Even though the Easter attacks were a result of external forces, they also stemmed from ‘deep internal roots’. ICG report adds, “These include longstanding social and political fissures and state dysfunctions”
“Harsh and unfair treatment of law-abiding Muslim citizens” poses a threat of raising sectarian tensions to added dangerous levels as it risks alienating large portions of the community, a Belgium based think-tank warns.
The Easter Sunday attacks, that claimed 250 lives and left twice as many injured, were blamed on the ‘peaceful’ Muslim population at large despite evidence has revealed that a small group of Islamic State-inspired militants was responsible.
International Crisis Group (ICG) said in its latest report on Friday (27) that, “Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists have waged a campaign of violence (against the Muslim community) and hate while a weak and divided political leadership has either stood idly by or, worse, egged on the abuse.”
Since the attacks on April 21 that targeted three Christian churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa, and three high-end hotels in Colombo and a guesthouse in Dehiwala, over 1,800 Muslims were arrested under emergency laws. About 300 of them are still in custody.
Showing the state’s immediate reaction to the attacks were ‘confused and divided’ the report added, “President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe both claimed ignorance of multiple intelligence reports – including from India and the U.S. – that had warned of imminent suicide attacks on churches and other targets.”
The report said that even though the Easter attacks were a result of external forces, they also stemmed from ‘deep internal roots’. It adds, “These include longstanding social and political fissures and state dysfunctions”.
However, the report said without taking measures to tackle these issues, Sri Lanka’s political and religious leaders are taking steps to aggravate them.
“Especially worrying have been the anti-Muslim attacks by Sinhala Buddhist nationalists – physical violence, boycotts, and media smear campaigns,” ICG points out, adding that they threaten to ‘marginalise, humiliate and anger’ the Muslim community further.
The state was ‘blinded by its own presumptions and misjudgments’ and failed to share among themselves the numerous tip-offs received by different branches of police and foreign intelligence reports, especially regarding Salafi preacher Zaharan Hashim who masterminded the attacks. Even the leaders of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) alerted security officials regarding the possible threats.
For example, the report adds, some government sources noted that intelligence and other officials knew of Zaharan, but considered him a relatively minor troublemaker, making it less likely they would take seriously the reports he was planning such a major attack.
The attacks were used for the benefit by some sects. “Sinhalese nationalist politicians and commentators seized the moment to inject new energy into longstanding efforts to undermine the status and prosperity of the Muslim community, and anger and fear in other communities rose to dangerous heights,” the report shows, adding former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was quick to capitalise on these fears by announcing his presidential candidacy within days of the dark day.
The pardon of general secretary of Bodu Bala Sena Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera added to the issue, and other religious leaders added to the increasing tensions ‘to sow division and press for political advantage’. The report also sheds light on the hunger strike launched by parliamentarian Athuraliye Rathana Thera at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth relic demanding the prosecution of Dr. Mohammad Shafi who was accused of sterilising 4,000 Sinhalese women, and the removal of Muslim politicos from their state positions. Most senior monks, Catholic clergy, including Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith endorsed Rathana Thera’s move.
The report also explains how Muslim women were harassed on the streets and refused services at state-run agencies along with the burqa ban, and the use of the ICCPR Act aginst the Muslim community and not used to prosecute ‘militants’ posing to protect Buddhism.
“This lackluster show of support for the nation’s Muslims reflects a clear political calculus: the UNP, which has traditionally benefited from Muslim support in elections, is hesitant to challenge the anti-Muslim campaign too strongly, for fear of losing Sinhala voters to the more nationalist opposition led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother Gotabaya,” ICG claims. The think-tank recommends that the state should set up clear lines of ‘authority between the different intelligence agencies and clear procedures for sharing information’, as ‘Parliamentary investigations have made clear how easy it is for senior politicians to control, manipulate or abuse intelligence. To make this harder in the future, Parliament needs to enact legislation giving it a formal, regular oversight role on intelligence matters’.
It suggests that mechanisms needs to be established to ‘build in human rights safeguards for new counter-terrorism tools and protocols, including by Sri Lanka’s foreign partners’.
“A better-functioning national government might not have thwarted the Easter atrocities, but political and personal battles at senior levels contributed to government complacency and weakened the ability of the security services to detect and prevent the attacks,” the report revealed.