Sri Lanka to combat and defeat terrorism on the request of the Sri Lankan Government and how President Donald Trump offered the necessary resources in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks to conduct the investigation.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of the attacks. These attacks were senseless, vicious and unprecedented. It was a heartbreaking moment for the whole world. I hope the investigation is going to reveal in due time the extent and nature of the relationships that this attack group may have had abroad, but it is going to be important to understand that this was a home-grown group. We are very pleased to be able to provide this assistance to a friend and partner in need through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” she said. She further said how information-sharing is key in the face of these threats. That is a critical element of our ongoing safety and security, not just for Sri Lanka and the United States, but for our friends and partners in other nations,” she claimed.
US committed to aid Sri Lanka combat and defeat terrorism
Temporary presence of Visiting Forces at the invitation of SL Govt.
Renunciation of US citizenship an ‘administrative’ not ‘political’ process
Reinstatement of alleged white van squad leader ‘deeply disturbing’
Meanwhile, denying the allegations levelled by the media concerning a permanent US base in Sri Lanka, the US envoy said the ‘Visiting Forces Agreement’ that the US have been negotiating with the Sri Lankan Government updates an existing agreement that dates way back to 1995. I know there has been talk in the press around concern of a permanent US base in Sri Lanka. This agreement would provide for nothing of that sort. It is about visiting forces here temporarily at the request and invitation of the Sri Lankan government for the conduct of exercises,” she added.
We are proud to have made this contribution but also prouder still that the Sri Lankan navy is going to be putting this resource to such good use in the future in ensuring the sovereignty and integrity of this country
When asked on the process of relinquishing US citizenship which has recently seen wide discussion in Sri Lanka, she said that renunciation of US citizenship is an ‘administrative’ not ‘political’ process and is straightforward.
As long as you have paid your taxes and have no criminal cases, the renunciation of American citizenship moves along. But for privacy reasons I cannot comment on any specific case,” she said.
When asked whether the reinstatement of an alleged ‘white van squad leader’ would complicate the ability of the US government to provide counter-terrorism assistance to Sri Lanka, envoy Alaina Teplitz said that such appointments were ‘deeply disturbing’.
If true, this appointment is deeply disappointing in the sense that there are credible, proven allegations against this individual and this is a country and a government that has committed to addressing gross violations of human rights in the past. That means it’s not just about reconciliation, but accountability as well, which has to be respected,” she said.
Excerpts:
QTo what extent does the US believe that the Islamic State was involved in the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka and why might Sri Lanka have become a target? First let me say that these attacks were senseless. They were vicious. They were unprecedented and our thoughts and prayers have been with the families of the victims of the attacks, ever since they occurred. It was a heartbreaking moment for the whole world. In the wake of the attacks, an investigation had to be undertaken and one is underway in Sri Lanka. We are really pleased to be providing support to the government of Sri Lanka at their request to help them conduct this investigation.
The Islamic State did make public claims about having been behind this. I think, however, you have to look at the global nature of this terror threat where groups have been radicalizing, whether inspired by the Islamic State or whether they get their inspiration from somewhere else, and the fact that the perpetrators of these attacks were all Sri Lankan.
I hope the investigation is going to reveal in due time the extent and nature of the relationships that this attack group may have had abroad, but it is going to be important to understand that this was a home-grown group. As such, the government, people and communities are going to need to think differently on how to confront this threat going forward.
Q What is the role that the US played in Sri Lanka since April 21?
At the request of the government of Sri Lanka, the United States has been providing support through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to Sri Lanka’s investigation. We are very pleased to be able to provide this assistance to a friend and partner in need. We plan to be supportive for as long as our assistance is required, doing things in the investigation like helping to process evidence. I hope there will be no need for such partnerships in the future but there can be threats out there. We look forward to maintaining a partnership in the years to come so that both of our countries can feel more secure knowing that we can work together to face those threats.
We have long been a friend and partner and we had a security partnership even before these attacks. We have been working to support Sri Lanka’s ability, for example, to better secure its maritime space, the seas around the island.
In fact, just this past weekend, in an example of that partnership, a former US coastguard cutter, now part of the Sri Lankan Navy, arrived, after sailing from Hawaii with its Sri Lankan naval crew. We are proud to have made this contribution but also prouder still that the Sri Lankan navy is going to be putting this resource to such good use in the future in ensuring the sovereignty and integrity of this country.
It must be made known to anybody who seeks to perpetrate attacks like this that they will be held accountable and that they are going to be held accountable the world over, really. We may not be the only other country that brings charges, because there were people of many nationalities who were killed and injured in these attacks
Q Did the US government send assistance unilaterally after the Easter attacks, or did the Sri Lankan government request assistance?
We came in response to the Sri Lankan government’s request. President Donald Trump offered all necessary resources or assistance to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government requested, and we delivered.
I know that democracies can be successful in combatting terrorism. We can work together. Our open societies are a great defence against the kind of terror and discord and disunity that terrorists seek to create
Q What is the role that countries like Sri Lanka, who have been victims of such terrorist attacks, can play in the global effort to defeat terrorism?
The global terror threat is different to some of the threats of the past. We must all collectively think a little differently about how we are going to counter the threat. Information sharing is key in the face of this threat. All nations may have a little of the threat picture, a piece of that puzzle, if you will. We have to share those pieces in order to understand that landscape or understand that picture. That is a critical element of our ongoing safety and security, not just for Sri Lanka and the United States, but for our friends and partners in other nations. I know that democracies can be successful in combatting terrorism. We can work together. Our open societies are a great defence against the kind of terror and discord and disunity that terrorists seek to create. Going forward, in Sri Lanka, we want to be supportive of the government’s efforts to respond to the terror threat, and to do so in ways that respect democratic values here and respect civil liberties. I think that is entirely possible to do.
Q After the recent incidents, and during communal violence that took place last year, the government suspended access to American social media and messaging platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube in order to halt the spread of fake news and prevent communal violence. How can these companies be held accountable for preventing such abuse of their platforms so that such blocking is not necessary in the future?
The government’s response in the wake of the terror threats has been prompt and effective. It was solid. That is something to acknowledge. The emergency services and then this investigation and the bringing in of the correct people into custody so that people can be safer here. With regards to the shutdown of social media, I know efforts have been underway to improve security on those platforms. Violence can go viral on these platforms. I suspect that is always going to be a challenge and I know all these companies have been working hard on that.
There is always a fine line with allowing free speech, and the calming of speech and the rejection of extremism that could take place on these platforms were they still operable. The other communication and even basic messaging that needs to happen even from just to say to your friends and family that I’m OK”, is going to be a challenge if these platforms are not functional. This is going to be an ongoing issue to discuss and work on, and I hope all the companies will remain as engaged and cooperative as they have been up to this point. It’s a key issue, and a challenging issue.
Q Several Americans were killed in the Easter attacks. What is the position of your government on prosecuting those murders in US jurisdiction? How will such investigations and criminal proceedings work in parallel with similar proceedings in Sri Lanka’s jurisdiction?
There were five Americans who lost their lives in these attacks and three were wounded. As a result, we are investigating for potentially bringing charges against any of the terror group that remain alive in US courts. However, Sri Lanka has the lead on this, and we are supporting their investigation and I am sure that the Sri Lankan government will be bringing charges against some of these people now in custody. Those cases will move forward. Our indictments in the US will be secondary to those.
The benefit to this two-track investigation, our support of the Sri Lankan investigation and a parallel effort to bring charges in the United States, is that we can bring even more resources to bear to help with that primary investigation that the government of Sri Lanka is undertaking. It must be made known to anybody who seeks to perpetrate attacks like this that they will be held accountable and that they are going to be held accountable the world over, really. We may not be the only other country that brings charges, because there were people of many nationalities who were killed and injured in these attacks.
The government’s response in the wake of the terror threats has been prompt and effective. It was solid. That is something to acknowledge
Q How soon will this process be complete?
I couldn’t speculate. The investigation is ongoing, so it is difficult to say.
Q The US government has spoken strongly about supporting Sri Lanka and preserving normalcy. But the embassy has asked non-essential personnel to leave the country. Why?
In the wake of the terror attacks, we did take the step of ordering school-age children to depart the country. Adult employees and family members were given the choice of whether they were going to depart or not. From our perspective, we wanted to ensure that our children are not placed at risk at a volatile time when much was still unknown about the scope of the attack plot and the vulnerability of institutions in Sri Lanka. We do this as a precautionary measure. It is a mechanism we have used in many other countries in times of crisis. I hope that in the near future we will be able to welcome our children back to our embassy.
