{"id":93379,"date":"2019-09-28T08:36:43","date_gmt":"2019-09-28T15:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=93379"},"modified":"2019-09-28T08:36:43","modified_gmt":"2019-09-28T15:36:43","slug":"yahapalana-and-the-united-states-of-america-part-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/09\/28\/yahapalana-and-the-united-states-of-america-part-13\/","title":{"rendered":"YAHAPALANA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Part 13"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

EASTER SUNDAY\nBOMB BLASTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is\nspeculation that Western intelligence agencies had a hand in the\nwell-coordinated, precision-timed Easter suicide bombings in Sri Lanka, said\nLasanda Kurukulasuriya.  How otherwise\ncould a little-known group \u2018National Thawheed Jamaath\u2019    have orchestrated such a feat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Easter\nbomb attacks in Sri Lanka  are a part\nof  a series of puzzling attacks by\nlittle-known terror outfits , taking place in several countries. But  there is one common factor. All the countries\nfacing such attacks have been states benefiting from China\u2019s Belt and Road\nInitiative, (BRI). They include  Myanmar,\nPakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Myanmar in\n2017 a little-known terrorist group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army\n(ARSA) staged attacks on security posts in Rakhine state, sparking a crackdown\non the Rohingya community. Rakhine state is home to Sittwe port and a starting\npoint of BRI infrastructure projects linking Myanmar with China\u2019s Kunming city.\nThe leader of ARSA is said to be  a\nRohingya born in Pakistan and raised in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nPhilippines, whose President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 threatened to ditch its\nlongtime military alliance with the US and turn to China, faced an attack by\nISIS terrorists in 2017  in Marawi,\nhelping USA to further consolidate their military presence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five people\nwere killed in Pakistan\u2019s Baluchistan province, in   June 2019 \nin an attack on a star class hotel located near the port of Gwadar,\nwhich is being modernized under China\u2019s BRI. Baluch separatists claimed responsibility.\nThereafter Baluch Liberation Army carried out a dozen attacks in 2018 against\nChinese-linked projects. In November, the group attacked a Chinese consulate in\nthe major southern city of Karachi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The targeting of\nSri Lanka was  therefore not surprising. Two of the sea-front hotels that came under\nsuicide bomb attacks, Shangri La and Kingsbury, overlooked the $1.4 billion\nPort City project, China\u2019s single biggest infrastructure investment in Sri\nLanka.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these\nattacks had some sort of  link to\nISIS.  ISIS, like Al Qaeda before it, is\na creation of the  US intelligence\nagencies. ISIS  sudden appearance everywhere China is\nattempting to do business,  fits the now\ndocumented and admitted pattern of Washington\u2019s use of extremism to manipulate  situations wherever its standing armies\ncannot afford to intervene.  Also, such\nattacks offer an entry-point for Western-sponsored counter-terrorism activity\nor humanitarian assistance, said Lasanda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is ample evidence in defence related research\npapers, to prove that ISIS was created, sponsored and used by US secret\nagencies in pursuing the US foreign policy. \nIt was used to intervene  in\ncountries of strategic importance.  The  interventions were for regime change,\nweakening the state, disintegration of society and finally invasion\/occupation\nby US army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after\nthe bomb attacks, Western intelligence agencies rushed in to assist in the\ninvestigations. A team from the Federal Investigation Bureau (FBI) of the\nUnited States  arrived in Sri Lanka  on \nApril 23, two days\nafter the bomb blast,  to assist in\nthe investigations.  Britain sent in\nten or twelve Mi-5 Intelligence personnel. There were over  40 such foreign personnel in Sri Lanka\naltogether, said Wimal Weerawansa in Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FBI team\ncame reportedly at the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka. All the\nforeign agencies worked along with the CID. They did so on our request,\u201d said Police\nspokesperson, SP Ruwan Gunasekera.<\/em> But President\nSirisena said we did not invite them. They came on their own. My people are\ncomplaining that they cannot go ahead with their work since each group is\nasking them for briefings\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 No information has been revealed, to date, on\nthe work carried out by the foreign agencies (said to be \u2018technical\u2019\nassistance) or on how these inputs assisted the CID in its probe, observed\nLasanda .