{"id":87948,"date":"2019-04-29T17:36:32","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T00:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=87948"},"modified":"2019-04-29T17:36:32","modified_gmt":"2019-04-30T00:36:32","slug":"easter-blasts-and-its-aftermath-part-ii-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/04\/29\/easter-blasts-and-its-aftermath-part-ii-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter blasts and its Aftermath \u2013 Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ; A.A.M.NIZAM \u2013 MATARA<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Amidst a scathing attack and continuous fish market behaviour by the\nMinisters and MPs the delinquent government, the former President and the\nLeader of the Opposition Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa blasted the the government\ninParliament on 23rd<\/sup> April over the previous day\u2019s Easter Sunday\nISIS terrorist attack which killed over 300 innocent people and injured more\nthan 500 persons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Given below is the full text of\nhis speech..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hon Speaker, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are gathered here today, to\ndiscuss the future of our country following the bomb attacks that took place on\nEaster Sunday. More than 300 people were killed and more than 500 people were\ninjured in those attacks. I wish to take this opportunity to once again convey\nmy heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who have lost their lives\nand to wish those injured a speedy recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After we ended the 30 year war on 19\nMay 2009, we all thought we had seen the last of such attacks. We were to mark\nthe 10th<\/sup> anniversary of the ending of terrorism next month. Even\nduring that 30 year war, no single attack carried out by the terrorists\ntargeting civilians ever resulted in as much carnage as the Easter Sunday\nattacks. The LTTE also carried out co-ordinated simultaneous attacks on\nmultiple targets but even they were not able to wreak the same amount of\ndestruction. The Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka is said to be the biggest\nsingle terrorist attack targeting civilians ever to take place in South Asia.\nSo many people did not lose their lives even in the Mumbai attacks of 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This House has to look into the\ncircumstances that enabled terrorism to once again raise its head in this\ncountry with such virulence. In November 2005, when I became President for the\nfirst time, there was a nominal ceasefire in operation. But the LTTE was\ncarrying out attacks on a daily basis and killing two or three armed forces\npersonnel in each attack. During that period a bomb attack on a bus resulted in\na large number of civilian deaths.  When I went to St Anthony\u2019s Church\nlast Sunday following the attacks, I was reminded of the Kebithogollewa\nincident. The people of that area expressed a great deal resentment at our\ngovernment over the Kebithogollewa incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people have no use for a\ngovernment that cannot assure them of the safety of their lives. In July 2006,\nwe recommenced the war because the LTTE closed the Mavilaru anicut and blocked\nthe water supply to a large number of villages in that area. It is the duty of\nthe government to at the very minimum, to uphold the right of the people to\nlive and to create an environment where they will be able to go about their day\nto day lives. That is why we never looked back after recommencing the war\nfollowing the Mavilaru incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2015, I handed over a\ncompletely secure and peaceful country to the new President. We had\nstrengthened the intelligence services so that there would be absolutely no\nthreat to the national security of the country. Our intelligence services\nworked closely with other intelligence services of neighbouring countries and\nother international intelligence services to ensure the security of the\ncountry. Whenever we got wind of a threat to national security, we acted on it.\nThe Easter Sunday attacks would never have taken place under our government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The present government is squarely\nresponsible for the terrorist attacks that took place last Sunday. The police\nhad issued early warnings of an impending attack.  However what action did\nthe government take with regard to those warnings? They never informed the\nChurch leaders about those warnings and neither did they provide extra security\nto the possible targets. All that the leaders of the present government did was\nto ensure that they themselves were nowhere near a possible target. On\nimportant occasion such as Easter, representatives of the government usually\nattend Mass, but this time there were no such representatives in the Churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I went to the scenes of the\nattacks on Sunday, one government minister said that the opposition is trying\nto make political capital of the situation. I must remind them that I also\nvisited Kebithigollewa in the same way in 2006. I am not speaking here as\nsomeone spewing forth empty words but as the individual who gave leadership to\nthe government that defeated the terrorists that no one thought could ever be\ndefeated.   From the moment this government came into power in\nJanuary 2015, they have been persecuting the members of the armed forces and\nthe intelligence services that ended that war.  How many of our armed\nforces personnel have they jailed over the past four years? How many times have\nthey hauled former army commanders and commanders of the navy and airforce to\nthe CID to be questioned?