A previously little-known group called the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) is being accused of having carried out the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan officials pinned the blame on the NTJ at a news conference on Monday.
Until Monday, when the Sri Lankan government spokesman mentioned its name, very few people had heard of the NTJ.
The group is believed to have splintered off from another hardline Islamist group in the country, the Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamath (SLTJ).
Archbishop of Sri Lanka Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has urged not to hold services at Catholic churches until further notice.
The Cardinal stated this during a press conference held today (24) following a discussion with the ambassadors of Muslim-majority countries in Sri Lanka.
He has also urged to work with peace considering the situation prevailing in the country.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said that all parties should ensure that the Muslim community is not being harassed at this moment.
Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera Courtesy The Daily Mirror
Opposition MP Dinesh Gunawardane yesterday told the government that it should not by any circumstance allow foreign security forces to enter this country at this moment.
He also urged the government to conduct an investigation into the issuance of Visas to thousands of foreigners under lax conditions.
He told parliament that investigations into the matter should be carried out immediately and said it was pointless asking the IGP to do so.
MP Gunawardane said the government failed to act on information given by the intelligent services and added that it could not get away from the responsibility by claiming that it was not aware of such an attack.
“Information was there on extremist groups since 2016. The Government was well aware of it. It cannot get away saying that it was not aware,” he said.
He said if the government could not defeat this extremist terrorist groups, it should quit and hand over this country to someone who could do it.
He said the country could not be governed when there was a crisis between the President and the Prime Minister and stressed the need to pay way for a new government. (
Six hundred Pakistanis, who had been living within the Negombo Police Division owing to deportation from Pakistan, have been taken into the Ahmadiyya Community Center in Nittambuwa, stated Ada Derana reporter.
Reportedly, the relevant Pakistan nationals had been deported from Pakistan due to the war situation in Pakistan via the United Nations.
However, the owners of the houses they had been temporarily living in, had asked them to leave the house owing to the recent Easter Day attacks, stated Ada Derana reporter.
Accordingly, upon a complaint received by the Negombo Police regarding the safety of the deported Pakistanis, they have been escorted to the Community Center.
Ada Derana reporter further stated that funds have been received from the United Nations and the Pakistan government for the support of these deported Pakistanis.
On Easter Sunday Sri
Lanka suffered suicide bombers attacks
which resulted over 300 deaths. At least 45 children were among those that
perished. The Isis has
claimed responsibility for these suicide bombings. Thesesuicide bombings
are the results of religious fundamentalism.
Suicide terrorism is
not a modern phenomenon. Suicide attack is an ancient practice with
a modern history. The threat of suicide bombing
attacks has escalated worldwide (Almogy et al., 2004).
As described by
Horowitz (2015) a suicide bombing is an attack where the death of the bomber is
the means by which the attack is accomplished. Suicide bomber
could be defined as an individual carrying high explosive device, attached to
his/her body and must be recognized as a separate medicolegal entity (Ruwanpura et al., 2008).
Martyrdom operations
are the targeted use of self-destructing humans against noncombatant typically
civilian populations to effect political change (Atran, 2003). The suicide
terrorism is an operational method in which the very act of the attack is
dependent upon the death of the perpetrator (Boaz, 2000). The attacker does not expect to survive the
mission.
The literature on
suicide terrorism has been dominated by political and social
theories (Sheehan, 2014). Psychological, social and political forces
contribute to suicide terrorism. Often collective identity motivates their
terrorist behavior. Indoctrination is a unique feature of suicide
terrorism (Grimland, Apter, & Kerkhof, 2006). Also group dynamics play a
major role (Jayatunge, 2008). Although religion is not a single, simple causal
factor in terrorist violence, religious elements often feature strongly in the
belief systems associated with terrorist violence(Rogers
et al., 2007). Miller (2006) states that psychological and religious dynamics
are often associated with suicide terrorism. In addition the cultures of
martyrdom is a contributing factor in suicide operations (Hafez, 2007).
The psychology of suicide terrorism is complex. The Suicide
attackers do not operate in a vacuum (Jayatunge, 2008). Suicide bombing is the result of a
highly complex interaction between many forces (Grimland et al., 2006).Suicide
terrorism is strategically planned, rather than randomly performed by
individual fanatics (Kao & McAlister, 2018). For suicide terrorists personal identity, which has
been shattered by helplessness, shame, and humiliation, is replaced by group
identity (Volkan, 1997). Suicide bombing are best understood when analyzed
on personality level, an organizational level, and an environmental level.
Suicide bombers have
common psychological features such as isolation, feelings of emptiness, cold
rationality, a lack of empathy, and a lust for martyrdom and death (Marazziti
Det al., 2018). Townsend (2007) hypothesized that suicide bombers are not truly
suicidal and should not be viewed as a subgroup of the general suicide population.According to Townsend (2007)
suicide is associated with psychopathology, and suicide terrorists do not
exhibit overt psychopathology. Furthermore suicide terrorism has murderous
intent.
There are connections
between mental illness and terrorism (Weatherston
& Moran, 2003). Psychiatric disorders such as depression and PTSD are
higher among the suicide bombers (Sheehan, 2014). Suicide bombers can commit an
extreme form of violence without any remorse.
All ethnic and cultural groups within society are not
equal and therefore need not be treated in the same way. All people do not hold
the same values. All those who are privileged to have Sri Lanka was their
home, should be aware of the fact that the foundation of our nation, its
societal norms and values originate from the Sinhala Buddhist heritage, which
has a history of over 2200 years in this island. Whether we choose to live as
Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Malay or Burger, or as Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims,
Christians or atheists, our right to do so is derived from this heritage and
associated way of life. It should be well remembered that in spite of attempts
by European colonial powers for over four hundred years, to undermine our
nation’s indigenous culture, and also, in spite of serious challenges faced by
our country during the decades of Tamil terrorism, the fundamental elements of
our Sinhala Buddhist national culture prevailed. That gave our nation its
distinct identity and character. It is a well evident fact that our nation was
able to confront these vicious forces and subdue them, owing to the courage,
dedication and sacrifices made patriotic Sinhala Buddhists.
Islamic community in Sri Lanka is a small
non-indigenous minority amounting to about 9% of the total population. Despite
their small numbers they enjoy many special privileges. In recent years, with
their new found petro dollars, it is noticeable from their attitude and
actions, that some extremist Muslims in our country are posing a threat to the
norms and values of our national culture and way of life.
It was an admirable characteristic of the Sinhala
Buddhists, from historic times, to have accommodated without prejudice, in
their country various non-indigenous ethnic and religious groups of people such
as Muslims, Malays and Tamils, who settled down in our country at different
times in the past, for various purposes.
Non-indigenous
minority communities such as the Muslims should feel morally obliged to
reciprocate the generosity and cordiality accorded to them by the dominant
mainstream Sinhala Buddhist community, and adapt themselves to the norms and
values of this mainstream of the country where they have chosen to live.
Whatever discord and conflicts between the mainstream and the
minorities in recent decades, can be largely attributed to extremist and
parochial attitudes of ethnic and religious minorities. These undesirable
developments were the outcome of extremist views of these minorities with
short-sighted and misguided leaders having their own hidden agendas for their
own benefit.
There is clear evidence of disregard and disrespect on
the part of most Muslims, for the Buddhist cultural heritage of our
country. Muslims have been responsible for the destruction of archeological
remains and historic cultural monuments in areas inhabited by them, especially
in the Eastern region of the country. The fundamentals of ‘Islam’ that are
widely propagated by Muslims especially those pertaining to attitude towards
non-Muslims, have serious negative implications as far as the national culture
is concerned. Peaceful coexistence of different communities and the democratic
principles and rule of law that form the basis of social organization in our
country appear to be threatened by the divisive attitudes and covert actions of
Muslim extremists.
The
younger generation of Muslims are being brainwashed with extremist Islamic
fundamentalism, in ‘Madrasas or exclusively Muslim schools that have sprung up
in the country in recent years. The fundamentals of ‘Islam’ that are widely
propagated in these Madrasas have serious negative implications as far as
the national culture is concerned. The younger generation of Muslims are being
brainwashed with these extremist Islamic beliefs and practices in their
exclusively Muslim schools.
Their new male and female attire displays their desire
to look different and to be exclusive and separate from the nation’s
mainstream. This polarization tendency of the Islamic community is
self-imposed. It is definitely not because they feel marginalized.
This divisive spirit of Muslims is owing to the
influence of Islamic teachings to keep away from non-Muslims who are considered
as inferior to Muslims. The Koran forbids Muslims to closely associate
non-Muslims. Islam has dualistic ethics with one rule for Muslims and one rule
for non-believers and there is no exception to this rule. Why these extremist Muslims want members of their
community to have a common attire and to look different from others is a big
question. However, this has a divisive effect on society.