Q The process of relinquishing American citizenship has recently seen wide discussion in Sri Lanka. Under American law, at what stage does the US government consider a US citizen who has sworn an oath of renunciation as no longer being a US citizen? Is it as soon as the oath is sworn or is there any other procedure that needs to be followed before a US citizen is released from citizenship by your government?
There is an administrative process you go through. Once that process is complete, the person is no longer a US citizen. There is a long process to make sure the person is of sound mind and wants to make that decision. They file paperwork and work with the consular office at the embassy, where they go through many steps. Then the persons present themselves to the embassy and they sign legal paperwork. They read the oath of renunciation aloud to the consular officer. The embassy takes that packet and sends it to Washington DC just for final review. Then they confirm that the renunciation has taken place. If it is confirmed, it will be effective on the day the person actually swore the oath to renounce US citizenship. (See box for the US Citizenship renunciation process)
Renunciation of (US) Citizenship is an administration process. It is straightforward. As long as you have paid your taxes and have no criminal cases, then it moves along
Q A US citizen was recently sued in a California court over the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge, editor of ‘The Sunday Leader’ Newspaper. Is the US embassy and government aware of and monitoring this case?
We are aware of the case because there has been a public filing. We are not closely monitoring the case. It will follow its due course in the court system in the US. It is a civil suit brought by a private litigant.
Q If there is a civil case pending against a US citizen, does that prevent the US government from allowing such a citizen to renounce his American citizenship?
There are two issues there to address. We have a difference between civil and criminal cases that can be brought. A civil case has no bearing on a renunciation process. Separately, Renunciation of (US) Citizenship is an administration process. It is straightforward. As long as you have paid your taxes and have no criminal cases, then it moves along. For privacy reasons I cannot comment on any specific case, but it is pretty straightforward.
Q A Sri Lankan military intelligence officer, Maj. Bulathwatte, who was in charge of a team with allegations of abductions and murders of several journalists has recently been reinstated and given a special team responsible for counter-terrorism, frightening many police officers and witnesses who testified against him. Do appointments of this nature complicate the ability of the US government to provide counter-terrorism assistance to Sri Lanka?
If true, this appointment is deeply disappointing in the sense that there are credible, proven allegations against this individual and this is a country and a government that has committed to addressing gross violations of human rights in the past. That means that its not just about reconciliation, but accountability as well, which has to be respected.
I can appreciate that some people may have responded out of fear in the wake of these terror attacks and there has been some discussion in the public media about how safe people might have been in the past. That is a false confidence. This is a new threat. It requires people of integrity and it requires people with experience and a future looking focus to counter this threat. It also requires people who will respect the values of Sri Lanka, and international norms that do not support gross violations of human rights like those you have described.
We also look at other security interests in the sense of ensuring the sovereignty of nations and making sure they can patrol and maintain not only the economic space around their countries but end transnational crime like global narcotics trafficking and human trafficking
Q A Member of Parliament recently made a very serious allegation in Parliament about a US official having attempted to influence the Sri Lankan judiciary for political reasons. What is the US Government’s position? What can you say about the history and practice of judicial study tours?
I would point you to the refutation of this allegation made by the Ministry of Justice and the judges who participated in the study tour. The person who made these allegations has made baseless allegations. More broadly speaking, for the last seventy years, the US has supported professional and study exchanges between the US and Sri Lanka, and they have covered an array of subject matter including investigative journalism and looking at emergency preparation. They have covered judges and judicial issues. The list is so long I don’t know where to begin. This is just part of what we have done as friends and partners over many years. When you understand that we are doing professional exchanges of this nature, and have been for years, on a huge array of topics, that allegation begins to look rather baseless.
Q What are the geopolitical interests of the USA in Asia?
I would look at it from a slightly different perspective. Not so much what the US’ specific geopolitical interests are but as a community of nations, our more global interests regarding a free and open Indo-Pacific space, the free transit of goods both by sea and air, and making sure there are laws and norms that allow nations to trade together peaceably and to get along, and that preserves these spaces for the transit of goods, and the transit of services. Our interest is in preserving that rules-based order, ensuring we have a chance to interact with other countries to our mutual benefit. Peace and prosperity are what we are all jointly working towards as beneficial outcomes for our countries. That’s how I see our interests. It’s around what is in the mutual interests of all nations.
I know there has been talk in the press around concern of a permanent US base in Sri Lanka. This agreement would provide for nothing of that sort
Q Specifically, what is the interest of the USA in Sri Lanka’s strategic geographical position along a major sea lane?
There is no denying that Sri Lanka is in a very strategic location for exactly the reason you suggest, because the sea lanes pass by here. For hundreds of years it has become a path of trade and commerce heading between other parts of the world and the far east. So, it is very important in that regard and a lot of the economy here is linked.
Our interest in Sri Lanka as a friend and partner of this country, however, is not entirely around those sets of issues. Sri Lanka is a democracy. The US is a democracy. We partner with democracies worldwide. We have common interests around maintaining that rules-based order that can benefit all of our nations globally with free and fair playing fields. We also have interests around other issues of global stability and security, such as peacekeeping. Sri Lanka has been a troop contributing country. We have also wanted to support that effort to maintain stability in other parts of the world.
We also look at other security interests in the sense of ensuring the sovereignty of nations and making sure they can patrol and maintain not only the economic space around their countries but end transnational crime like global narcotics trafficking and human trafficking. We have common interests there. The bottom line is we have many, many more interests than Sri Lanka’s physical geographic locations. We have another common interest around human rights and dignity for all and we want to make sure that globally these values are respected.
There is an administrative process you go through. Once that process is complete, the person is no longer a US citizen. There is a long process to make sure the person is of sound mind and wants to make that decision. They file paperwork and work with the consular office at the embassy, where they go through many steps
Q Many political and military figures have spoken to the media about the proposed status of forces agreement between the Sri Lankan and US military. What is the truth about this proposed agreement? What are the benefits and drawbacks for both countries in entering into such an agreement?
The Visiting Forces Agreement that we have been negotiating with the government of Sri Lanka updates an existing agreement that dates all the way back to 1995. It will help to make it current. It is largely an administrative and logistical agreement that will iron out details relating to visiting forces engaged in exercises, for example, with the Sri Lankan military. Things like mutual recognition of professional licences, fees for professional support rendered, regulations for hiring foreign and local contractors, how US military personnel and civilian personnel can enter and exit Sri Lanka, the mutually agreeing what specific methods will be used. Given that we conduct many joint exercises throughout any given calendar year as a part of our military-to-military relationship, it would certainly help both sides avoid a lot of case-by-case negotiations as we go from one exercise to another. I know there has been talk in the press around concern of a permanent US base in Sri Lanka. This agreement would provide for nothing of that sort. It is about visiting forces here temporarily at the request and invitation of the Sri Lankan government for the conduct of exercises.
Q Is it true that the US is concerned about China’s growing influence and presence in Sri Lanka? If so, why?
The US looks at partnerships in the region including with Sri Lanka with the idea that countries need to have many options, many friends and many partners. We ourselves have a relationship with China and we would expect that other countries in the region are also going to maintain relationships. The question for me is always what is the quality of those relationships? Are they ones where there is mutual respect for sovereignty? Are the relationships mutually beneficial in the sense that countries can work together for prosperity in the future? Are they transparent relationships? Are they equal relationships? These are the questions that any country should be asking about its partnerships.
Q Do you have any other comments you would like to share with our readers?
The US remains committed to the government and people of Sri Lanka as a friend and a partner. We certainly responded in the wake of the terror attacks, but we have been a steadfast friend and partner for many years. In that sense, our relationship has not changed. These recent events give us even more reason to want to deepen that partnership to ensure our mutual security, and to look at that prosperous future that we are both hoping for. There are economic challenges the country will be facing but we want to work with Sri Lanka to overcome those. Hopefully in the future we will be courting US investment and looking at ways that we can prosper together.
A person desiring to renounce US nationality ….shall appear before a diplomatic or consular officer of the US in the manner and form prescribed by the Department. ..Renunciant must include on the form he signs, a statement that he absolutely and entirely renounces his US nationality together with all rights and privileges and all duties of allegiance and fidelity thereunto pertaining.
In response to questions relating to the procedure for a US citizen to voluntarily renounce his/her US citizenship, and at what stage citizenship is deemed to have been lost by the US government, the US Embassy in Colombo provided Daily Mirror with references to the laws and regulations of the United States pertaining to this subject.
According to these excerpts of US laws, regulations and administrative guidelines, a person loses US nationality upon an application receiving ‘approval by the Secretary of State’ after a long administrative process. Upon approval of the application, the relevant US embassy will provide the former citizen with a certificate of loss of nationality, as proof of no longer having US citizenship.
Section 349 (a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, codified at Title 8 of the United States Code, Chapter 12, Section 1481.