\n<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An unnamed US\nembassy official reportedly told a group of journalists that the FBI assisted\nin analyzing the suicide bombers\u2019 phone data, continued Lasanda. There is\nreason to believe however that the FBI in fact REMOVED the suicide bombers\nphones and other devices at an early stage, pre-empting the retrieval of vital\nevidence by local investigators.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the bombers\nare dead. Their electronic devices have been taken away by the US Federal\nBureau of Investigation (FBI) which is helping the Lankans in the probe,\u201d an\nIndian Home Ministry official told the Indian Express.  <\/em>Unless the\ndata from these devices is made available, little will be known of the bombers\nlinks\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means\nthat Sri Lankan investigators too (nor the rest of the world for that matter)\nwould not  get to know what was recorded\nin those devices, that might have given a clue as to who the suicide bombers\u2019\nimmediate handlers were, commented Lasanda.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question then\narises as to whether the Americans in fact sabotaged the investigation, under\nthe pretext of assisting with forensic analysis of the phones and devices,\ncalling it \u2018technical assistance.\u2019  <\/em>Asked whether the FBI had \u2018taken away\u2019 the\nbombers\u2019 phones, Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera  replied that he was \u2018unable to give that\ninformation.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also did\nnot say whether the Sri Lankan investigators  had the opportunity to analyze the devices\nbefore they were handed over to the FBI, and whether the devices had been\nreturned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was followed by two \u2018clandestine US operations in\nColombo\u2019.   Soon after the April 21, 2019\nEaster Sunday carnage, two US government employees were detected at the Hilton\nColombo Residencies with explosives detectors. Sniffer dogs had traced the\nequipment in an apartment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thereafter, security staff at the Hilton\nColombo had thwarted an attempt by five US government officials to check in\nalong with six boxes on the night of July 30, 2019. The American delegation had declined to\nallow the security staff to scan the boxes. The US delegation had then handed\nover one of the six boxes for scanning and loaded the rest to a US embassy\nvehicle and moved them somewhere else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wimal Weerawansa    released visa photographs of the entire US\nteam to the media, alleging the group had arrived in a private aircraft. The\nfive-member team had left two days later without the controversial cargo. Weerawansa asked whether the boxes that were\nsent away in a US embassy vehicle were still in the country or spirited out\nwhen the team left for the Maldives. What those boxes contained remained a\nmystery, the MP said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These boxes had evaded checks at Customs too.\nNagananda Kodituwakku sought information from Director General, Customs\nregarding the circumstances under which her officers exempted US military cargo\nfrom mandatory checks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former UPFA MP M.M. <\/em>Zuhair commented: “The alleged refusal by six US nationals\nto subject five of their \u2018mystery\u2019 boxes to scanning and security clearance at\nthe Bandaranaike International Airport and also later at Hilton Colombo\nResidences on 30 July 2019 comes as a shock at a time of heightened security\nthreats in the country and warrants a credible investigation to ascertain the\ncontents of the boxes and whether the US personnel were entitled to any\nprivileges of non-disclosure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Nothing prevented the six US military\npersonnel from subjecting their baggage to scanning even if they were\naccredited diplomats. Diplomatic bags containing diplomatic communications and\ncorrespondence are protected from being opened. Personal baggage of accredited\ndiplomats cannot be used for smuggling prohibited or restricted goods, said\nZuhair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is now\nvery clear, and beyond any doubt that the US government is contemplating a\nmilitary intervention in Sri Lanka, when \na suitable situation arises, said analysts. The Easter Sunday bomb explosions\nwere planned  to provide such an opening.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the\n“shock doctrine” theory,  which\nwe are told has been successfully tested by CIA, a massive shock exerted on a\nsociety through extreme violence will lead to a state of confusion and weakness\nwhich will help the US to  take over that\nsociety. The  concept \nof \u2018shock doctrine\u2019 was applied to economic change, by its author, Naomi\nKlein, but it is far more applicable to political change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When disasters\ntake place, citizens are too emotionally and physically distracted by disasters\nor upheavals to mount an effective resistance, and US will be able to push\nthrough controversial policies, observed analysts.  