Islam’s teachings say that non-Muslims are
inferior to Muslims. To closely associate non-Muslims is forbidden or ‘haram’
according to the Koran. Islam has dualistic ethics with one rule for Muslims and
one rule for non-believers who form the majority of Sri Lankans. There is no
exception to this rule. Most Muslims do not
appear to be interested in integrating with other communities, perhaps because
assimilation is not permitted under Islamic Shariah law.
The
rules of Islam govern politics, marriage and the day-to-day lives of its
followers. In fact, Islam is a political ideology where the church and state
are not separate. Under the circumstances, one cannot expect Muslims to develop
a sense of patriotism and national pride in a predominantly non-Muslim country
such as ours. Our people are well aware of Muslims of Sri Lanka cheering
Pakistan at cricket matches played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
How many of us, especially those living in Sri Lanka are aware of the
fact that Halal is a most repulsive and horrendous practice that involves
extreme form of abuse and cruelty towards animals? Halal is a gruesome
method where the animals are tied down and their throats slashed, letting their
blood ooze out slowly from the animal’s body and making animals die on their
blood, a slow, lingering and agonizing death. What is most horrendous is
that this torturous practice takes place while the animals are desperately
struggling for their lives. It is a well evident fact that these animals are
conscious of what is happening to them. This is a most sickening and inhuman
way of killing animals. It is a practice that should not be tolerated in any
civilized society.
In a society such as ours where Buddhists predominate, and where
non-violence towards all living beings is a fundamental tenet, practices of
this nature cannot and should not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Animal welfare has been a tenet of the rulers of our nation from very early
times, from the 3rd century BCE, when King Devanampiyatissa ruled
the country. This was in-keeping with the declaration of the Buddha in the
Cakkavatti Sihanada Sutta (Digha Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka) that an ideal or
virtuous ruler of a nation or ‘Cakkavatti King” will give protection and
shelter not only to human beings, but also to birds and beasts. It was this
king, over 2200 years ago, who established the world’s first Bird and animal
sanctuary in Sri Lanka. Since this time, the principle of animal welfare
prevailed in our country until the arrival of European colonial powers,
starting with the ruthless Catholic Portuguese invaders, about at the beginning
of the 16trh century. Besides hunting animals as a sport, the slaughtering of
animals as a vocation started with the entry of Christianity and Islam to Sri Lanka.
The resurgence of Buddhism is a well evident development
in the country in recent years. It is an opportune time to take action, on the
part of the nation’s Buddhist leadership – lay and ordained, to develop a
well-conceived policy against cruelty to animals, to save our animals
from ‘terrorism’ meted out to them by some quarters of people in
our country.
Muslims are well known to be running successful
businesses in predominantly Sinhala majority areas with the Sinhala people as
their customers. They are involved in wealth generating employment connected
with tourism and travel. The household income of Muslims far exceeds
those of ordinary Sinhala people. The per capita income of the Muslim community
is far higher than that of the Sinhala majority community.
It is a pity that the Muslim leaders and successful
individual in general, have shown greater interest in furthering the interests
of the Muslim community and not the general public as a whole. It is time that
Muslims invested more on hospitals, schools and other national social welfare
activities and contributed tangibly for infrastructure development activities
that benefit everyone and not necessarily the Muslim community.
It is time that Muslim establishments refrain from
exclusively hiring Muslims, especially for responsible positions in their
establishments. There have been many instances of Muslim encroachment of
places that are of Buddhist historic value, and the destruction of Buddhist
monuments and items of archeological value in the Eastern Province in
particular. This definitely has to stop. If Muslims are involved in the
illicit drug trade as often reported in the media, this is a national crime and
has to stop. There has been much discussion in recent times about the deceitful
and exploitative nature of the halal’ business venture of Muslims. Also, the
allegation of various covert practices to increase the Muslim population at the
expense of the Sinhala population has received much publicity in recent times.
Muslims should consider it their duty to participate
more actively in national events such as the National day festivities and other
important national events and international events as Sri Lankans and cheer Sri
Lanka and rejoice in their international attainments in all fields including
cricket and sports in general. The indigenous cultural norms and values
upon which this nation is founded should be well understood and respected by
all citizens of this country, irrespective of their religious or other
affiliations.
Most importantly, there are no restrictions in Sri
Lanka for the construction of mosques in predominantly Sinhala areas. It
is a well known fact that Muslim countries do not permit even the display of a
Buddha image, let along building Vihares. In activities connected with Muslim
mosques, especially in early morning prayers using load speakers, the Muslims
should pay more attention to the comforts and conveniences of the non-Muslim
neighbors.
It was not long ago that the exclusively Muslim, religion-based
political party – the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and several Muslim civil
society groups opposed the construction of Buddha’s statues on the southeast
coastal areas. These were predominantly Buddhist areas in the
recent past, where Buddhist historic monuments and important archeological
remains abound and these are some of the cultural wealth of the nation
Prime
Minister Imran Khan’s two-day official visit to Iran is certainly going to
bring the two neighbouring countries more close to each other. Pakistan and
Iran have a very long history of cordial relationship. Iran was the ever first
country to recognize Pakistan’s sovereign status after its independence in
1947. Moreover the Shah of Iran was the first head of state that paid an
official visit to Pakistan. According to a survey conducted by the PEW Research
Center, Pakistan is a country where Iran is viewed positively. The conclusion
report of that survey says, Polls have consistently shown that a very high
proportion of Pakistanis view their western neighbor Iran positively.” But in
spite of all this cordiality, things have not always been very good between
these two countries and ‘credit’ of creating rather ‘encouraging’
misunderstandings between Iran and Pakistan certainly goes to the Indian agents
of R&AW who have ever been very active in the bordering area of the two
countries. On both sides this area is known as Baluchistan; on Iranian side
this area comprises of 180,726 km² and a population of 2,775,014, whereas on
Pakistani side the total area of Baluchistan is 347,190 km2 and population is
12,344,408. Baluchistan is a treasure land on both sides having immeasurable
mineral deposits of Chromite, Copper, Lead, Iron, Zinc, Titanium, Manganese and
Gold. On Pakistan’s side reserves of Copper and Gold were discovered in
district Chaghai at Saindak and Rekodiq. Experts say that the deposits of Gold
at Saindak and Rekodiq are of finest quality.
In short the mountains of Baluchistan are simply heaps of gold and other
precious minerals and these minerals are making every one’s mouth water. By
killing innocent people in Baluchistan sometimes in the name of sectarianism
and sometimes in the name of racial identities, the agents of R&AW are trying
to give the world an impression that there is no writ of the government of
Pakistan in that region. When the security agencies start taking seriously
strict action against such culprits, the agents of R&AW sitting in
different western and Indian media houses start a blame game against the
security agencies of Pakistan.
A
few days back on 18th of April, more than fifteen terrorists
camouflaged in Frontier Corps uniform barricaded the road and stopped four
buses traveling to Gwadar from Ormara on the Makran Coastal Highway,
Baluchistan. They checked the identity cards of all the passengers and off
loaded fourteen of them who in fact belonged to the security forces of Pakistan.
They were made to stand in a queue and then all shot dead. It was reported that
the terrorists had come there from the Iranian side of Baluchistan and after
‘performing’ this massacre they ran back to the area they belonged to. As the
terrorists had camouflaged themselves in the uniform of the Frontier Corps, it
is very much obvious that they simply wanted to give an impression that this
cowardly act was done by the security personnel of Pakistan. Though BRAS, an
alliance of three terrorist organizations has claimed responsibility for this
terrorist act but still things are not very much clear. But one thing is very
much clear that the terrorists had come from the Iranian area and returned
there after completion of the task assigned. The foreign office of Pakistan has
written a letter to the Iranian Embassy which says, The information about the
hubs of these Baloch terrorist organizations in Iran, having training camps and
logistics bases across the border, was shared with Iranian intelligence in the recent
past, and on a number of occasions earlier. Unfortunately, no action has been
taken by Iran in this regard, to date.” The letter further says, Killing of 14
innocent Pakistanis by terrorists groups based in Iran is a very serious
incident that Pakistan protests strongly. Pakistan awaits Iran’s response to
its request for action against these groups based in Iran, whose locations have
been identified by Pakistan a number of times.”