A person who is a national of the United States whether by birth or naturalization, shall lose his nationality by voluntarily making a formal renunciation of nationality before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in a foreign state, in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State, with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality.
Section 358 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, codified at Title 8 of the United States Code, Chapter 12, Section 1501.
Whenever a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States has reason to believe that a person while in a foreign state has lost his United States nationality under any provision of part III of this sub chapter, or under any provision of chapter IV of the Nationality Act of 1940, as amended, he shall certify the facts upon which such belief is based to the Department of State, in writing, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State. If the report of the diplomatic or consular officer is approved by the Secretary of State, a copy of the certificate shall be forwarded to the Attorney General, for his information, and the diplomatic or consular office in which the report was made shall be directed to forward a copy of the certificate to the person to whom it relates. Approval by the Secretary of State of a certificate under this section shall constitute a final administrative determination of loss of United States nationality under this chapter, subject to such procedures for administrative appeal as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation, and also shall constitute a denial of a right or privilege of United States nationality for purposes of section 1503 of this title.
Title 22, Section 50.50 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations – Renunciation of Nationality
(a) A person desiring to renounce U.S. nationality under section 349(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act shall appear before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in the manner and form prescribed by the Department. The renunciant must include on the form he signs a statement that he absolutely and entirely renounces his U.S. nationality together with all rights and privileges and all duties of allegiance and fidelity thereunto pertaining.
(b) The diplomatic or consular officer shall forward to the Department for approval the oath of renunciation together with a certificate of loss of nationality as provided by section 358 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If the officer’s report is approved by the Department, copies of the certificate shall be forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice, and to the person to whom it relates or his representative.
Leader of Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa today (21) visited several schools in Colombo to observe the student turnout and encourage parents to send their children to schools.
Accordingly, he first arrived at the Thurstan College along with a group of parliamentarians representing the Joint Opposition and also met with the principal of the school.
The Opposition Leader also visited the Royal College, Visakha Vidyalaya as well as the Hindu College in Bambalapitiya.
Meanwhile, several other Joint Opposition MPs had visited schools in other districts to observe the student turnout.
UNP Parliamentarian Shantha Abeysekare had engaged in an observation visit at the Thambagalla Kanishta Vidyalaya in Madampe.
According to principals of schools in Galle, Hambantota, Kalutara and Kegalle said the student turnout had shown a considerable increase today (21), as the schools reopened following the Vesak celebrations.
National Freedom Front (NFF) leader MP Wimal Weerawansa today criticized his former party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, for the motion of no-confidence brought forth by them against the incumbent government.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with the Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith in Colombo, he said that they briefed the religious leader on the no-confidence motion brought against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen.
He said that when a no-confidence motion is brought against the government at this juncture, the MPs of the ruling party will be looking at Rishad Bathiudeen with the intention of safeguarding the government.
He said that the 6-7 parliamentarians of Rishad’s party – the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) – would be a decisive factor in a no-confidence motion against the government.
Weerawansa said that when two no-confidence motions are brought forth in this manner, Minister Rishad Bathiudeen gains a ‘bargaining power’ and that he could now tell ruling party MPs that he will not use his party’s votes to save the government if they don’t safeguard him.
He charged that by bringing a no-confidence motion against the government, the JVP has given Rishad Bathiudeen a decisive power and a bargaining power. He also accused them of thereby safeguarding a father of Wahhabi terrorism.”
One of the major reasons for the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka was the collective failure of leadership, says international terrorism expert Dr. Rohan Gunaratna.
Addressing an event held in Colombo yesterday (21), Dr. Gunaratna, who is a Professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam Centre for International Studies in Singapore, said intelligence should be constantly generated where national security is concerned.
It is a crime to have intelligence and not act [on it]. Easter Sunday attacks were not a failure of intelligence, it’s an operation failure. A failure to act. Because politicians played with national security and the security was compromised,” Dr Gunaratna emphasized.
Explaining why terrorist leader Zahran Hashim’s group and other networks that the IS had connections with could not be monitored, Dr Gunaratna said the indomitable spirit that must be inculcated in the hearts and minds of those who serve the national military sector, either military, law enforcement or intelligence, was steadfastly eroded due to certain action taken by the incumbent government.
Commenting further in this regard, he said the government had removed the roadblocks after assuming power in 2015, an action which should never have been done. Because we had 11,500 rehabilitated terrorists [in the country] but still we wanted security and intelligence platforms to remain.”
There was a grid of security that was created where every village, town and road was covered by the intelligence service, but these security and intelligence platforms were also dismantled, he said.
It was a fatal mistake to tell the military go to barracks since the interaction between the nation’s Army and the public was lost owing to this, Dr Gunaratna noted.
This may be something that the western countries had wanted, as well as minority political parties such as the Tamil National Alliance, he said further. But these were mistakes that we should never have made,” Dr Gunaratna emphasized.
A senior Muslim military officer, who had the best expertise on Zahran Hashim’s group, was also sent overseas, and the operating wing of the military intelligence, which is a very large organization of nearly 5,000 operatives, was demobilized, Dr. Gunaratana further claimed.
One month after the Sri Lanka suicide attacks that killed more than 250 people, investigators have told AFP the bombers used Mother of Satan” explosives favoured by the ISIS group that are a new sign of foreign involvement.
Detectives said the back-pack bombs used in the April 21 attacks on three churches and three hotels were manufactured by local jihadists with ISIS expertise.
They named the explosive as triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, an unstable but easily made mixture favoured by ISIS militants who call it Mother of Satan”.
It was also used in the 2015 attacks in Paris, by a suicide bomber who hit the Manchester Arena in England in 2017 and attacks on churches in Indonesia one year ago.
ISIS has claimed the Sri Lankan bombers operated as part of its franchise. But Sri Lankan and international investigators are anxious to know just how much outside help went into the attacks that left 258 dead and 500 injured.
The group had easy access to chemicals and fertiliser to get the raw materials to make TATP,” an official involved in the investigation told AFP.
Sri Lankan detectives say the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), local militants blamed for the attacks, must have had foreign help to assemble the bombs.
Multinational militants
They would have had a face-to-face meeting to transfer this technology. This is not something you can do by watching a YouTube video,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Investigators had initially believed that C4 explosives — a favoured weapon of Tamil Tiger rebels — were used, but forensic tests found TATP which causes more burning than C4.
Police have also confirmed that 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of explosives found in January in the island’s northwest was TATP.
They are checking the travel records of the suicide bombers as well as foreign suspects to see when and where bomb-making lessons could have been staged.
It looks like they used a cocktail of TATP and gelignite and some chemicals in the Easter attacks. They were short of the 100 kilos of raw TATP that were seized in January,” said the investigator.
Sri Lankan security forces have staged a series of raids since the bombings. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said Sunday that 89 suspects are in custody.
Army chief Mahesh Senanayake said last week that at least two suspects have been arrested in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, underscoring the international link.
On April 26, six militants, three widows of the suicide bombers and six of their children were killed at an NTJ safe house near the eastern coastal town of Kalmunai.
Police found large quantities of chemicals and fertilizer there that was probably meant to make bombs, authorities said.
The government has admitted that Indian warnings of the looming attacks in early April were ignored.
But President Maithripala Sirisena has said eight countries are helping the investigation. A US Federal Bureau of Investigation team is in Sri Lanka and Britain, Australia and India have provided forensic and technical support.
China offered a fleet of vehicles to bolster the mobility of the security forces tracking down militants.
‘Contact with Islamists’
The Sri Lankan who led the attacks, Zahran Hashim, was known to have travelled to India in the months before he became one of the suicide bombers.
Moderate Muslims had warned authorities about the radical cleric who first set off alarm bells in 2017 when he threatened non-Muslims.
He was one of two bombers who killed dozens of victims at Colombo’s Shangri-La hotel on April 21.
Army chief Senanayake said Hashim had travelled to Tamil Nadu state in southern India and been in contact with Islamists there.
Hashim, one of seven bombers who staged the attacks, also appeared in an ISIS group video that claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Another bomber who was meant to have hit a fourth hotel, has been named as Abdul Latheef Jameel who studied aviation engineering in Britain and Australia.
Authorities in the two countries are investigating whether he was radicalised whilst abroad.
Jameel blew himself up when confronted at a hideout after the attacks.
New Delhi, May 21 (The Hindu): Reacting angrily to a submission from the Geneva-based Human Rights Council (HRC) on the alleged violations in Jammu and Kashmir by the United Nations body that it will no longer entertain any communication with the HRC’s Special Rapporteurs.
The report from the UN body came at the same time a report from two NGOs in the State on the alleged cases of torture was released in Srinagar, which was endorsed by a former UN Special Rapporteur.