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our war time defence secretary was\nrelentlessly persecuted because he was my brother. They were not able to\nimprison him due to the intervention of the courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have told this government on many\noccasions that this is not the armed forces of the Rajapaksas but the armed\nforces and intelligence services of the Republic of Sri Lanka. Regardless of\nwhich political party is in power, it is they who will have to ensure the\nsecurity of the nation. This government never understood the point. Due to the\npolitical leadership that we gave them, our armed froces were able to win the\nwar that was deemed unwinnable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The armed forces personnel who\ncarried out their duties on behalf of the nation were harassed and hunted down\nby this government. The government should at least now realise that you cannot run\nthis country according to the dictates coming from foreign countries. We have\nto solve our own problems. The government was preparing to repeal the\nPrevention of Terrorism Act on the instructions of their foreign masters. If\nthat Act had been repealed, what kind of a position would we be in today?\nBecause the government was engaged in relenetlessly persecuting its own armed\nforces, we became an easy target for terrorists. No other country in the world\nhas persecuted and weakened their own armed forces and intelligence services in\nthis manner. Terrorists observe these things and plan accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sunday attacks did not take place\ndue to the negligence of one or two officials.  We can now see that the\ngovernment is preparing to sacrifice some official and wash their hands of the\nmatter. This incident occurred because of the conduct of this government from\nthe time they came into power in January 2015. If anyone is to resign over\nthese incidents, it should be the government. Despite the persecution that the\nintelligence services had been subject to, they did obtain prior intelligence\nrelating to this attack and conveyed the information to certain quarters. But\nnothing happened thereafter.  That warning had been sent to my security\nofficers as well, but they did not keep me informed about the threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I had known that there was an\nimminent threat of this nature, I would have immediately informed His Eminence\nMalcolm Cardinal Ranjith and also curtailed my own movements. Instructing\nofficials on the manner in which they should conduct themselves in relation to\nmatters involving national security, is the task of the government. That is\nwhat people elect governments for. The signal sent by this government to\nofficials at all levels is that national security is not important.That is the\nreason for all this mayhem.  These incidents did not occur without\nwarning. The recent destruction of Buddha statues in Mawanella, the attempt on\nthe life of a close supporter of a Muslim Minister from that area, the discovery\nof over 100 kilos of explosives from Puttlam, are all connected. So this attack\ndid not just come from the blues. Having received information that an attack\ncan take place, all that the government did was to ensure that they themselves\nwere safe.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This terrorist attck is very\ndifferent to similar attacks that took place during the 30 year war. The\nterrorists of that time did not target foreigners because they had people\nliving in those countries and funding the terrorist campaign in Sri Lanka. But\nthis new terrorism targets locals as well as foreigners. That strikes a death\nblow not only to the tourist industry but to foreign investment as well. This\nterrorism has to be conclusively defeated.  I request the government to\nhalt the persecution of the armed forces at least now. The Council of Religions\nheaded by the Ven. Ittepane Dammalankara Mahanayake Thera and His Eminence\nMalcolm Cardinal Ranjith has also called upon the government to desist from\nweakening the intelligence services further.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrests of armed forces and\nintelligence services personnel that took place after this government came into\npower was very often not based on solid evidence. In order to please the\nyahapalana government the CID obtains statements from certain people using\nvarious stratagems and then uses these statements to arrest members of the\narmed forces and intelligence services. Some of these so called witnesses have\nmade special statements to Magistrates explaining how the CID obtained\nstatements from them implicating various people. Stop this filthy practice at\nleast now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the opposition, we will extend our\nfullest cooperation to the law enforcements authorities and the armed forces to\nensure national security. I request the people not to take the law into their\nown hands and to extend their fullest cooperation to the law enforcement\nauthorities and the armed forces to solve this problem. We must remember that\nterrorists have no religion. The public needs more information about some\nmatters and I would like to address the following questions to the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. When did the SIS and the\n Security Concil first get to know of the organisation that is said to be\n behind these attacks?<\/strong><\/li>
  2. According to the information\n available to the government, since when has this organization taken to\n terrorism?<\/strong><\/li>
  3. What action was taken in\n respect of these reports?<\/strong><\/li>
  4. Who investigated the\n Wanathaviluawa incident where over 100 kilos of explosives were found?<\/strong><\/li>