Whatever
is happening there in Baluchistan has a direct link with the CPEC, with Gwadar
Deep Sea Port Project and the recently discovered huge oil reserves close to
the Iran border located 230km of Karachi’s offshore. Hu Weijia said reporting
in the Global Times, Pakistan may soon hit the oil jackpot, and that will be
good news for not only the country itself but all of South Asia as well as
China and Gulf nations.” According to different media reports, US oil giant
Exxon Mobil and Italy’s ENI have been involved in drilling process since
January 2019. Experts say that on one hand these oil reserves would prove
another CPEC like game changer for Pakistan and on the other hand these
reserves would play a very important role in bringing the South Asian countries
closer. This closeness would certainly bring a new spring of peace and
prosperity in the region. Other than Mobil and ENI, there are so many other
international companies which are willing to be a partner in different projects
related to digging of the ‘oil-wells’. Experts are of the opinion that if
Pakistan succeeds in attracting more companies to the project, it would
certainly help Pakistan in fighting its present financial crisis. In short, it
is being predicted that in near future Pakistan is going to gain a new
identity; the identity of a leading oil producing country. It seems that some
of the neighbouring countries are taking this new expected identity of Pakistan
as a threat and a challenge to their own existence.
Historically, Muslims have gone to great
lengths, even waging wars, to impose Islam, their version of what they deem to
be the one and true way. The attitude and position of ‘exclusivism’ adopted by
Muslims, that Islam is the only true religion and rejecting the legitimacy of
other faith traditions, does not help in developing a spirit of religious pluralism
in society. The principle of ‘one truth, one religion’ or Exclusivism” lies at
the heart of Islam. For the Muslims, the teaching in Islam represent the ‘best
path’ and their egocentric attachment to their religion obstructs them from
seeing the value of other religious traditions. They will not accept the
pluralistic perspective of ‘many truths, many religions’.
It is time that Muslims of Sri Lanka,
especially their leaders realize that without developing a genuine spirit of
inter-religious understanding or a spirit of religious pluralism, there is no
hope for the development of harmony based on true interreligious understanding.
From the Buddhist point of view, there is tremendous diversity among sentient
beings and individuals and groups find different ways of approaching and
seeking spiritual development. This standpoint allows one to develop a sense of
appreciation of all faith traditions.
From the Buddhist point of view, the belief in
Allah with its emphasis on the idea of a ‘first cause’ that in itself is
uncaused, amounts to falling into extreme absolutism, a view that obstructs the
attainment of enlightenment. If one believes that the entire cosmos,
including the sentient beings within it, is the creation of one all-powerful
and compassionate Allah, then, the inescapable consequence is that other faith
traditions are also Allah’s or God’s creation. If this is not the case, then
Allah is not omnipotent or the implication being that although these other
faiths are ‘false ways’, Allah was incapable of stopping their
emergence. If one maintains that although Allah or God is perfectly
capable of preventing the emergence of these ‘false ways’ but he chooses not to
do so, then one rejects Allah’s or God’s all-embracing compassion. This is
because, if Allah is all-powerful and compassionate, why did he choose to
exclude millions of His own children, from following the so-called ‘false ways’
that would lead to their damnation? So the logic of monotheism in Islam, the
standard version that attributes omnipotence, omniscience, and all-embracing
compassion to Allah, inevitably entails recognition that the world’s many
religious traditions are in one way or another related to Allah’s or God’s
divine intentions for the ultimate well-being of His children. This means that,
as a devout follower of Allah, one must accord respect, and if possible,
reverence to all religions.
The highly tolerant nature of the large
majority of Buddhists of Sri Lanka should not be taken for granted.They are becoming increasingly
aware of the various forms of threats to which they are subject without good
reason, and
as proven repeatedly in their nation’s long history of foreign aggression and
misdemeanors, they will rise to the occasion when necessary, to save their Buddhist
norms and principles forming the foundation of the national culture of their
nation, their only motherland.
Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (SPUR) NSW Inc Australia
Our Society expresses its
profound and heartfelt sorrow on the senseless killing of innocents in Sri
Lanka. Our thoughts are with the families and persons affected by the deaths,
grievous injury and destruction of property by terrorists who have caused fear
and terror in the people of Sri Lanka and to the visitors to the island.
We give our condolences to
the Christians who had been targetted on their Holiest Day of Easter Sunday
whilst at prayer with sacred thoughts and goodwill at heart. This is a heinous
crime our Society condemns unreservedly.
Our Society has been in the
forefront of anti-terrorism in the 30 years of terrorism, conflict and the
carnage in Sri Lanka which ended in 2009. Such an ending was possible due to
the selfless life sacrifices made by members of our valiant defence forces. We
will continue to assist in Sri Lankans to overcome the scourge of terrorism foisted
on them once again this Easter Sunday.
Our Society also condemns
multiple policy weaknesses of the present government in Sri Lanka that has
contributed to the carnage. The government has deliberately let the guard down
from 2015 in Sri Lanka even when surrounded by a world of enhanced extremist
ideology, expansionist ethnic and religious greed, indoctrination through
re-constructed histories, fake news, malicious propaganda, uncontrolled
undisciplined social media and by open terrorism.
The government of Sri Lanka
has again started bending backwards to please terrorist fronts who manipulate
and operate through national and international agencies both government and
non-government. Our security forces had been belittled, then witch-hunted time
and again, and its moral broken and almost equated to terrorists themselves.
Our intelligence agencies treated step-motherly, politicised, disbanded or
their funding cut.
In this time of great
sorrow let us pray and wish for the speedy recovery of all injured, the
recovery from physical, mental and emotional damage caused to themselves and to
those near and dear. Our respect and thoughts lie with the three members of the
security forces and their families for the selfless sacrifice made in
apprehending the suspects to this crime. It is once again time for those who
deliberately forgot the security forces to reflect their undeniable worth and
valour. Our thoughts are also with all Sri Lankans and others affected by these
barbaric acts.
Let us also urge the
persons in power or had been in power in Sri Lanka, not to find escape routes
and hide behind flimsy excuses being made to the citizens, but to reflect upon
their own deliberate actions in the past few years that contributed to this
debacle, and take responsibility like leaders.
They will need to work for
the good of the people, and to immediately stop working for their own selves and
for their own political survival only.
Nimal Liyanage President Nihal Jayasinghe Secretary
The
Muslims of Sri Lanka should be aware of some important historic facts about Sri
Lanka, if they are serious on becoming a legitimate part of this great nation.
First, they should realize that, they are a small settler community in this
country amounting to about 9% of its total population. Prior to the 15th
century, the sole interest of the few male Arab merchants who visited the country
was trade and they were basically visitors to the country. Gradually with
passage of time, they married local woman and began settling down in some
coastal regions. It was only by the 15th century that the Muslims
became an established small minority community of the country. Therefore, it is
incorrect to claim that Muslims have been an established community in Sri Lanka
for over 1000 years. There is reference to Muslims and their settlements in Sri
Lanka only during the period immediately prior to the arrival of the Portuguese
in 1505 or the early 16th century. For all purposes, the history of Muslims in Sri Lanka as an established
community extends to about 600 years and definitely not 1000 years as claimed. The
on and off, arrival and departure of sea-faring male Arab merchants exclusively
for trade purposes in earlier centuries cannot be regarded as the beginnings of
the establishment of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka.
The
country was referred to early times as Heladiva or Helabima which means the
land or island of the Hela or Sinhala people. It was also referred to as
Thunsinhalay (Ruhunu-Pihiti-Maya) or Sinhalay as it was called during the
European colonial times (The Udarata Giwisuma or the Kandyan Convention of 1815
refers to the island as Sinhalay).
Muslims
should be aware of the fact that this country has an unbroken written or
recorded history that extends to a period exceeding 2500 years. According to
this history, this country has been a Sinhala Buddhist nation since the
introduction of Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE, in an unbroken
manner for over 2200 years. The cultural norms and way of life of this country
are an outcome of or are based on Buddhist principles.
The
Muslims of Sri Lanka should be aware of the historic fact that Buddhism was
brought to Sri Lanka about 1000 years before the origin of Islam, in the year
247 BCE. That is about three hundred years before the origin of
Christianity. It is noteworthy that at the time of origin of the Islam
religion in the early 7th century (622 CE?). the Sinhala were a
highly advanced community. Up to the 7th century, our country has
had 97 Sinhela Buddhist kings ruling the island.
The
1600 year long period from 3rd century BCE to the 13th
century CE, is referred to as the Golden era of our motherland, because of the
vast overall development seen in the country, economically, socially and
spiritually. Evidence of this prosperity is seen even today in the spectacular
network of irrigation tanks and canals considered in modern times as
engineering marvels, extensive farmland, and numerous Buddhist historic sites
some of which have been designated by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. All
these developments were the work of Sinhala Buddhists and took place in this
country, way before Islam was ever known to the world. Besides, this
development and prosperity was not attained through plunder, ruthless invasions
and atrocities like in the case of communities that professed theistic
religions such as Islam and Christianity. It is also noteworthy that this
country had some of the greatest of literary works, paintings, sculpture and
architecture, and historical chronicles written way before the Quoran and the Bible.
The world renowned historic chronicle, laying out the written history fo this
nation and of Buddhism in this country – the Mahawamsa was a product of this
period.