Queries On Action Taken
The current Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial Executions, Torture, and Right to Health — Agnes Callamard, Dainius Puras and Nils Melzer — had referred to a June 2018 report of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) and written to the government in March 2019, asking about steps taken by New Delhi to address the alleged human rights violations listed in the report.
In addition, the Special Rapporteurs had listed 13 cases of concern” from 2018 alone, in which four children were among eight civilians killed by members of the security forces.”
The report said that more than half of the 432 victims suffered some form of health complications after being tortured.
In the 432 cases studied for this report, 24 are women. Out of these 12 had been raped by Indian armed personnel,” the report says. The torture survivors have battled with psychological issues long after their physical wounds were healed.
Of the 432 victims, 44 suffered from some form of psychological difficulty after being subjected to torture,” it said.
A study published in 2015 by Doctors Without Borders (known by its French initials MSF) said that 19 percent of the population in the region suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
AlthoughIndiahas been a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT) since 1997, it has not ratified the treaty to date. In all three UPRs conducted by the UNHRC in 2008, 2012 and 2017, it was recommended that India ratify the convention.
In 2010, Prevention of Torture Bill was introduced in the Indian parliament but was not passed and it lapsed in 2014.
Khurram Parvez, who is also one of the researchers for the report said that the report is a challenge to state-imposed erasure of history and memory”.
Rejecting all the claims, the Indian Permanent Mission to theUnited Nationsin Geneva replied to the OHCHR on April 23, saying that India… does not intend to engage further with these mandate-holders or any other mandate-holders on the issue,” whom it accused of individual prejudice”.
When asked, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified that India’s stand on not engaging with the Special Rapporteurs was only for those wishing to refer to the OHCHR report.
However, UN officials say that India is already in contravention of several Conventions it has committed to, including a Standing Invitation” signed in 2011 to all special rapporteurs to visit India. According to the UN records, more than 20 such visit requests, including to Jammu and Kashmir, are pending at present. UN sources also said that between 2016-2018, the OHCHR Special Rapporteurs had sent as many as 58 communications, and had received no response other than the April 23 letter on Jammu and Kashmir.
The only response so far has been to the communication relating to Jammu and Kashmir….The last visit was by the Special Rapporteur on water and sanitation, in October-November 2017,” a UN communications official said in reply to queries fromThe Hindu.
Report From NGOs
The UN submission on Jammu and Kashmir coincided with the release of an extensive 560-page report on Monday, prepared by the J&K based Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and the J&K Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). The report, entitled ‘Torture: Indian State’s Instrument of Control in J&K’, documented 432 cases of suspected human rights violations and brutality by security forces of which only 27 had been investigated by the State Human Rights Commission.
The report claimed that nearly 70% of torture victims in Jammu and Kashmir were civilians (not militants) and 11% died during or as a result of torture”. The cases included incidents of electrocution, ‘water-boarding’ and sexual torture, which the government has repeatedly denied.
This report will constitute a landmark. It is hoped it will be an example to other civil society organizations in India and in other countries as a model,” wrote Juan E. Mendez, former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (2010-16), in the report’s preface, adding that he had been denied permission to visit India.
Colombo, May 20 (Daily Express): The jailed Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary, Ven.Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero might get a Presidential pardon and the controversial Muslim Minister Rishad Bathiyudeen may be asked to resign, in view of the changed political mood in the country, an informed political source said on Monday.
The source, which spoke off the record, said that President Maithipala Sirisena’s meeting with the radical Buddhist monk in the Welikade prison here on Saturday, on the sidelines of a function to pardon 734 prisoners on the occasion of the Vesak festival, definitely had political meaning.
A member of the cabinet, the source pointed to the surge in support for Gnanasara Thero among the majority Sinhala-Buddhist community and even among Catholics.
It is now realized among this section of the population that Gnanasara Thero had, for the last few years, warned about radicalization in the Muslim community, with a section lurching towards extremism if not terrorism, per se.
When asked for the source of his information, Ven. Gnanasara Thero would say that he was making the charges on the basis of complaints from Muslims themselves.
But no one in the government had taken him seriously.
However, after the April 21 suicide bombings, there have been calls for the release of Ven.Gnanasara Thero, who is currently serving a six year term for contempt of court.
There was an expectation that Ven.Gnanasara Thero would be released along with hundreds of others on Vesak day. But his name was not on the list.
However, after the President met the monk, when he went to the prison to preside over the Vesak prisoner release ceremony, there is renewed speculation that he may be pardoned.
The matter is likely to be raised in the cabinet meeting this week,” the ministerial source said.
As regards the fate of the No Confidence Motion (MCM) against Minister of Commerce Rishad Bathiyudeen, who it is alleged, had links with Islamic extremists, the source said that government will try to pre-empt the motion by requesting Bathiyudeen to resign just as Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake was asked to quit ahead of an NCM against him.
There is a danger of government MPs supporting the motion or abstaining from the vote. If that happens, the motion might be carried. But no government will want that. The way out would be to ask Bathiyudeen to resign,” the source said.
Sinhala-Buddhist and Christian ministers and members of parliament feel that Muslim leaders including Ministers, have not done enough or have not shown willingness to do anything to curb the Lankan Muslims’ tendency to become culturally exclusive, and to weaken links with other communities. It is believed that such tendencies had prepared the ground for the growth of radicalism and terrorism,” the source said.
Non-Muslims charge that the Muslims leaders have not done precious little to assuage the deeply hurt feelings among Christians who had borne the brunt of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, the source added.
Bathiyudeen from Mannar district in North Sri Lanka is alleged to have supported radicalization among the Muslims and had allegedly tried to intercede with Army Commander Lt.Gen.Mahesh Senanayake to release a suspect in the suicide bombing case.
Bathiyudeen refuted the charge made by Gen.Senanayake and said that he only wanted to know if the man in question was in army custody.
The
first ever persecution of Muslims in Sri Lanka occurred way back in history. It
took place in Jaffna, the birth place of hate politics against the other”,
which included even the Tamils of the low-castes. Details of Tamil hate
politics need a whole book. This essay is focused on Tamil persecution of
Muslim throughout their history. The historical records relate the bitterness
of the Tamils against the Muslim vividly and dramatically. The anti-Muslim
politics of Tamils was driven by a relentless and venomous ideology which began
with a feudal tyrant, Sankilli, and came right down, through generations, to
Velupillai Prabhakaran’s Kattankudy massacre.
The Tamils of Jaffna were also the first to deny the
identity of the Muslims. It dates back to feudal times. Quite surprisingly,
anti-Muslim hate politics is recorded in the most respected historical text of
colonial times : Yalpana Vaipava Malai.(A historical garland of
Jaffna). Yalpana Vaipava Malai (YVM) was written by
Mayilvakanm at the request of the Dutch Governor Jan Maccara, (1736). Its
translator, C. Brito (1879) wrote in his preface: The work is looked upon as
one of the great authority among the Tamils of Jaffna, and there are several
manuscript copies of it extant in the peninsula.”. YVM is quite
forthright in telling the story as it is. Mayilvakanam wrote at a time when
history was not politicised to serve political agendas. Unfortunately, the
history of Jaffna is wrapped in secrecy to this day for fear of exposing its
hate politics against the other”. The other” in the Tamil political culture
consists of Muslims, Christians, Sinhalese and even its own Tamil people who
were rejected by Tamil Vellala elite as untouchable outcasts. .
At a time like this when identity politics of Muslims
is in the spotlight again it is necessary to trace the critical Muslim
relations with the other communities to gain some perspectives on the
inter- ethnic dynamics at play. As for the origins of the hate politics
against the Muslims there isn’t a better place that records the plight of the
Muslims than the Yalpana Vaipava Malai. Historian Mayilvakanam
records what happened to the Muslims in the following paragraphs which are
quoted in full. He says: During the supremacy of the Ulanthesar (Dutch), a
colony of Sonakar (Muslims), came from Kayilpaddanam and other places and
settle in South-mirisuvil, the name of which they changed into Usan.They were
originally Tamils by race but had embraced the Muhammathu-matham by compulsion
or persuasion of one Santhach-chaiva. Their chief means of subsistence was
trade, which they carried on from fair to fair, in Savukach-cheri, Kodikumam,
Eluthu-madduval,and Muhavil. After a time they abandoned Usan, and founded a
new settlement in Nallur, on and around the site of Kantha-Suvami Koyil. The
Tamil viewed their presence with displeasure as they thought that it might be
detrimental to the cause of their religion when the time should come for the
restoration of the temple. They tempted the Sonakar to leave the place, with
money and entreaties, which when they found unavailing, they had recourse to a
plan that proved effectual. They put a quantity of pig’s flesh into the wells
of their enemy by night. When the defilement was discovered, the Sonakar were
in great distress of mind. They could neither drink the water nor cook their
means with it, and they saw themselves driven to the necessity of choosing
between starvation on one hand and emigration on the other. They chose the
latter and sold the place for whatever money could get from the Tamils and
retired to the east of Navanthurai. Before they left, they, however, had made a
compact by which they retained to themselves the right of visiting the4 spot,
at stated times, for purposes of Muhammathan worship even when a Tamil
temple should happened to be afterwards built upon it.”( p. 55 – Yalpana
Vaipava Malai, translated by C. Britto, Asian Educational
Services, 1999).
