Sri Lanka is still reeling in shock, digesting the events of Easter Sunday where the death toll at the time of writing is over 250. The country’s image as a peaceful nation that had recovered from a bloody Eelam war ten years ago and as a much sought-after tourist destination, is now in tatters. Many questions are being asked and, seven days after the deadly blasts, only a few answers have emerged.
The most horrifying aspect of the co-ordinated and meticulously executed bombings is emerging evidence that it could have been avoided, had the authorities been more vigilant and pro-active. It appears that, ten years after the Eelam war, a culture of complacency had crept into the defence establishment and that is what led to several warnings being ignored or dismissed altogether.
The first serious warning came as far back as late last year when seven suspects vandalising Buddhist statues were arrested in Mawanella. Their interrogation led to the discovery of a large cache of explosives in a coconut estate in Wanathavillu in the Puttalam district. Although eyebrows were raised in the intelligence circles, the investigation petered out. It is alleged that some suspects had political links.
In the aftermath of last Sunday’s events, Minister Kabir Hashim was to complain that those arrested at Wanathavillu were released due to political pressure. One of the released suspects has now been identified as one of the suicide bombers involved in the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, he said.
The other serious warning came in the form of the now infamous letter sent by Deputy Inspector General of Police Priyalal Dissanayake, addressed to the directors of four security divisions. The letter named the persons who could be launching attacks and identified churches as possible targets. It is beyond belief that such precise information was available, but not acted upon by the authorities.
This led to the Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith lamenting that had he been alerted to the threats, he would have cancelled Easter day services, an action that could have saved hundreds of lives. Cardinal Ranjith has emerged as one of the few voices of sanity, during these dark days.
The Government’s handling of public relations in the aftermath of the attack also left much to be desired. For almost a day it refrained from identifying organisations thought to be responsible, when overseas based news agencies were doing so. Perhaps, it was being cautious or maybe it feared a backlash against the Muslim community but in this age of global communication, it only led to initial speculation from international media outlets that ‘Buddhist nationalists’ could be responsible.
The conduct of Ministers Harin Fernando and Mano Ganesan who indicated that their security divisions were forewarned of the incidents was well meaning and honest, but only invited a backlash from the public. State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene suggested that the attack was in retaliation to the Christchurch massacre in March in New Zealand, only to be rebuffed by its Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who said that she hasn’t received any intelligence reports to corroborate what has been said.
Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando’s observations that the authorities did not expect an attack of such magnitude, and that extensive measures to prevent the bombings would have been impossible, invited ridicule and calls for his resignation. It also brought about comparison with former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa which opposition political parties were quick to capitalise on. President Maithripala Sirisena called for Fernando’s resignation which was submitted on Thursday.
In what was another mind-boggling revelation, it emerged that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe summoned a meeting of the Security Council following the attacks while President Sirisena was still overseas but initially, no one attended. It was then disclosed that since October last year, the Premier had not been invited for meetings of the Council and was therefore effectively unaware of security issues.
Perhaps, the only politician to earn admiration in the last week was Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka. In a stirring speech in Parliament, Fonseka was critical of all factions of the Government and its handling of recent terror related threats. Fonseka even earned words of praise from his political bete noire, Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, who also made an impassioned plea for corrective measures.
The Easter Sunday attacks have raised many valid questions, chief among them being why Sri Lanka was a target of the Islamic State (IS) when its Muslim community was peaceful and had lived in harmony with both, the Sinhalese and the Tamils even at the height of the Eelam war for decades. An international dimension to the attacks appears obvious. Experts say it is extremely unlikely that the carnage was planned locally. Also, there is no local fallout other than isolating the Sri Lankan Muslim community.
To find answers to these questions, the Government must get its act together at least now. It is better late than never. The security establishment, its key personnel and how it operates, needs a complete overhaul so it can shed its culture of complacency. Not only public officials but also politicians must be accountable for their actions, a concept that is sadly lacking in contemporary Sri Lankan practice.
In doing so, it is equally important to reassure and ensure that peace loving Muslims are not subjected to a witch hunt. If that happens and Muslims are targeted in revenge mob attacks, it would lead to the evaporation of whatever support Sri Lanka gained over the past few days and the Sinhalese would once again be portrayed as a barbaric community, just as they were maligned during the Eelam war.
What is needed now is an efficient security exercise while ensuring that all communities are safe and protected. That would be a challenge to any government, but not an insurmountable one. The Government was caught unawares and over 250 people paid with their lives for that.
The Government should now ensure that the same mistake is not repeated. To do so, the Government may have to close ranks and work with the Opposition, disregarding their political differences. It is the price it will have to pay for not doing properly what they should have done in the past few years.