All
these developments occurred way before the origin or Islam and some of it before
the origin of Christianity. Our country was built on the Buddhist foundation
for over two thousand years and the national character and identity of our
motherland is Sinhela Buddhist. We were hospitable to permit non-indigenous
settlers such as Tamils, Muslims and Moors in our motherland, with the
expectation that they will integrate with our nation. They have no right
whatsoever to seek autonomy or to claim territorial rights. They have no right
to impose their religious or cultural norms and laws in our country which has
its own characteristic national cultural norms and a well established rule of
law. Muslims who live in Sri Lanka have no right to claim religious enclaves or
regional autonomy in Sri Lanka. It is highly treacherous and ungrateful of settler
communities to undermine the national culture, especially to destroy Sinhala
Buddhist cultural sites, monuments and other historic and archeological
treasures, and to impose Islamic norms such as the halal-halal stuff on the
non-Muslims of Sri Lanka, and to propagate visible Islamic cultural norms in
the open, that are damaging to the established visible cultural norms that
characterize the of the vast mass of people of this country.
EDWARD GUNAWARDENA Former Director of Intelligence
Going by the media, both print and electronic, there had been overwhelming intelligence on the impending disaster that took away over 300 lives and injured over 500. Perhaps for the first time even intelligence agencies of friendly nations such as MI6, Mossad, FBI and RAW have fed the local counterparts with ‘red hot stuff’ in intelligence parlance. Understandable indeed, with the IS and its affiliated cells becoming a clear and present danger to peaceful democracies.
How is it that intelligence on this calamity that was to cruelly affect the nation as never before in its recent history, was not conveyed to the President and the country?
Intelligence that portends severe damage to the country must necessarily come to the notice of the Secretary/Defence of the President. I say this with authority.
In the late seventies of the last century when I was the Director of Intelligence, it was my report that was discussed by the National Security Council, presided over by the President. In exceptional situations I was able to bypass the Secretary/Defence, meet the President direct and personally brief him.
The failure on the part of the President and the National Security Council to initiate the necessary precautions, and also to alert the nation, is an unpardonable blunder.
Even if intelligence alerts had been ignored, proper police action on the Wanathavilla detection would have prevented the carnage.
The bombshell exposure by Minister Kabir Hashim that the suspects had been released on the request of a ‘Top’ politician is shocking, to say the least.
The ‘Top’ politician, the police that investigated the case, and even Minister Kabir have a lot to answer. The Minister responsible for the release of the suspects is a traitor who has to be taken in to custody and subjected to due process.
Mr. President, even if you get rid of the IGP, please give his successor the liberty to carry out his duties according to the law without political interference.
The entire government would have resigned if a disaster like the Easter Sunday carnage had happened in any other country, but such things would never happen in Sri Lanka, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament, yesterday.
Participating in the debate on gazette declaring a state of emergency, Field Marshal Fonseka severely criticised both the government and the Opposition for allowing the deterioration of intelligence services.
He said that soon after the end of the war in 2009, he had proposed to build a national intelligence agency combining all intelligence units and divisions and to make it the best in South Asia. But no such thing had happened. Instead, the intelligence operatives had been used to stalk and surveillance of political enemies and their children, the former Army Commander said.
Fonseka said: “Governments that have been in power during the past 10 years need to take responsibility for this failure. Immediately after the war, the then government used intelligence services as instruments of political revenge. They used them to spy on us and our children. Even the new government did not do what should have been done.
“For example, I still depend on the security vehicle provided to me by the previous government. This government has done nothing to enhance my security though I am critical of terrorists and their activities. It is clear now that the National Security Council and Defence Secretary have neglected their responsibilities.
“As such, no one could escape responsibility for what happened.”
MP Fonsea pointed out that it had taken the LTTE years to mount large scale attacks like those carried out on Easter Sunday. “The LTTE’s terrorism was markedly different as it was an organisation fighting to divide the country. Its motives were political, whereas this group is pursuing a religious agenda.
“Whatever said and done, we are now back in an era where people’s lives are uncertain. We will see security barriers coming up again. Even those with beards will be subjected to more stringent checks. Tourists will stop coming and our economy will suffer. Even if a new government comes to power, it will face the same challenges.”
Fonseka questioned why some Opposition MPs were reportedly sitting in the National Security Council while both the PM and State Defence Minister were excluded. “There are some politicians who knew more about gambling and horses sitting at the National Security Council meetings while those who had the mandate to sit there are not invited. This is the sorry state prevailing with regard to national security today,” the Field Marshal said.
He also criticized the PM and State Defence Minister for not publicly raising the matter of their exclusion prior to the Easter Sunday atrocities. Even they could not escape responsibility for what happened, he added.
“I have nothing personal against the President, but he only returned to the country from Singapore at midnight on the day following Easter Sunday attacks. There were flights from Singapore which landed in Sri Lanka at 3.00pm and 9.00pm that day. Yet, he did not choose to take an earlier flight even after such an incident.”
Fonseka said he regretted that the intelligence reports on the impending attacks were seemingly not given even a fraction of the consideration given to information provided by Namal Kumara.
Reyyaz Salley, chairman of the Shaikh Usman Waliyullah mosque, told CNN that he had repeatedly attempted to warn the government about radical preachers in Sri Lanka, including Zahran Hashim, the alleged mastermind of the attacks.
They started to attack Sufi mosques and shrines (in 2010),” he said.
In February 2019, Salley sent police and intelligence officials videos that Hashim made, which Salley considered promoting jihad. He urged them to act upon it.
People have been brainwashed. He was talking about jihad. These are all very dangerous messages for the country,” he says.
If the authorities had taken our advice this could have been prevented.”
This news comes in the wake of the reports earlier this week that government officials had at least some warning of the attacks prior to Sunday but failed to act on them. At this time it’s still unclear what level of detail those warnings included so it’s not at all clear if the information the government did have would have been anywhere near sufficient to stop the attacks even if it had been acted upon. Additionally, it’s unclear if the sources of the information that the government had were sufficiently reliable to justify acting on them.
Notwithstanding this, though, the fact that the Sri Lankan government had those warnings in hand prior to the attacks and that it failed to act on that information, combined with the fact that it apparently failed to heed the warnings of Sri Lankan Muslims about the rise of Jihadist rhetoric from members of their own community is likely to lead to many questions about exactly how the government handled the situation and whether they are prepared to deal with what appears to be a growing Jihadist threat in the country.
This news comes at the same time that it is being reported that the group responsible for Sunday’s attacks was apparently planning a second wave of attacks:
A high-level intelligence official in Sri Lanka tells CNN that National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) was planning a second wave of attacks across Sri Lanka.
In a statement published by the ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq, the terror group said Sunday’s attackers were fighters of the Islamic State,” but its involvement in the attacks has not been proven.
The information was discovered in intelligence operations since Sunday’s explosions, according to the official.
If nothing else, this seems to be an indication that Islamic Jihadism is attempting to make inroads in parts of the Muslim world where, until now, it has not had any serious impact. That poses serious problems not just for Sri Lanka but also for nations such as India and Indonesia which, until now, have largely managed to avoid the rise of Jihadism among their Muslim population.
By Jeffrey Gettleman and Dharisha Bastians Courtesy The New York Times
Muslims seeking safety in a mosque in Negombo after the Easter bombings.
NEGOMBO, Sri Lanka — Auranzeb Zabi was cooking rice at a friend’s house on Wednesday when he heard angry shouting outside, looked out the window and saw a mob of Sri Lankan men carrying iron bars.
A day after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for suicide bombings that killed more than 350 people, Muslims in some areas of Sri Lanka were facing a rising backlash.
The mob surrounded the house. Mr. Zabi, a Pakistani refugee who has lived in Sri Lanka for two years, said he grabbed his two children, dashed into the yard and scampered over two walls before reaching an army checkpoint.
There the mob caught up with him, he said, and delivered a harsh beating, begging the soldiers to let them kill him. Hours later, Mr. Zabi still looked terrified.
When you face 100 people,” he said, and then his voice slipped and he couldn’t finish the sentence. His eyes hardened.Muslims from Negombo being relocated to another town.CreditAdam Dean for The New York Times
Muslims from Negombo being relocated to another town.CreditAdam Dean for The New York Times
They even beat my kids,” he said.
In the town of Negombo, where an attack on a church during Easter services killed more than 100 people, gangs of Christian men moved from house to house, smashing windows, breaking down doors, dragging people into the streets, punching them in the face and then threatening to kill them, dozens of residents said. No deaths were reported, but many Muslims fear it is only a matter of time.
If one of the bombers’ goals in slaughtering hundreds of innocent men, women and children at hotels and churches on Easter Sunday was to stir new religious hatred in Sri Lanka, that may now be happening in some areas.