  5. Who were the suspects\n arrested in this regard? Was this brought to the notice of the Security\n Council? If so when and by whom? What action was taken in this regard? <\/strong><\/li>
  6. How many persons were\n arrested in this regard? Who were they? How many of them sere produced in\n courts?  How many were released? <\/strong><\/li>
  7. Were any of these suspects\n released at the request of any person? If so who was the person who made\n such a request?<\/strong><\/li>
  8. Was there an intelligence\n report of a threat to national security in the month of April? Was this\n brought to the notice of the Security Council? If so, when and by whom?\n Who attended the security council on that day? <\/strong><\/li>
  9. Has the involvement of a\n foreign party in these attacks been established? If so what is the foreign\n party involved?<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Addressing a meeting of religious and\npolitical leaders in the parliamentary complex, the former President Nr.Mahinda\nRajapaksa has said that  priority should\nbe given to religious reconciliation in the country and that religious\nreconciliation was as important as communal reconciliation and ahas ssured that\nneither he nor his party would try to gain political mileage out of the present\nsituation in the country. The Opposition Leader said all those concerned with\nsafeguarding the country should take the responsibility for the Easter Sunday\nbombings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On 28th<\/sup> Sunday evening Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa held a special\nmeeting with former Security Chiefs on the current security situation in the\ncountry, and inj this meeting he requested the participants to provide short\nterm and long term solutions that need to taken at this moment.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    the meeting was attended by the former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya\nRajapaksa, formerChief of the Security Division Jagath Jayasuriya, former Army\nCommander Daya Ratnayake, former Air Force Chief Roshan Gunatilleke, former\nNavy Commabders Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, Admiral Mohan Wijewickrema, Admiral\nJagath Kolombage, former IGPs Mahinda Balasuriya, Cyhandra Fernando, former\nGovernot Major General G.A.Chandrasiri, MPs Dalas Alahapperuma, Vasudeva\nNanayakkara, Bandula Gunawardene, Udaya Gammanpila, and former Ministers Basil\nRajapaksa and prof. G.L.Peiris<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    MEP Leader Dinesh\nGunawardena, lashed out at the government for its failure to prevent the Easter\nSunday terrorist attacks. He scoffed at claims that its leaders were unaware of\nintelligence reports in the days leading up to the attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Speaking in Parliament during the debate on State of Emergency, Mr. Gunawardena\nnoted that before the commencement of a debate on a state of emergency, the\ngovernment <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    would usually\npresent all available information that necessitated the declaration of a state\nof emergency. “Yet, this government is incapable of doing even that,”\nhe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Commenting on claims that both the Prime Minister and State Minister of\nDefence were unaware of intelligence reports warning of an impending attack,\nthe MP pointed out that as both claimed to be leaders of the government, they\ncould not claim ignorance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He said that “We have never in our history, ever had a Prime\nMinister who claimed he did not know. How can he say he didn\u2019t know? You\nadmitted that information (of attacks being planned) was available from April\n4. There was information about this group from 2016, when the PM was in the\nNational Security Council,” MP Gunawardena remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    MP Gunawardena said he was saddened to see his classmate, the PM,\ntrotting out such excuses. “A Royalist should stand up, not just dodge and\nrun,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In a separate address in Parliameny MP Gunawardane told  the government that it should not by any\ncircumstance allow foreign security forces to enter this country at this\nmoment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He urged the government to conduct an investigation into the issuance of\nVisas to thousands of foreigners under lax conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He said that investigations into the matter should be carried out\nimmediately and said it was pointless asking the IGP to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He said if the government\ncould not defeat this extremist terrorist groups, it should quit and hand over\nthis country to someone who could do it and added that the country could not be\ngoverned when there was a crisis between the President and the Prime Minister\nand stressed the need to pay way for a new government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (To be copntinued)  .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By ; A.A.M.NIZAM \u2013 MATARA Amidst a scathing attack and continuous fish market behaviour by the Ministers and MPs the delinquent government, the former President and the Leader of the Opposition Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa blasted the the government inParliament on 23rd April over the previous day\u2019s Easter Sunday ISIS terrorist attack which killed over 300 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aamnizam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87948\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}