Referring to the Malays, Mayilvakanam says: : In the
reign of Vijaya Bahu (the usurper) there was a numerous army of Yavakar
(Malays) in the king’s pay. Their numbers underwent constant diminution by deadly
feuds among themselves and by the oppression of kings. The remnants of them
inhabited the villages of Savakach-cheri and Savang-kodu. But Sangkili (who had
already driven out the Sinhala-Buddhists) drove them also out of his kingdom.”
(p33-34 – Ibid).
These passages reveal the origins of the hate politics
of Tamils against the Muslims that ran deep throughout their history. On the
contrary, the relationship between the Muslims and the Sinhalese has been, on
the whole, cordial from the beginning. The Sinhalese kings not only opened
their historic al space to accommodate the Muslims persecuted by the Portuguese
and the Dutch but also facilitated their path to peaceful co-existence. There
is no record of persecution of Muslims or ethnic cleansing.
The overall harmonious inter-ethnic relations between
the Muslims and the Sinhalese has been the common thread shared by both
communities, leaving aside the occasional tensions. Most of all, they
were given refuge by the Sinhalese when the colonial masters and the Tamil
rulers persecuted them and expelled them forcibly, treating them as
untrustworthy enemies. When Prabhakaran gave the Muslims 24 hours notice to
quit Jaffna, and robbed them of their property and treasures, they didn’t
go to the Middle East or Malaysia. They were given homes and refuge in the
Sinhala South. The latest events of Digana and Aluthgama which figure
prominently in the political calculations now because it is fresh in our minds,
pales into insignificance compared to the ideological onslaughts denying the
Muslim identity, repeated massacres of Muslims, Muslim persecution and forcible
expulsion by the Tamils from what they considered to be the Tamil
homeland”..
The tragic event of anti-Muslim riots of 1911, under
British rule, was another story which has to be dealt with separately. Even
considering that as the worst point in Sinhala-Muslim relations the Muslims
never faced the horrors of ethnic hatred and persecution as under the Tamil
states. Besides, the riots of 1911 were not directed by a Sinhala state. It was
an ethno-religious clash caused by estranged community feelings and, therefore,
was confined to lower-level ethnic rivalry without hierarchical forces
directing violence for political gain. And like all inter-ethnic clashes
with the Sinhalese these sporadic events fizzled out like the soda bottle.
These inter-ethnic clashes were neither visceral nor permanent. As
opposed to this the violent acts against the Muslims by the Tamils took place
at state levels, based on predetermined political policies officially adopted,
like the Nazis eliminating the Jews. Ethnic cleansing and hate politics of the
other” has been a part of Tamil political culture ever since Sankilli turned
his wrath first against the Tamil Catholics, then against the Sinhala-Buddhist
and finally against the Tamil-speaking Muslims.
In fact, Prabhakaran, who inherited the Sankilli
culture of hating the other”, was repeating the culture of hate initiated by
Sankilli when he consistently and deliberately targeted the Muslims to cleanse
his so-called Eelam from the alien and evil Muslims. Like the Tamil kings of
the past Prabhakaran was hero-worshipped as the undeclared Tamil king of the
Vanni for carving out an ethnically cleansed quasi-state for the Tamils .
The hate culture of peninsular politics surfaced under
different reasons and labels at different times. But the underlying force of
all Tamil ideologies was hate politics of the other”. Sankilli marched down to
Mannar on the eve of Christmas 1544 and massacred 600 Tamil Christians –
children, pregnant women and the old and the feeble — because they owed
allegiance to the Christian king of Portugal. Sankilli claimed to be the sole
representative of the Tamils and he decimated all Tamils who owed allegiance to
an alien power. It is the helpless Tamils who paid for his arrogance and hate
politics.
The Vellala rulers of Jaffna, who wielded total power
during feudal times and as subalterns during colonial periods, justified their
fascist caste culture that reduced their own people to subhuman slaves as a
religious duty coming down from God. In the divinely ordained Vellala regime
the outcast Tamils, the Turumbas, could not even walk during daytime in case
they polluted the pure eyes of the Vellalas. They were not allowed to sit on
the seats of busses. They were forced to sit on the floor of the bus – a sign
of hate politics not found even in the deep south of racist America. The
Afro-American were forced to sit in the back of the bus because the front seats
were reserved for the whites. They invoked the Hindu Saivite ideology revised
by the caste fanatic Arumuka Navalar to rule the Tamil outcasts as an inferior
breed of Tamil not fit for the society of the high-caste Vellalas. .
Vellala casteist elitism assumed a sense of
superiority, ordained by God, which was not validated by any civilised or moral
code. These self-appointed supremacists despised all other Tamil-speaking
communities within the peninsula and outside it. The Saivite Jaffna Vellala
(SJV) elite were anointed by their new religious guru, Arumuka Navalar, as a
superior breed. He elevated them even above the few Brahmins of Jaffna and also
to the Batticoloa Tamils, the Indian Tamils and the Tamil-speaking Muslims.
Tamil intransigence, arrogance and the false sense of superiority intertwined
as a solid force of Tamil hate politics to keep Jaffna as an exclusive domain
for the SJV elite.
In Jaffna there was no space for non-SJV politics.
Jaffna did no embrace socialism, Marxism, Maoism, liberalism,
people-oriented humanism and not even deep-rooted Gandhism which was
superficially fashionable for a brief while. There was no other brand of
politics other than SJV-driven hate politics, derived from the San-kill-i
culture. As seen in history the San-kill-i culture came with the emphasis on
the kill” part of it. The Tamil political culture hit the lowest depths when
the Tamil branch of the Catholic Church embraced and promoted openly SJV hate
politics which morphed into Prabhakaranism. Under the Vellala suzerainty of
colonial times the Church maintain the supremacy of the Vellalas by allocating
the front pews for the Vellalas and the back seats for the low-castes.
Presumably, they must have thought that Jesus was a Vellala!
It was this brand of hate politics that came down like
a devastating juggernaut and destroyed peaceful co-existence among all
communities in the post-Independent period. It was this brand of hate politics
that was unleashed on the Muslims in full measure. The 20th century
horrors of the blood-thirsty Tamil supremacists are recorded in graphic details
by Prof. Rajan Hoole, a latter-day Mayilvakanam. He had to run away from Jaffna
and seek shelter in the Sinhala South because intrepid intellectuals like him
were hated by the Prabhakaranists, the successors to the SJV supremacists. .
His reports records in minute detail what happened to the Muslims under the Pol
Potist regime of Prabhakaran. In Report No.11 of the University Teachers for
Human Rights (Jaffna) (15th April, 1993), titled Land, Human
Rights & The Eastern Predicament, he painstakingly records the
unending atrocities faced by the Muslims. The anti-Muslim violence came from
the San-kill-i culture of hate revived and enforced ruthlessly by the Tamil Pol
Pot. The Tamil hate culture reached its barbaric peak under the iron-fist of
Prabhakaran and next to the Tamils (he killed more Tamils than all the other
forces put together – S.C. Chandrahasan, son of S. J. V. Chelvanayakam) it is
the Muslims who faced the full force of its violence and hate
In the attempt to ethnically cleanse the North and the
East the San-kill-i political leadership did not hesitate to drive the Muslims
out of Jaffna and it is estimated that 75,000 Muslims had to flee with only
their clothes on their backs. Without meaning to excuse or justify any kind of
violence, compare that to Digana and Aluthgama. In these instances, leaders of
both sides rushed to put out the fires before it could burst into an
uncontrollable conflagration. But there was no room for accommodation and flexibility
in the hate culture of the Tamils.
The Apocalyptic horrors were recorded Prof. Hoole. In
chapter after chapter of his Report 11 he documents the numerous acts of
persecution, oppression, hate, expulsion, abduction, racist taxation,
discrimination, shooting of Muslim farmers who went to cultivate their fields
in the morning and never returned home etc. The worst, of course, was the
massacre of the Muslims at the Kattankudy mosque. The following paragraph is
representative of the hate politics of the Tamils directed against the Muslims.