Despite pleas for calm from religious leaders of all faiths, tensions are rising and fear is traveling across this island nation like a fast-moving shadow. Many Muslims in different parts of the country say they are lying low and avoiding public places.
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Until this week, Sri Lanka didn’t have much history of Christian-Muslim violence. The two faiths are small minorities: The country is about 7 percent Christian, 10 percent Muslim, 13 percent Hindu and 70 percent Buddhist.
Religion was not a driving factor in Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war, in which ethnic tensions between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils nearly tore the country apart.Until this week, Sri Lanka didn’t have much history of Christian-Muslim violence.CreditAdam Dean for The New York Times
During the war years, many Muslim men rose up the ranks of the government’s intelligence services because they were known for their fluency in Sri Lanka’s three major languages — Sinhala, Tamil and English.
But after the civil war ended in 2009, militant Buddhism began to surge. Some observers have said it was as if powerful forces in Sri Lankan politics were looking for a new enemy to fight. Hard-line Buddhist monks targeted churches and mosques, priests and imams, often with the tacit support of the security services.
While Muslims bore the brunt of these attacks, Christians suffered, too, and the two communities were essentially on the same side. But that informal alliance was seriously challenged by Sunday’s attacks, which the authorities say were carried out by Muslim extremists, primarily against Christians.
Many Muslims have tried to help grieving Christians, offering food and friendship, but the outreach has been complicated. Feelings are so raw that one priest told members of a mosque to stay away from the funerals.St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, where terrorists attacked on Easter Sunday.CreditAdam Dean for The New York Times
St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, where terrorists attacked on Easter Sunday.CreditAdam Dean for The New York Times
On Wednesday, as Christian gangs roved their neighborhood, hundreds of Pakistani Muslims including Mr. Farhan and Mr. Zabi, rushed for protection first to a police station and then to a mosque. Soldiers and police officers guarded the mosque gates and checked the identification of any visitors. Still, elders felt uneasy about the location.
By late afternoon a string of buses chugged out of the mosque with every seat filled and people packed in the aisles, instantly relocating an entire community of Muslims to a small town miles away where none had ever lived.
The Pakistani refugees are easy targets. They look different, speak a different language and were already on unsure footing, living in Sri Lanka as guests of the government while refugee agencies sorted out longer-term resettlement plans.
But they are hardly the only Muslims who are frightened.
About two hours away, in the town of Bandaragama, Mohamed Iqbal, a Muslim man as Sri Lankan as anyone else, winced as he looked at his shoe shop.
It was gutted by fire the night of the suicide bombings — obviously revenge,” a neighboring shopkeeper said. A rock lay on the ground that had been used to smash the lock and open the roll-top shutter. Inside, it still smelled like char.
Our religious beliefs could not be more different from the Islamic State’s,” said Mr. Iqbal’s son Ifaz. But now everyone is looking at us as if we were the ones who bombed the churches.”
Sri Lanka is a complicated tapestry of ethnicities and religions. Many Muslims said they have gotten used to discrimination operating in the background, even during the peaceful times.
Say you walk into a bank and someone sees your beard,’’ Mr. Ifaz said. They might make you wait, even when they don’t have to.’’
In June 2014, after years of dehumanizing speech by hard-line Buddhist monks, religious bigotry exploded. Mobs of young Buddhist men attacked a Muslim neighborhood in a southern town, burning down houses, killing at least three Muslims and sending fear into just about every Muslim household in Sri Lanka.
Police officers were accused of standing by and sometimes even helping the Buddhist mobs. The Iqbal family wonders if the same is happening again.
On Wednesday, officials played down reports of violence, saying no one had been seriously hurt. The police said they were beefing up security around mosques and in Muslim neighborhoods, and trying to tamp down tensions.
But you know,” Mr. Ifaz said, there was a curfew the night our shop was burned. Maybe the police were there.”
The history of Sri Lanka is marred with bloodshed and a 26-year-old civil war caused by British colonial rulers pitting Sinhalese and Tamil against each other.
Located in the Indian Ocean south of India, the small island country of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka witnessed one of its deadliest attacks in recent history.
On Easter Sunday a series of suicide bombingsclaimed 359 lives. However, the bloodbath is not uncommon in the island which was ravaged by a civil war spanning over two decades and ending in 2009.
The civil war in a country of 21.2 million population, was between majority Sinhalese and minority Tamilians. It was a war for recognition, respect, and basic rights.
To understand the aspects of the civil war, one needs to take a brief look at the country’s history.
HISTORY
Sri Lanka, called Ceylon until 1972, had its own Indigenous population but later people from India started settling in the country. In 1505 the Portuguese colonized Ceylon when seven warring kingdoms were trying to increase their territory. The Buddhists disliked the Portuguese occupation and welcomed Dutch intervention just to oust the former colonizers.
The Dutch started colonizing in 1638 and by 1660, they controlled the whole island.
During the Napoleonic wars, Britain started colonizing Sri Lanka and in 1815, they were successful in occupying the whole island. In 1833, the island was united under one British administration.
In 1948 Sri Lanka gained its independence and took a path which would later start a civil war.
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. | Photo: Google Maps
GENESIS OF CONFLICT
After gaining its independence, the Sinhalese started disenfranchising Tamil migrants who were preferred by the British during colonialism.
The British, during its ruling, used only English for official purposes and education which was not widely accessible. A few English language schools were in the north of the country where the majority of inhabitants were Tamilians. Hence they started getting civil service jobs and the Sinhalas were left behind.
After independence, the ruling power was transferred to Sinhalese elites by the UK outgoing power. They started making policies that would marginalize the Tamilians like passing the Sinhala Only Act” in 1956 that would make Sinhala the official language. In 1972 Buddhism was made the official religion. The Tamils are mainly Hindus and Christians.
The repression spread to many sectors including education. It was harder for Tamilians to get a place in university because of the Sinhala Only Act.
Initially, the Tamilians started non-violent protests demanding an independent state for Tamilians. But it soon turned violent after facing brutal repression from the government.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE). | Photo: Reuters
EMERGENCE OF LTTE AND CIVIL WAR
Amid growing tensions, in 1976 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) was formed under the leadership of Velupillai Prabhakaran. It started campaigning for Tamil homeland mainly in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.
It was an armed movement which had a well-trained army of fighters. They partook in many suicide bombings in the country.
In 1987, India, which has a large number of the Tamil population in the south, sent a peacekeeping force for three years which caused mayhem in the country. The troops were sent to enforce the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord according to which Tamilians were supposed to have some degree of regional autonomy in Tamil areas.
However, India did not take into account LTTE’s demands which led to a full-fledged war between the two.
Soon after the battle, the LTTE assassinated then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and the Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993.
Since then peace talks started being regularly held, ceasefires announced and subsequently breaking of ceasefires.
In 2008, the ceasefire was broken for the last time when the government withdrew from the truce and started full-fledged repression of LTTE which also included a witchhunt of Tamilians. Around 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the final few weeks of the war.
Finally in 2009, under the administration of the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the army killed Prabhakaran and a few days after that declared victory over LTTE.
As many surviving LTTE cadres surrendered, many more fled to India.
POST CIVIL WAR
The human cost of the 26 years civil war was the death of more than 100,000 civilians, 65,000 missing people, almost 800,000 internally displaced.
In August 2011, the Rajapaksha government allowed the expiry of state emergency laws which had been in place for almost 40 years with small interruptions in between.
Efforts were made to integrate Tamilians in the society but war crimes against Tamilians were never investigated despite outcry by international communities.
Tamils in Sri Lanka protesting against war crimes during the civil war. | Photo: Reuters
The country did not see any bloody violence since the end of civil war even though analyses said many top cadres of LTTE are still alive in self-imposed exiles who might try to regroup and return.
But the country did witness political upheavals recently. Current President Maithripala Sirisena suspended the parliament in 2018 replacing Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa whose increasing hard-line attitude after the war, waned his fame. A ruling by the Constitutional Court re-instated Wickramasinghe as the prime minister.
The island has also been witnessing sweeping anti-Muslim bigotry mainly fed by majority Buddhist nationalists but the country never had a history of Mulsim militants.
On April 21, rupturing 10 years of relative peace on April 21, seven suicide bombers from a militant Islamist organization killed 359 people bringing forth emergency laws and fear psychosis among a population which was still trying to heal from a bloody past.
Country with already precarious external position may be forced to seek more IMF aid
HONG KONG • Sri Lanka faces a likely collapse of tourism following the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and hotels, which would deal a severe blow to the island’s economy and financial markets, and potentially force it to seek further IMF assistance.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) extended last month a US$1.5 billion (S$2.04 billion) loan for an extra year into 2020, a key step in keeping foreign investors involved in a top-performing frontier debt market this year.