If there are any more suicide bomb\nattacks or if wide spread communal violence could be instigated, the US Army\nwill get the chance to enter the country, said critics. They could use R2P,\nadded others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bombings,\nwhich targeted Catholic churches and 5-star tourist hotels,  came like a bolt from the blue. They\ndevastated the peace and relative stability that prevailed in the island,\nobserved Lasanda. The attacks were intended to bring the country to a standstill.\nThe country did come to a brief stand still. Shops and schools were closed, all\nactivities cancelled, people were asked to stay in their houses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attacks\non hotels affected the tourist trade and the economy  of the country. Hoteliers said they were\nheavily indebted to banks and would find it impossible to pay their dues. Small\nand medium stakeholders in the industry, such as internal airlines, cabs , taxi\nand three-wheel drivers, tour guides , tour operators and those engaged in the\nsale of gem and jewellery to tourists, \nsmall vegetable and fish suppliers to the hotels and restaurants, small\nshop owners, surfing board suppliers and supporting labour, helpers and\nmaterial suppliers to the construction industry in the hotel sector, were\naffected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA\nthought   that after the Easter attack\nthere will be  more violence, extreme disorder and chaos. That did not\nhappen. The second  set of bombs was prevented.\nThe bombers died at Senthamaru.  Security\nforces then  started  arresting  those preparing for the third bomb blast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore   these attacks did not create the anticipated\n\u2018Shock\u2019. Instead there was remarkable resilience . There was\nfear as to where the next bomb would burst, certainly , but there was  also \ndeep anger  and  a firm wish to see to that these attacks were\nnot repeated.  An immediate message to\nthis effect was sent to the Muslim community through a silent boycott of Muslim\nshops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a\nshort-lived spell of politically-instigated violence in the North Western\nProvince and Gampaha district. Apart from this, \ncommunal harmony was maintained. In a highly volatile situation where a\nreligious minority had been targeted by extremists of another religious\nminority, the Sangha and the Catholic Church led by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith,\nhead of the Catholic Church ensured that there was no religious rioting,\nobserved Lasanda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardinal  Malcolm Ranjith said openly  and repeatedly that foreign forces were behind\nthe attacks, it was not a local development. He publicly and repeatedly asked\nfor a proper inquiry into the bomb blasts. \nIt is only then that the truth will emerge. The investigations conducted\nby the government are a sham\u201d  he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catholic MPs  Johnston Fernando, Nimal Lanza, Indika\nAnurudda, Sudarshini Fernandopulle, Sanath Nishantha and Arundika Fernando  wrote to the President, asking for a proper\ninquiry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this letter, they said that His Eminence\nCardinal Ranjith  has mentioned on\nnumerous occasions that neither he nor the Christian community has any faith in\nthe manner investigations are carried out. The victims are thoroughly\ndisappointed about the manner in which certain political leaders in this\ngovernment provided political asylum to key accusers connected to extremist\nacts. Therefore, it is important for the public to know who was responsible in\ncarrying out these attacks, who neglected carrying out their responsibilities and\nwhat or who obstructed responsible authorities from taking necessary action to prevent\nthis attack on that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the Mahinda Rajapaksa government set up in\nOctober 2018 has been allowed to continue, then there would not have been an\nEaster Sunday bomb blast.  Mahinda\nRajapaksa and Gotabhaya Rajapakse would have seen the significance of\nMawanella, Vanatha villu and the Kattankudy motor cycle. They would have\nresponded promptly to the Indian alert. The Catholic Church would have been\ninformed. Hotels would have been alerted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rajapaksa government was dismissed on the\ngrounds that it went against Fundamental Rights. The appointment of Mahinda\nRajapaksa as Prime Minister   however,\nwas perfectly legal.  Ranil\nWickremesinghe had to be freshly sworn in once the Rajapaksa government was\ndismissed. (Continued) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS EASTER SUNDAY BOMB BLASTS There is speculation that Western intelligence agencies had a hand in the well-coordinated, precision-timed Easter suicide bombings in Sri Lanka, said Lasanda Kurukulasuriya.  How otherwise could a little-known group \u2018National Thawheed Jamaath\u2019    have orchestrated such a feat. The Easter bomb attacks in Sri Lanka  are a part of  a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93379","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=93379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93379\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}