Quoting the report of the Federation of Muslim Mosques
and Institutions (FMMI) of Kattankudy submitted to the UNCHR he wrote: The
report gives details of loss of life and property among Muslims of Kattankudy
from 1985 to October 1991 and gives us an insight into their feelings of
alienation and anxiety: 1985 – 20 lives lost due to violence, 1986 – 10,
1987/88- 85, 1989 – 10, 1990 –222, Kurukkalmadam massacre – 72, Mosque massacre
– 104, 1991 (up to October) – 22,Isolated cases and abduction – 10. Total –
379.” (sic). (p, 49, Ibid).
He added: The 379 killed in Kattankudy (a
predominantly Muslim town) were nearly all killed by their Tamil brethren who
hope to dominate a political entity in which Muslim have to live. This is a
serious complication (pp,.49 -50, Ibid)
When the FMMI presented their report to UNCHR our
foreign-funded moralists like Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu did not jump from
Western city to city demanding that the LTTE should forthwith stop the killing
of Muslims. Nor did any moral panjandrums in USA and UK move any resolutions in
the UNCHR to bring the Tamil Pol Potists to book. Oh, no!
Applying morality on a universal scale is expensive,
especially if it is promoted by those who make a living out of
counting the corpses of the victims of their fake theories for peace and
human rights.
Media
terror is just as bad as suicide terrorism because they spread lies and
distortions and are paid for it too. Media is often a governments best friend
to steer blame from its own failures and divert blame to the easy prey. Sinhala
Buddhists maybe the majority but they don’t have the World Council of Churches
to come to their support or the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to threaten
sanctions! So Sinhala Buddhists will ever be the scapegoats. 9 rich educated
Muslims carried out suicide missions in 3 churches and 3 hotels in the name of
their religion. The targets were Catholics and Tourists to affect the tourism
industry. Catholics did not take revenge inspite of over 250 deaths and
destruction to the churches. However, 3 weeks later some mobs attack various
towns in Gampaha and North Western province and the narrative relayed across
the world is that the ‘Sinhala Buddhists’ did it even without an investigation.
The narrative has been completely changed. Forgotten is that indoctrinated
Muslims attacked Catholic churches, forgotten is the daily findings of swords,
ammunition, military uniforms, drones and satellite equipment in Muslim homes
and mosques while UN and others who didn’t issue any statement regarding these
regular findings are suddenly sending envoys for an organized mob riot?
If
the organizers of the suicide missions expected to see a violent reaction
against Muslims after Easter Sunday attack, they were no doubt disappointed.
The people were however angry when it emerged that the government was well
aware of it and people’s anger increased with every contradictory statement
coming from President, PM and even Ministers who said their daddy told them not
to go to Church! The people’s anger worsened when police and army began an
island-wide search operation based on various tip offs to discover an
unbelievable amount of arms, swords, military uniforms etc and the suspects
handed over to the police being released as a result of Muslim politicians
firing calls for their release. When the Cardinal led the attack against the
government openly accusing it of virtual criminal negligence, the government
knew that it had not only lost Muslim votes but it was likely to be losing the
Catholic votes too. So what do the brains decide to do – take the path of
communal violence. A trick that never fails.
The
media was not too willing to highlight the historical feud between Catholics
& Muslims – stories sell better when the soft target is always Buddhists
and needless to say even foreign media knowing that 3 churches were the targets
could not refrain from plugging something anti-Buddhist. No story is complete
without punching the Buddhists! Its some psychological disorder they all
suffer.
The
government had been experimenting with ban on social media for obviously this
has become a curse to its existence. Social media helped government come to
power but the same social media was now attacking the government and people
were regularly debating and highlighting wrong doings something the government
knew was a major obstacle for a future political campaign. So what does a
government that finds social media a threat do – ban it and arrest a few people
for spreading ‘fake news’ or ‘sharing’ news to scare others of repercussions.
Would that mean the entire population ends up in prison? With social media now
well in control on the guise of being the champion of good governance, the
government was now running short of time and daily it was getting exposed.
People were beginning to worry about the PM allowing undue interference of
US-UK-EU and UN into internal affairs of Sri Lanka. The US vessels, US marines
and MCC agreement with foreigners working inside Temple Trees were travelling
into village ears. The people still valued China as a friend and did not want
Sri Lanka to be in the middle of superpower clashes which they perceived the PM
encouraging. The economic corridor too was beginning to be understood more
clearly.
In
the light of all this the May 9th revelation by MP Gammanpila in
Parliament shook the country and immediately raised whether the dissolution
decision could have been influenced. This was a major blow the one of the key
pillars of democracy and the disclosure of 9 names was a shocker.
Therefore,
the government needed to plan something quick. Communal riots was the last and
best resort. The government fired the first salvo – finance Minister suddenly
emerges on the very day of the attack to say ‘Sri Lanka is not a Sinhala
Buddhist country’ and goes on to say others are not second class citizens. So
the media was preparing people to lay blame on Sinhala Buddhists.
Planning
it in the province of the Opposition Leader’s electorate was probably to score
a brownie over him! Areas under attack included Kurunegala, Kuliyapitiya,
Hettipola, Bingiriy, Rasnayakapura, Kobeigane, Dummalasuriya, Minuwangoda,
Chilaw.
With regular news emerging that Muslim businessmen were pumping money to the Islamic jihadi groups promoting extremism, no one is aware of who these businessmen are. The Muslims interviewed in the villages under attack were clear that the mobs were not from their village and this is established by the fact that many Sinhala shops were also torched and destroyed. But why are the foreign envoys, UN officials and media not highlighting this or simply putting it as an insignificant footnote, something unimportant? Is this the unbiased reporting and work ethics that they are paid for?
The
below photos establish that the mobs attacked AFTER curfew was imposed. The
only people on the roads during a curfew is the military and police and anyone
else are there with the patronage of the government. This was July 1983
repeated. In 1983 it was the Tamils in 2019 it was the Muslims. 1983 UNP ruled.
2019 UNP is ruling. In 1983 it was a politically motivated attack in 2019 too
it was a politically motivated attack with multiple objectives to be attained –
passing the controversial new anti-terror act which is really to subvert
opposition, signing MCC which undertakes to do what US wants for a payment of
which will be reduced for payments for foreign officials, for US troops to be
grounded in Sri Lanka and many more treacheries all of which are being discussed
and agreed in secret as per the ‘transparency’ promised in 2015.
Most
of the shops destroyed in Minuwangoda were Sinhala Buddhist owned. EKKO
clothing shop belonging to a Sinhalese lady was burnt. If rioters came to attack Muslim shops for
Easter Sunday, why attack the wine stores and empty the liquor – liquor is
prohibited in Islam.
Even MP Ranjan Ramanayake whose electorate is Gampaha also said Sinhala shops were attacked.
Why
are the foreign envoys, foreign media and in particular the UN officials not
questioning the government. Clearly this was an organized attack. It was no
revenge attack. If it was a revenge attack then Catholics should be attacking
the Muslims. How did Buddhists certainly become the culprits? That is because
an election is close by and this government needs to divide the Sinhala
Buddhist vote base.
In
Minuwangoda the attackers arrived around 0730p.m. on 13th May and
the army had arrived some 2 hours later. Why did the government not order
troops in earlier?
It
is totally wrong to claim 13 May 2019 was an anti-Muslim riot, rioters destroyed
many Sinhala shops too. This was an organized attack for which the government
must be held accountable. Only the Government has served to gain by it. This
can be used to fast track many of the Governments hidden agendas all of which
does not serve any benefit to the citizens. Since 2015 the country has been
going down economically, corruption has been the highest, treacheries galore,
state apparatus has been misused and abused more than any time before, spending
has been sky high with government lavishly spending on itself, no development
work done, weakening national security, vilifying Sri Lanka’s war heroes and
intelligence apparatus, releasing LTTE and imprisoning armed forces on trivial
charges without filing cases against them. Allowing foreigners free intrusion
of internal systems – we don’t know who is entering or leaving the country
because every position of importance is either held by incompetent people or
people aligned to the enemy!
There is much that Sri Lankans now need to take stock of and realize that we can no longer trust this government with the country or our lives.
Shenali D Waduge
This is what remains of EKKO a shop owned by a Sinhalese
Even the President’s Wesak pardon list of 762
prisoners did not include Galabodaatte Gnaanasara Thero who is also certainly
qualified under the list of Crimes excluded in the gazette notice.
Ven Galabodaatte
Gnanasara Thero was jailed for the following reasons on August 9th
2018 for 19 years later committed to 6 years
1For shouting at the
presiding judge and lawyers as the accused military men were refused bail.