But with growth, and therefore state revenues, now likely to slow significantly, the budget targets agreed with the IMF may have to be reviewed, and the government is expected to resist pressure for any spending cuts before elections expected later this year.
There is even a possibility that more IMF money may be needed if foreign investment falls, adding to the hard currency gap left by plunging tourism receipts.
IMF’s Sri Lanka mission chief Manuela Goretti said on Tuesday that initial financial market pressures on Sri Lanka appeared contained after the horrific attacks.
“Decisive policy and security measures by the authorities will be important, in particular for tourism, which accounts for 5 per cent of GDP, to build on the strong performance of recent years,” she said.
The Sri Lankan stock index dived 2.6 per cent on Tuesday in its first day of trading after the attacks that left more than 300 people dead, while the heavily managed rupee held steady. Tourism is Sri Lanka’s third-largest and fastest-growing source of foreign currency, after remittances and garment exports, accounting for almost US$4.4 billion of gross domestic product last year.
A fall in tourism receipts is bound to weaken the rupee over time.
The central bank, whose coffers are too light to defend the currency through interventions, is likely to have to raise interest rates.
This would choke lending, hurting consumers and the investment plans of local businesses, while also making it more costly for the government to seek funding from foreign investors via bond markets.
Sri Lanka’s external position was already precarious. To help fund a record US$5.9 billion in foreign loans this year, the country successfully sold US$2.4 billion in five-year and 10-year US dollar bonds last month, but that was right after the IMF extension and amid bets of looser monetary policy.
In January, Sri Lanka used its reserves to repay debt worth US$1 billion. It had about US$5 billion left in February, the least since April 2017, and only enough to cover two months of imports and about two-thirds of its short-term external debt. Colombo also needs to finance a current account deficit of about 3 per cent of GDP.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is already facing heavy criticism domestically for higher taxes, and tight monetary and fiscal policies that have crimped growth to a 17-year low.
He has set an ambitious fiscal deficit goal of 4.4 per cent of GDP, compared with 5.3 per cent last year. But he also boosted spending on state employees, pensioners and the armed forces, and promised more funds for rural infrastructure, leading economists to doubt the targets.
A presidential vote is expected later this year, followed by a general election next year.
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan housewife Fathima Fazla thought of her neighbors in the grand three-storey home across the street as the wealthy celebrities of her humble Colombo suburb. She had no idea how infamous they would become.Security personnel stand guard near St Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, three days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Sri Lanka April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte
Two brothers who lived at the white house on Mahawela Gardens have emerged as key players in suicide attacks on Easter Sunday that killed more than 350 people and stunned an island state that had enjoyed a decade of relative peace.
The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks on three churches and four hotels.
Inshaf Ibrahim, a 33-year-old copper factory owner, detonated his explosive device at the busy breakfast buffet of the luxury Shangri-La hotel, a source close to the family said.
When police went later that day to raid the family home, his younger brother Ilham Ibrahim detonated a bomb that killed him, his wife and the couple’s three children, the source told Reuters, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.
They seemed like good people,” Fazla told Reuters from her rundown home opposite the Ibrahim family residence, now cordoned off with crime-scene tape and marshaled by police.
The brothers’ names were also reported in local media. Sri Lankan authorities have not released the identities of any of the bombers, and police did not respond to request for comment.
The brother’s father, Mohamed Ibrahim, was arrested as police investigate those behind the attacks, police said. Ibrahim, a wealthy spice trader and pillar of the business community, had six sons and three daughters. He was admired by many who knew him.
He was famous in the area for helping the poor with food and money. It’s unthinkable his children could have done that,” Fazla said, glancing affectionately at her two young daughters. Because of what they have done, all Muslims are treated as suspects.”
Ilham Ibrahim, 31, openly expressed extremist ideologies and had been involved in meetings of National Thowheed Jamath, a local Islamist group suspected of involvement in planning the attacks, according to the source close to the family.
His entrepreneur brother, Inshaf, was outwardly more moderate in his views, and was known to be generous with donations to his staff and struggling local households, the source said. Inshaf was married to a daughter of a wealthy jewelry manufacturer and he faced no problems with money.
I was shocked. We never thought they were these kind of people,” said Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, a 38-year-old network cabling engineer who works next door to the Ibrahim family home.
The pregnant wife of a Sri Lanka bomber detonated a suicide vest when police raided the affluent family’s home in the wake of the terror attacks, killing her own children.
Key points:
Death toll from Sri Lanka suicide bombings stands at 359 killed, 500 injured
Two brothers at the centre of the plot were the sons of a wealthy spice merchant
Many hotel staff are not turning up to work, scared that their workplaces will be targeted
Another of the suicide bombers behind the deadly string of attacks that killed 359 people and injured 500 on Easter Sunday studied in Australia before returning to settle in Sri Lanka.
Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed studied in the UK before doing postgraduate study in Melbourne.
Sri Lanka’s deputy defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene told a press conference most of the suicide bombers were well educated and from affluent families.
Some had law degrees, and all were Sri Lankan, he added.
Two brothers at the centre of the plot were the sons of a wealthy spice merchant, and their sprawling white house is one of the most ostentatious in the suburb where they lived.
One of them, Inshaf Ibrahim, a copper factory owner in his 30s, is believed to have been the mastermind of the bomb plot.
He detonated his explosive device at the busy breakfast buffet of the luxury Shangri-La hotel, a source close to the family said.
The family’s Colombo home was raided by police shortly afterwards.
Mr Wijewardene said that as police arrived, the pregnant wife of one of the brothers detonated a suicide jacket, killing herself and her two children as well as three police officers.
Ilham Ibrahim openly expressed extremist ideologies and had been involved in meetings of National Thowheed Jamath, a local Islamist group suspected of involvement in planning the attacks, according to the source close to the family.
His entrepreneur brother, Inshaf, was outwardly more moderate in his views, and was known to be generous with donations to his staff and struggling local households, the source said.
He was married to the daughter of a wealthy jewellery manufacturer.
The brothers’ father, Mohamed Ibrahim, was arrested as police investigate those behind the attacks, police said.
Mr Ibrahim, a wealthy spice trader and pillar of the business community, had six sons and three daughters. He was admired by many who knew him.
“He was famous in the area for helping the poor with food and money. It’s unthinkable his children could have done that,” neighbour Fathima Fazla said.
“Because of what they have done, all Muslims are treated as suspects.”
Sri Lanka’s Muslim community is on edge, with Pakistani Muslim refugees near Negombo — where a church was blown up — boarding buses to escape the threat of retaliation.
Muslims living nearby the family of the two sibling suicide bombers expressed their sorrow that their neighbours were involved in the terror plot.
“Not only for Muslims, the whole community, the whole of Sri Lanka, everybody is our brothers and sisters, everybody who has passed away are our brothers and sisters,” said a woman who identified herself by her first name Taybeh, a Muslim neighbour of the Ibrahim brothers.
“Everybody was worried; we didn’t have proper sleep for three days.
“I have a small brother, he was very afraid, all the kids in the lane, they were very afraid, my small brother — he is not even going to the bathroom by himself.
“Everyone is thinking, what will happen the next moment?” she said.
“Even when I sleep I don’t know whether I’ll get up the next morning.”
Intelligence failure heightens political tensions
The failure to act on detailed intelligence pointing to the planned attacks has led to feuds at the highest levels of government, with Sri Lankan President Maithrapala Sirisena asking for the country’s defence secretary and police chiefto step down.
Mr Wijewardene, the deputy defence minister, said authorities had been investigating Islamic State group infiltration in Sri Lanka for years, keeping a close eye on returned foreign fighters and their families.
“I didn’t know it was going to be scaled up to this,” he said.
Arrests, interrogations and controlled detonations are still continuing around Sri Lanka, with authorities saying they also plan to beef up security around airports and for airlines.
If the Islamic State is active in south Asia, India would definitely be a prime candidate for terror strikes. Indian intelligence agencies have to be on high alert and policing, rigorous. Most importantly, the citizenry must be vigilant, ready to notice suspicious activity, investigate it discreetly and report what does not pass the test of innocence to the authorities. At a broader and generalised level, religious and quasi-religious activity across all faiths must be monitored for signs of radicalisation and voices raised from within communities against radicalism that could lead to violence. Political parties must appreciate their special responsibility in curbing the radical impulse, even when the temptation is strong to feed it for short-term political gain.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter that killed more than 350 people. While it is unclear if this is mere glory-seeking by the outfit after it has been stripped of territory or a substantive claim, prudence calls for taking the claim seriously, and being on guard. India is said to have supplied intelligence to Sri Lanka about the bombing being planned by an outfit called the National Thowheeth Jama-’ath. Sri Lankan officials have brought into the discussion a splinter group as well. Whatever the precise name of the organisation that planned and executed this horrific massacre, what is striking is the fanaticism of the suicide bombers, who blew themselves up without any personal grievance or direct animosity towards their victims, except for their adherence to a faith other than their own. Such religion-based animosity towards fellow human beings is not the monopoly of the Islamic State, nor new to India — Mohandas Gandhi fell victim to precisely such religion-based hatred.
Community elders, religious heads and political leaders of all hues must wake up to the dangers of breeding religion-based hatred. It can blow up not just some people and buildings but the foundations of our nation itself. Politics must build and protect, not just jostle for power.
Wealthy brothers Inshaf and Ilham Ibrahim bombed the luxury Shangri-La and Cinnamon Grand hotels in Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday terror attack
Suicide bomber brothers were the sons of a millionaire spice trader and were privately educated in Colombo
Their attacks claimed the lives of at least 41 foreigners, including eight British holidaymakers – three of whom were children
As police raided their £1m mansion in an exclusive neighbourhood of Colombo, Ilham’s pregnant wife Fatima blew herself up, killing her three children and three officers
Inshaf, a successful businessman, owned a copper factory thought to be where the suicide bombs were made
At least 321 people were murdered in the massacre, 45 of them children, while more than 500 were injured
Chilling footage shows Ilham and an accomplice bomber attack the Shangri-La while guests had breakfast
Second clip earlier showed different bomber patting a girl on the head before launching attack on a church
ISIS has claimed responsibility and released footage of the fighters swearing allegiance to the jihadist group
These are the first pictures of the suicide bomber brothers who butchered eight Britons when they blew themselves up in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.
Wealthy brothers Inshaf and Ilham Ibrahim calmly walked into the luxury Shangri-La and Cinnamon Grand hotels and detonated their vests as guests were eating breakfast.
Their attacks claimed the lives of at least 41 foreigners, including eight British holidaymakers – three of whom were children.
Hours later, as police raided their mansion in an exclusive neighbourhood of Colombo, Ilham’s pregnant wife Fatima blew herself up, killing her three children and three officers.
Suicide bomber brothers Inshaf Ibrahim (left) and Ilham Ibrahim (right) calmly walked into the luxury Shangri-La and Cinnamon Grand hotels on Easter Sunday morning and detonated their vests, killing guests having their breakfast
Inshaf (pictured far right at a business awards), 38, lived with his wife and their four children – an eight-year-old daughter and three boys aged six, four and two – in a £1.5million six-bed mansion on one of the most exclusive streets in Colombo
The wealthy brothers – sons of a millionaire spice trader – are two of nine jihadis who carried out the devastating bomb attacks in Sri Lanka. They are believed to be pictured here alongside National Thawheed Jamaath leader Moulvi Zahran Hashim
Ilham, whose wife Fatima blew herself up when police raided their mansion in an exclusive part of Colombo, is pictured alongside an accomplice bomber entering the second-floor restaurant at the Shangri-La hotel before the deadly attack
It comes as CCTV footage has revealed the moment one of the bomber brothers, Inshaf, nervously shuffling back and forth before deciding to blow himself up at the Cinnamon Grand hotel.
The footage from a camera in the hotel’s packed Taprobane restaurant shows the bomber hovering just inches away from diners.
Wearing a light shirt, dark baseball cap and a large backpack, the attacker hesitates – shuffling from foot to foot before detonating his suicide vest at 9.12am.
Inshaf had reportedly checked into the hotel the previous night using a fake name and claiming to be on a business trip.
Earlier, footage revealed that his brother Ilham and an accomplice bomber took a lift to the restaurant of the five-star Shangri-La hotel before blowing themselves up.
Wearing backpacks, the two men appear to discuss their plans in the elevator on the second floor in the final moments before the Easter Sunday massacre.
The bombers then enter the Table One eatery almost unnoticed while hotel guests are having breakfast before he detonates his deadly weapon.
One of the nine bombers that detonated explosives on Easter Sunday was a woman, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene has said on Wednesday.
Straits Times said the state minister’s comment came after police confirmed that nine suicide bombers were involved in the blasts and eight have been identified.
It has been revealed that one of the suicide bombers had studied in Britain and Australia, it said.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian, President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran said today (24) that Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah’s alleged connections to the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) must be investigated along with all connections this group has had with various other politicians and previous defence officials.
Sumanthiran was addressing the Parliament on the Easter Sunday carnage.
He said: The Muslim people, to their credit, have repeatedly complained about these miscreants. Years ago, Muslim groups raised the issue of radicalisation with Government Intelligence officials, and appealed that steps be taken to halt this process. Further, in 2017 itself, they even held a demonstration in Kattankudy and asked that Zahran (suspected Leader of the NTJ) be arrested. I must, in this respect, commend the brave conduct of Minister Kabir Hashim, who has set a great example for all of us. There are many serious questions that are being asked about Hizbullah and his connections to the NTJ. This must be investigated along with all connections this group has had with various other politicians and previous defence officials.”
Meanwhile, TNA Leader R. Sampanthan, speaking in Parliament on the same day, said that there should be an investigation to determine whether there was a foreign link in the recent terror attacks.
He also said that an independent investigation should be carried out to find out why the authorities failed to act to prevent the tragedy when they had all the intelligence information.
Findings of this investigation should be made public because people deserve the truth,” he said.
Another important question is why the terrorists chose Sri Lanka for this attack. Is it that we are divided politically? Is it that we are weak in the economic perspective? We should find out that as well. We should turn this situation around. This Parliament unanimously agreed to pass a new Constitution. We should go forward with that for the sake of our country. We shouldn’t be a divided country. We should be united. For that a new Constitution should be implemented. Then everyone will feel that Sri Lanka is going on a new path. So everyone should commit to achieve that. Otherwise we won’t be able to survive. We should keep to our commitment without any interruption,” he said.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) today (24) claimed that the Inspector General of Police, Pujith Jayasundara, had on 18 April, authorized the transfer of 12 officials attached to the State Intelligence Service (SIS), just days prior to the Easter Sunday attacks which took place on 21 April.
Parliamentarian Rohitha Abeygunawardena revealed this at a press conference held at the Party headquarters.
He also produced supporting documents, on these transfers, purportedly signed by the IGP, containing the names, current status and the transferred divisions of the said SIS officers.
Abeygunawardena further claimed that those Intelligence officers, who were transferred, were those who tipped off the authorities regarding the impending attacks that were set to take place on Easter Sunday.
Vehemently criticizing both, the Government and the Opposition equally, over the recent terror attacks carried out by Islamic fundamentalists; United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka today (24) said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardena cannot escape the responsibility for the tragedy by simply saying that they were not summoned for the meetings of the National Security Council (NSC).
Participating in the special Parliamentary debate on the prevailing terror situation in the country, Fonseka said, I respect the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, if you were not summoned for the NSC meetings, you could have raised that issue in this House. You had six full months and you never said anything about it. Now you cannot escape saying that you were not summoned or informed about this. As the State Minister of Defence, Wijewardena must be at the NSC meetings. What is the point of a State Minister of Defence if he cannot attend such crucial meetings? If he could not do anything about it, he should have resigned from the post.”
Fonseka added, I was given a chance to meet the Prime Minister 48 hours after the terror attack. I did not earn the title Field Marshal for selling snacks in Galle Face. There is no member in this Government who has more knowledge than I have with regard to national security related matters. If there is any such person, I will give this title to him. This Government never uses our knowledge. I do not need any positions. Just utilize the knowledge of people like me to ensure national security.
“Also, I have nothing personal against the President. However, he only returned to the country from Singapore, at midnight on the day following the tragic incidents. There were flights from Singapore which landed in Sri Lanka at 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. that day. Yet, he did not choose to take an earlier flight even after such an incident. Is that suitable for a Leader?
All the Governments after 2010 should take responsibility for this terror attack. I think Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa can remember that I proposed to build a national intelligence agency combining all intelligence units and divisions and to make it the best in South Asia soon after the war. But unfortunately, that did not happen. Instead, the intelligence operatives had been used to stalk political enemies and their children and conduct surveillance. Even the new Government did not do what should have been done. Both these Governments allowed intelligence services to deteriorate,” he added.
Furthermore, he noted that the Easter Sunday’s attack was a long planned one.
It took 12 years for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to carry out a suicide attack on the then Defence Minister Ranjan Wijeyaratne. Therefore, these people must have planned the recent attack at least seven to eight years ago. The LTTE’s terrorism was markedly different as it was an organisation fighting to divide the country. Its motives were political, whereas this group is pushing a religious agenda. I regret that the intelligence reports on the recent attack were ignored. It seems that the authorities did not give a fraction of the consideration given to information provided by Operations Director of the Anti Corruption Force, Namal Kumara for them,” he added.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday it is deeply shocked and saddened” by the terrible violence against families including children in churches and hotels on Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka.