2 For threatening the wife
of the missing journalist Sandhya Eknaligoda (who was allegedly reported in the
press living with another Arabian woman in an Arab country)
3 Asking for a
Sinhala-Buddhist rule in this country
4 For demanding the release of an Accused Intelligence
Officer who had been remanded before.
Court sentenced him to four years Rigorous
Imprisonment each for the first two counts, and six years and five years
respectively for the other two Counts, totaling 19 years Rigorous Imprisonment.
These soldiers
have only carried out their duty by the State to save their Motherland, being
the first duty of any soldier. Thereby they successfully saved the Motherland from
the LTTE terrorists who carried out a brutal and savage war for 30 years for a separate
State called EELAM. Today we all owe our lives and the protection of the
country to them. Gnanasara Thera in my opinion has only aired out his pain on
behalf of the whole nation and had done his duty as a true Buddhaputra in
accordance with the hallowed tradition of a Monk in this country. Had the court
looked at this incident from that angle I am sure the court decision would have
been much milder. Could such a noble action and just shouting at a woman whose
husband has betrayed the nation be so serious to convict even a layman for 1
year RI is a moot question that needs to be seriously looked in to at least now
by the Law enforcing authorities. I have no doubt that all those parties who
were a party to this unfortunate situation will repent their whole life for
their decision.
On the other
hand it is high time that in all cases other than criminal, the fraternity of
Sangha must be vested with the power to hear and decide without dragging them
in robes to open court houses and thereby humiliating the Sangha
Isn’t it a disgrace and a shame too that the fraternity
of monks of this country has not taken up this issue strongly with the
President.
Is it the fear
for losing the Muslim votes or International pressure or both that prevented
the President declaring clemency on this patriotic Buddhist monk? Or should he
obtain permission from Assad Sali and Hisbulla, his trusted Governors to grant
pardon to this Thera even on the Wesak Full moon day, under the prevailing
political culture in this country
Justice to be
justice must not only be done but it must also appear to be justice done in the
public eye.
Court issued
orders to the Superintendent of the Prison of Welikada, to take charge of the
Accused Respondent forthwith, and after his recovery, proceed to the
implementation of the sentence imposed on him.
Now leaving
aside the court order as a judicial decision on which we are not expected to
comment, the whole nation ask the question from the President as to why he couldn’t
give this monk a special pardon or at least include his name in this unusually
long list of 762 who may have been jailed for good reasons. Certainly people of
this country would never have found fault with him as that would never have
been so bad in the public eye as the appointment of Hisbulla and Asad Sali
as Governors and keeping them in their
positions against wide public objections on account of their well- known treacherous activities against
the State.
First I wonder whether
this country has already ceased to be a Sinhala Buddhist country, as Mangala
declared the other day. Is it being ruled by a Sinhala Buddhist President and a
Sinhala Buddhist Prime Minister, as it had been done for millennia since 307
BC, I have my serious doubts.
Second, whether
it is ruled according to the wishes and aspirations of the Sinhala Buddhists
who form 75 % of the total population in spite of nearly 500 years of Western
colonial depredations and destructions.
Third, whether
it is run by a set of puppet rulers manipulated by extremist minority Tamils
and Muslims at home and the ex-colonial powers in the West.
Fourth whether
it is ruled by a set of Thuppias who are agents of the Western colonial
invaders who ruined this country from 1505 to 1948 and still ruling this country
indirectly through the henchmen they have left behind when the y left.
Fifth, whether we
could be called an Independent sovereign State at all as it is still run by
western oriented politicians who dispense justice under the vestiges of Roman
Dutch Law and English Laws which is completely alien to us and our indigenous
legal system and culture while at the same time ironically minority Tamils and
Muslims are given special privileges under Thesavalamei and Muslim Law.
Sixth whether
the Government is only a big joke manned by a stupid set of puppet rulers
representing the old colonial masters
As for me Rev
Galaboda atte Gnanasara falls in to the category of great monks Theraputthabhaya, Wariyapola Sumangala,
Kadahapola, Mohotiwatte Gunananda and Soma Thera, who had died for the Motherland
and Sasana and who decorates the annals
of history in this country.
In addition to this blunder I may also highlight here some of the irreligious actions this Government has taken in recent times Imprisoning more than 65 Buddhist monks on flimsy issues.
Charging Buddhist monks even for keeping an elephant calf in the Temple Disregarding the advice given by the Mahanayaka Theras of the Three Nikayas and other religious dignitaries like His eminence Malcolm Ranjith Fernando Publicly and openly declaring that this is not a Sinhala Buddhist country as said by its Finance Minister and not refuting it even by the President or the Prime Minister. Minister of Justice openly criticizing the Monks at the Ranaviru Commemorating day clearly demonstrate this anti-Buddhist attitude of the Present Government.
If this is the way how the present government has given the foremost place to Buddhism as enshrined in the Constitution, then I don’t have any faith or trust in this government at all to protect the Buddha Sasana any more I believe the whole nation will agree with me on this issue and teach all these politicians a good lesson at the next general election by dumping them in to the dustbin of history.
The other day I
once again got myself into one of those contemplative moods of mine, which is a
frequent occurrence. And since of late the frequency of it happening has seen
some increase owing in particular to I suppose the terrifying events that took
place on Easter Sunday and then what followed it.
However, this time
my mind suddenly veered off the track that usually runs through the familiar
landscape of politics, politicians, government and the governed and so on and
so forth. And then I must have dozed off in the process.
Then came the
apparition. It materialized in front of me in an almost tangible form with a
suddenness that took me by surprise.
Then its voice
rang out, which is neither loud nor low or a whisper nor a yell, but a kind of
an intonation; tell me my friend, is this not how your country is run? I
couldn’t understand what he meant. So I just lay on my reclining chair
transfixed.
Here it went.
Allegation is
often confronted with a negation, which is followed by a counter-allegation.
Instigation is often accompanied by investigation, which suddenly comes to a
premature termination. Accusation is more often than not forgiven and forgotten
and the accused granted emancipation. Inaction is portrayed somehow as a timely
reaction. Coalition is sought after for the purpose of
consolidation. Corruption has now turned into a tradition.
Presumption frequently proceeds verification. Veneration is often directed to
where it doesn’t belong and so is vilification. You are happy basking in vacillation
without resolution. Duplication is often presented as innovation. Demolition is
preferred to conservation by many”.
There were many
more ‘-tions’. And on and on, it went.
It must have been
just a 30-minute or so. And when I woke up from my slumber, it however felt
like much longer. Then I thought a bit more about the whole experience and to
my consternation, I came to realize that it was about the same anyway; the same
old and hilarious ‘Yahapalanaya’ drama that I get to see during my usual wanderings
through our political landscape. The only difference is that it was a much
shorter rendition of it.
Now, you too can
add a few of your own ‘-tions’, not to be outdone by my apparition.
Bangladesh marks the 15th anniversary of the anti-terrorist Rapid Action Battalion
Muslim-majority Bangladesh was born out of an explicitly secular and linguistic movement spearheaded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But it did not take long for the new born to show that it was Islamic” as well as Bengali”.
This was due to the failure of Bangladesh’s post-independence secular rulers to live up to their promises. With the failure of Mujib’s secular government, political Islam became the rallying point for the disgruntled.
Subsequently, unpopular military rulers seeking legitimacy strengthened political Islam by reviving and nurturing it. Pakistan also played a role in instigating and sustaining political Islam to get back Bangladesh which it lost in 1971.
Over time, political Islam became increasingly radical and terroristic. Successive governments in Dhaka were formally secular” but were bending over backwards to carry Islamist forces with them, giving them legitimacy in the process. And whenever the State asserted its modern secular character, Islamist radicals would unleash terrorism to make the government mend its ways.
The Islamists saw abjuring Islam in favour of a Bengali” ethno-linguistic identity as a mark of subservience to India which had been seeking a greater political and economic role in a country which it helped found by sending in its military in December 1971.
Over time, Islamism mixed with nationalism proved to be a potent political mix which governments found hard to fight.
Between January 2005 and December 2017, about 746 persons had fallen prey to Islamist terror and State counter-terror operations. According to a study, 91% of these ghastly incidents had taken place since 2013 when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League was trying to put Bangladesh back on its original secular track.
In 1977, before Hasina came to power, the constitution replaced secularism by absolute trust and faith in almighty Allah”. Military ruler Ziaur Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) fostered the notion that Bangladesh is Islamic. Between 1976 and 1979, Zia legalized religious political parties and allowed Islamists, who had worked with the Pakistani Army during the liberation war, to participate in government.
The Bangladesh Jamaat-e- Islami (BJeI), banned by Mujib, was able to publicly rejoin Bangladeshi politics in 1979. Gen. H.M. Ershad, the country’s second military dictator, made Islam Bangladesh’s state religion. He even gave cabinet positions to two BJeI war criminals”.