The total now is 45 children who died (in the series of blasts in Sri Lanka),” said UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac at a briefing here.
Many are wounded and are now fighting for their lives in intensive care units across the country,” said Boulierac.
UNICEF condemns this violence in the strongest possible terms. No child should experience such a heart-breaking situation, and no parents should lose their child forever under such horrible circumstances,” he said.
According to him, 27 children died and 10 children were injured as a result of the blast that occurred in St Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, Negombo.
In Batticaloa, 13 children lost their lives, with the youngest victim just 18 months old and five children aged between 7 years and 16 years are receiving treatment in hospital.
Five children of foreign nationality are confirmed to have died, and 20 children have been admitted to hospital in Colombo, four of them in intensive care as a result of the blasts in Colombo.
Many children have lost one or both parents and countless children have witnessed shocking and senseless violence,” said Boulierac.
Some hospitals where children were admitted need essential medical supplies and UNICEF is procuring and providing needed supplies.
UNICEF said children separated from parents need support to identify relatives and connect with their families.
Psycho-social support and counseling are also identified as a significant need, and UNICEF said this week it would provide psycho-social first aid” to children and their families impacted.
UNICEF expressed its deepest sympathy to the victims, families, and communities impacted by the brutal attacks” on the day of one of the biggest celebrations for Christian believers worldwide, in which 310 people have died so far, and more than 500 others injured.
Archbishop of Sri Lanka Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has urged not to hold services at Catholic churches until further notice.
The Cardinal stated this during a press conference held today (24) following a discussion with the ambassadors of Muslim-majority countries in Sri Lanka.
He has also urged to work with peace considering the situation prevailing in the country.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said that all parties should ensure that the Muslim community is not being harassed at this moment.
Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) has filed a complaint against Minister Harin Fernando and his father over not disclosing information on the Easter Day attacks despite receiving information prior to the attacks.
General Secretary of PHU Upul Wijesekara has lodged this complaint at the Police Headquarters, this morning (24).
He was joined by PHU Propaganda Secretary Attorney at Law Thushara Dissanayake and Public Relations Secretary Upul Konara as well.
More than 300 people have died and many more were injured by the barbaric attacks against Christian churches and five-star hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. The government has warned that there are more explosives and militants still out there.”
In the immediate aftermath of the coordinated attacks, local, Indian and Western media raised familiar aspersions against Sinhalese Buddhist extremists for the violence. However, the Sri Lankan government has now confirmed that the attacks were carried out by a local Islamic extremist group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath. While that outfit has denied a role, the international Islamic terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the horrific suicide bombings.
Earlier this month, Indian intelligence passed on information to Sri Lankan authorities of an imminent terrorist attack. Based on that, Sri Lanka’s police chief sent out a nationwide alert on April 11 warning of attacks on the Indian High Commission and churches. But as Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe admitted after the Sunday attacks, the government failed to take action.
Government and international inaction
Buddhist extremism has been subjected to severe global and local condemnation in recent years. The leader of the Buddhist Bodu Bala Sena, Galboda Ganasara Thero, is now serving a jail sentence. In contrast, despite mounting evidence, little action has been taken against the spread of extremist Wahhabi Islam ideology and violence. The reliance of successive Sri Lankan governments on Muslim votes and Muslim politicians and the economic and political power wielded by Saudi Arabia and other external forces have been major factors in the Sri Lankan government’s failure to curb the spread of radical Islam.
An example is the largest Islamic university in South Asia being built in Batticaloa in the Eastern Province with financial assistance from Saudi Arabia. This project is co-sponsored by the Sri Lanka government and is being built on land taken over by the government under the leadership of a Muslim cabinet minister. Graduating 1,500 students a year who can promote Islamic religious ideology is the objective of this joint project. Many of the militants belonging to groups like the Taliban in Afghanistan too have been educated in Islamic institutions.
Indian intelligence reports confirm that ISIS is using Sri Lanka as an international migration hub. The open-door policy and lax visa regulation in Sri Lanka have permitted the situation. The Eastern Province has become a battleground for extremist gangs and a paradise for Islamic extremism.” One of the churches attacked on Easter Sunday is in Batticaloa. The import of young Muslims from Bangladesh, India and elsewhere to study at the Sharia University in that city could aggravate radicalization and violence.
In a rare act of courage by a Sri Lankan politician, a cabinet minister, Kabir Hashim, revealed after the Easter attacks that he had brought to the president’s attention the existence of the extremist Islamic group quite some time ago. The group allegedly shot Hashim’s secretary in retaliation for his action. Subsequently, in conjunction with their desecration of two Buddha statutes, the police raided a hideout run by the group and arrested two suspects. But according to Hashim, they were released because of the intervention of a powerful politician.” Hashim also claimed that one of the suspects had carried out an attack on the fateful Easter Sunday.
Protecting innocent people is the primary responsibility of the government. Security measures have to be tightened and the spread of radical Islam halted. A functional and effective government that can protect its people has to be elected and dangerous projects like the Sharia University stopped. Peace-loving moderate Muslims in Sri Lanka need to be supported in eschewing extremism and in protecting their historically tolerant and gentle forms of Islam.
In November 2014, in a letter addressed to the United Nations chief, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), the Sri Lankan president and many others, an organization called Peace Loving Moderate Muslims in Sri Lanka (PLMMSL) called on the government to ban without delay” the Thowheeth Jama’ath because it was fast becoming a cancer within Sri Lanka’s Muslim community … preaching and practicing religious intolerance, exerting pressure on other Islamic movements … making the implementation of sharia law above the civil laws of Sri Lanka, forcing females to wear the burka and the construction of many mosques and madrassas in many parts of the country.…”
The PLMMSL letter warned:
It is tragic that the majority of the Muslims who are essentially peace-loving are to pay for the actions of this minority. We fear that these activities of the Thowheeth Jama’ath, if left unchecked by the authorities, would create a situation in which the majority of the Muslims in Sri Lanka, already under threat and harassment from the extremist minority, may have to face the wrath of other religions.”
The concerns and demands of PLMMSL were not heeded. Western countries, the United Nations and the UNHCHR, international non-government organizations, and the international media were all preoccupied with accusations of human-rights violations against Sri Lanka in its armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that ended in 2009, constitutional reform and devolution. Regional and global powers have also been preoccupied with acquiring ports and resources and developing their businesses on the island rather than paying adequate attention to the realities and threats facing the local people. As such, both the Sri Lankan government and the international community” stand implicated in the Easter Sunday tragedy.
A global threat
The world is exploding with violence that is seemingly religiously based: Baghdad, Amman, Paris, Pittsburgh, Jakarta, Mumbai, Manila, Christchurch, Colombo, Negombo, Batticaloa, and the list goes on. The international community has to take much more principled stances against all forms of ethno-religious extremism and violence without succumbing to political and economic pressures and fears of political incorrectness.” In March, Facebook blocked white nationalist and extremist groups from its platform after the attacks against mosques in New Zealand. It needs also to block the sites of extremist Islamic and other groups. The Facebook page of National Thowheeth Jama’ath is still active.
In order to avoid further religiously based violence, it is necessary to address how an intolerant and aggressive form of Islam is aggravating tensions between religious communities in Sri Lanka and around the world. It is also necessary to understand contemporary political and economic circumstances that provide fertile ground for mobilizing resentment along ethno-religious and other cultural differences.
The success of fundamentalist movements including radical Islam and evangelical Christianity lies not so much in the strength of traditional loyalties as in desperate contemporary social conditions. The simple message of a charismatic leader, the discipline of an authoritarian political movement directed against a cultural other” become attractive to youth whose lives have been thrown into disarray by political and economic forces beyond their control.
What is being called Islamic jihad today is not just the traditional ideology of a triumphant Muslim empire. It is a modern ideology fashioned in reaction to globalization and Western imperialism. The leaders of religious extremism may be fanatical men seeking their own glory and the young zealots awaiting martyrdom may be thoroughly brainwashed. Yet some of the underlying grievances go beyond mere civilizational”differences between the West and Islam.
In the case of militant Islam, the major grievances include Western – specifically US – control of oil, militarization of the Middle East and support for Israel. Indeed, while much of contemporary ethno-religious violence may seem to come from the impoverished global South, the roots of many problems, including the emergence of groups like the Taliban and ISIS, lies in policies of the US and the industrialized North.
The Sri Lankan tragedy is not an isolated one. It is a global human tragedy. To achieve global peace and security, it is necessary to go beyond stereotyping Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Jews or other groups as simply extremists, terrorists or victims. It is necessary to see the interconnections between the extremist forces of both religious fundamentalism and economic globalization: Jihad vs McWorld.” Ultimately, peace and security come from moving toward a more balanced middle path of human development, in Sri Lanka and the world.