The world was unaware that a whole generation of Bangladeshis had grown up with no love for Pakistan or the Islamic movement prior to the formation of Pakistan in 1947
In 1990, democracy returned to Bangladesh. But it did not augur well for secularism. The BNP led by Gen. Zia’s widow, Begum Khaleda Zia, continued to cultivate and accommodate Islamic radicals. But this was vehemently opposed by the Awami League now led by Sheikh Mujib’s daughter Sheikh Hasina Wazed.
While the Battle of the Begums” raged, Bangladeshi militants returning from the Jihad” in Afghanistan added fuel to the fire. They teamed up with the al-Qaeda Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO). RSO came to Bangladesh along with the 200,000 persecuted Rohingyas from Myanmar. Pakistan’s ISI, waiting in the wings, tied up with BJeI to turn Bangladesh into a launching pad to stage attacks in neighbouring India.
BJeI and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the Jagrato Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) attacked Hindus, Ahmadiyas and Awami League workers.
The JMJB and JMB merged under the leadership of Sheikh Abdur Rahman and Siddiqur Rahman, known as Bangla Bhai” (Bengali Brothers). The Bangla Bhai became popular for providing instant justice. Mainstream politicians cultivated the Bangla Bhai” and ran protection rackets with them till the BNP government led by Prime Minister Begum Zia felt the need to control them. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) was set up to fight the menace.
In August 2005, the JMB set off 459 bombs simultaneously in 63 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts to push the country into adopting Sharia law. The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B), founded in 1992, issued death threats against the feminist authoress Taslima Nasreen, who had to flee from Bangladesh. It tried to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) staged many attacks in Bangladesh. Many Bangladeshis resident in the UK went to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State (IS). Adept at using sophisticated communication technologies, the IS influenced well educated and well-heeled young Bangladeshi Muslims.
The killers of 18 foreigners and two Bangladeshis in the up-market Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on July 1, 2016, were well-heeled students from Dhaka’s private North-South University. In 2009, despite the wide berth given by the predecessor BNP regime to Islamic radicals, Sheikh Hasina set up a War Crimes Tribunal to try persons who had committed war crimes during the liberation struggles as auxiliaries of the Pakistani army. There had been a mass student movement since 2007 seeking the trial of war criminals.
But the Jamaat-e-Islami, the main target of the trials, and human rights groups cried foul saying that the procedures did not accord with international norms. Apart from Pakistan which passed many resolutions against the trials, Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohammad and Turkish leader Erdogan appealed for clemency. But Sheikh Hasina was undeterred. The trials continued and many were sent to the gallows.
Hasina was adept at resisting foreign pressure. When the US put tremendous pressure to get Bangladesh to let an island be used as a US base, she put her foot down.
Hasina was undeterred even by the country-wide mayhem unleashed by the Jamaat because she had the support of Bangladeshi youth, including youth from the private universities. In 2013, the broad-based Shahbad movement backed her to the hilt, demanded capital punishment and a ban on the Jamaat.
Explaining this a Bangladeshi commentator said: The world was unaware that a whole generation of Bangladeshis had grown up with no love for Pakistan or the Islamic movement prior to the formation of Pakistan in 1947. These were young students and professionals born after 1971. Hasina was cued into this generation.”
An independent minded person, Hasina resisted the temptation to go along with the Western view that the Holey Artisan Bakery attack was the handiwork of the international lslamic State and not a local group. She sensed that attempts were being made to link up the massacre with the IS so that the Western agencies could enter the investigation process and infiltrate the Bangladeshi security set up. She therefore doggedly held on to the view that the massacre was a local job.
She refused to yield to pressure from the Bangladesh elite to release some of the suspects saying that law enforcement machinery could not be fettered.
To get the ramifications of the network which carried out the July 1, 2016 attack, and to avoid harassment of the public, Hasina appealed to families to inform the police of any missing persons or anyone moving about suspiciously in their neighbourhood. This unearthed information about more than 200 persons, which helped crack the case.
Hasina knew that people were tired of terrorism and governments which tolerated and fostered radicalism and helped radicalism metamorphose into terrorism. Therefore her appeal for Help to Help You” had the desired effect. People came out with useful information.
The Prime Minister tackled the drug menace in the same way. She knew drug traffickers were terrorizing locals and forcing them to tolerate their nefarious activities. That was why, despite the international cry over extra-judicial killings, there was no local resistance or disapproval of the strong arm methods she used.
Political commentators predicted that Hasina and her Awami League would lose the last elections because of human rights violations” under her rule since 2009. But she won handsomely. The opposition BNP was in disarray and did not contest and the Jammat had gone into hiding as it had lost its base.
Hasina knew that people were tired of terrorism and governments which tolerated and fostered radicalism and helped radicalism metamorphose into terrorism
However, Hasina is not oblivious to the fact that Bangladesh is an Islamic country and the hold of religion is strong in the rural areas. Therefore she has come to an understanding with Hefazat-e-Islam which runs thousands of Qawmi Madrasahs.
The Hefazatis preferred to the Jamaat because unlike the Jamaat, the Hefazat was not against the struggle for freedom from Pakistan.
Hasina yielded to the Hefazat’s demand for recognition of their certificates for government jobs. She removed from the Supreme Court, a statue of justice showing a lady in a sari holding the scales of justice, which the Hefazat said was un-Islamic. She did not allow writer Tasleem Nasreen to come back to Bangladesh as she had ridiculed Islam. She criticized secular bloggers for going overboard in their posts.
Hasina has mastered the art of balancing secularism and Islam and has curbed radicalism and terrorism with a mixture of guile and firmness.
Is the Joint Opposition (JO) confident of punching above its weight? It has handed over to the Speaker a no-faith motion against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. That the JO lacks a working majority in the House is only too well known. After all, that was why it failed to retain the power it grabbed from the UNP, late last year. It is only wishful thinking that the JO will be able to secure the passage of the no-faith motion under its own steam if its rivals leap to Bathiudeen’s defence. If so, why has it sought his ouster in this manner?
Both the UNP and the SLFP are eyeing what is described as Bathiudeen’s block vote. Therefore, President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe are wary of ordering a probe into serious allegations against Bathiudeen.
SLFP MP and General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera was questioned by the police, the other day, over the recent anti-Muslim riots, in the North Western Province; he was seen transporting a group of persons who, his opponents said, had been involved in mob violence. He has denied any wrongdoing and asked the police to put the record straight. If it can be proved that he was on the wrong side of the law, he should be punished.
The police must explain why they have not probed serious allegations against Bathiudeen and Eastern Province Governor M. L. A. M. Hizbullah. Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake himself has revealed that Bathiudeen made an intervention on behalf of a terror suspect. This is a very serious issue that warrants a thorough investigation. The suspect concerned has been handed over to the Terrorism Investigation Division. The TNA has called for a probe against Hizbullah. Strangely, the government, which is at the beck and call of the TNA, has not heeded that call.
Is it that Bathiudeen and Hizbullah are ‘more equal’ than Dayasiri before the law?
The no-faith motion against Bathiudeen is a smart move by the JO. Allowing the JO to secure the passage of the motion is the last thing the UNP wants. The UNP will be compelled to vote against the motion, for two reasons. It will be dependent on Bathiudeen’s votes at the next presidential election, and cannot afford to allow the JO muster a majority in the House. If the UNP defends Bathiudeen, it will incur the opprobrium of those who are out for his scalp. The Army Commander’s revelation has aggravated the UNP’s woes. Whether its MPs representing the areas, affected by the Easter terror, will dare defend anyone accused of having links to the National Thowheed Jamaath remains to be seen.
The SLFP is also in a similar predicament. If it supports the no-faith motion against Bathiudeen, it will not be able to woo the latter at the upcoming presidential polls, and pressure will mount on it to take action against Governor Hizbullah as well. President Sirisena, who is planning to seek a second term, may be reluctant to antagonise Bathiudeen. The SLFP and the President will incur the wrath of those who are demanding action against Bathiudeen if they defend him.
The JO has failed to secure Bathiudeen’s backing, and that was the main reason why the hurriedly formed Sirisena-Rajapaksa administration collapsed, last October. Bathiudeen benefited immensely from President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government, which gave him free rein, but he decamped before the last presidential election. The JO is also trying to settle old political scores with Bathiudeen through the no-faith motion.
If the UNP and the SLFP oppose the no-faith motion against Bathiudeen, the JO will be able to cast them in a bad light. The TNA and the SLMC will also be in a dilemma. They will have to make their position on the issue known soon.
As things stand, heads the JO wins, tails its opponents lose. Will the SLFP, the TNA and SLMC be able to extricate themselves from the no-faith trap?
