‘Terror’ beyond ‘blame game’ and the ‘Burqa’

• "Neglect of responsibility with ministers privy to info of a ‘terror threat’ "
• "Possibly the worst ‘terror attack’ after 9/11 in NY"

26 April 2019

A fear psychosis in society was the immediate fallout from the brutal and shocking attacks on Easter Sunday morning that was driven deep into the social psyche with more frightening news in the days that followed; a suspicious vehicle exploded, cache of explosives found in Pettah bus stand, news of suspicious vehicles entering the city possibly with explosives, another cache of explosives found in Nochchiyagama and so forth.

Second day after the Easter Sunday massacres, the amateurish National Tawheed Jamaat (NTJ) got itself promoted to the arena of international terrorists with ISIS entering the picture. Their news source ‘Amaq’ claimed eight ‘suicide bombers’ were trained by them and it was they who carried out the ‘blessed attack.’ For ISIS wiped out of Northern Iraq and their ‘Caliphate’ defeated, to claim responsibility for massacres in Sri Lanka may add some colour to their tarnished profile and hope for their defeated ‘Jihadi fighters.

’Sri Lankan intelligence meanwhile confirmed ‘NTJ’ as responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks. Deputy Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene told Parliament “it was now learnt this NTJ had links to another group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India (JMI), a one-year-old branch unit established by Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, a proscribed extremist group in Bangladesh. But ‘suicide bombers’ were all local Muslims and perhaps from the same family connected to a wealthy local spice dealer in Colombo.   

Narratives on this unimaginable massacre are many and diverse with different interpretations, depending on who wants who blamed and slandered. There is a blame game that was pitifully evident during the parliamentary debate on Tuesday. Starting from the media briefing held by government ministers on Monday at Temple Trees, there was a very concerted effort to wash their hands off the(ir) responsibility of a serious security lapse.

There was every effort to pin the blame on President Sirisena who is the Defence Minister and also has the Police Department under him. At the media briefing, it was said the PM and the Deputy Minister were not included in Security Council (SC) meetings after last year’s October debacle. The PM’s efforts to meet with the Security Council in the absence of the President in the country were also rejected by SC members, he said. PM also said he and his ministers were not briefed on the security situation, despite India providing information of an impending terror attack in Colombo. 

A sequence of events leading to the very sophisticated, well-planned and logistically well-supported execution of attacking churches and super-luxury hotels that targeted ‘people’ in large numbers, raises more questions than answers after this massive tragedy that could have been easily averted. This begins, not with the April 4 warning and information provided by Indian authorities on impending ‘terror attacks,’ but with vandalising Buddha statues in Mawanella last December. 

A confidential report by the DIG of the Special Security Division dated April 11, that was tweeted by Minister Harin Fernando and thereafter produced as an English translation in the DM of April 23 by colleague Ranga Jayasuriya in his column said, “Zahran Hashim and Shahid: the two individuals have fled Mawanella after attacks on Buddhist statues there on December 26 and are believed to be hiding in Oluvil, Akkaraipattu.”  

The document then says, “Rilwan, the younger brother of Zahran has acted to mobilise followers to Zahran… The suspect had fled Kattankudy after a clash with a rival religious group and is in hiding. He and Zahran are believed to have travelled to Akkaraipattu, Kuliyapitiya, Puttalam, Mawanella and Thihariya and are reportedly taking refuge in a house of a follower in Oluvil at the moment.” 

They were not the only information the CID had gathered about the NTJ. Investigations into vandalising of Buddha statues led the CID to an NTJ hideout in a coconut estate in Wanathawilluwa. Four suspects were arrested with a large cache of explosives that had good media coverage then. Even before that, there had been protests by Muslim communities in the East and complaints lodged with the police against Zahran Hashim considered the ideologue and leader of NTJ for hate-mongering and violent extremism. In short, there was more than enough evidence at hand with the CID against NTJ activists including Zahran Hashim to arrest and interrogate them. If that were done, we would not be mourning the deaths of over 300 innocent Catholic devotees and weeping over 500 and more injured. 

Thus, the question; are there intelligence agencies only to collect information and document them to be copied to VIP security divisions as pre-warnings? Is that their only duty? They don’t need the President, the PM or a subject minister to direct and instruct them to arrest a ‘terror suspect’ on information collected. There is enough legal provision for arrest on suspicion and to produce before a magistrate. Close to four months, all what had been done is information gathering, monitoring the movements of the ‘suspects’ and documenting them. We therefore have to seriously focus on this lapse in the Police Department first. On the lack of commitment and responsibility at the top of the Police Department that had failed to follow on the ‘leads’ they had, before we take on the President, the PM and the government. 

The Indian warning on April 4 that led to the issue of the circular by the DIG of the Special Security Division on April 11 should have been a serious topic in a Security Council meeting presided by the President between April 4 and the Sinhala Hindu New Year, or in the week after the New Year. When the President tells the nation, even he as the President was not informed of these impending ‘terrorist’ attacks, does it mean these warnings and information on security threats by neighbouring countries are not tabled at Security Council meetings as important issues? ‘IF’ what the President told the nation about him not being briefed about the ‘terror threat’ is not doubted, also adding what the PM said about his request to convene the Security Council as the President was not in the country being rejected, then there is serious breach in responsibility on the side of State security agencies. The democratically-elected President and the government by the ‘people’ have to be respected. Their political colour and positions don’t matter once elected by the people. 

"Narratives on this unimaginable massacre are many and diverse with  different interpretations, depending on who wants who blamed and  slandered. There is a blame game that was pitifully evident during the  parliamentary debate on Tuesday. Starting from the media briefing held by government ministers on Monday at Temple Trees, there was a very concerted effort to wash their hands off the(ir) responsibility of a serious security lapse"

There was also neglect of responsibility with ministers who were privy to the information of a ‘terror threat’ in Colombo. Minister Harin Fernando, the first minister to ‘tweet’ parts of the confidential document by the DIG of the Special Security Division, thereby contradicted his claim he was warned by his father over the phone. I presume he has had access to that confidential document before his father’s phone call. So did Minister Mano Ganesan who tweeted his security personnel had told him of ‘suicide bombers’ in Colombo to target ministers. 

He does not say whether he asked for details from his security personnel as to how they came to know of such a ‘threat.’ Irresponsibility and callous disregard for people’s safety, both Harin Fernando and Ganesan did not even think they should brief their own PM immediately on information they received about ‘terror attacks’ in Colombo. 
They are not alone in disregarding the seriousness of information regarding ‘terror attacks’ on people. Ministers and MPs who joined the parliamentary debate on Tuesday were not interested in serious debate over multiple terror attacks, possibly the worst ‘terror attack’ after 9/11 in NY. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe who posted himself on city walls during elections as the ‘scholar of our time’ certainly changed the meaning of that word with his racist, nonsensical arguments in Parliament. 

His one main argument was that this ‘terror’ attack was inevitable with all arms of intelligence weakened and demotivated, locking up intelligence personnel behind bars. He claimed over 100 men have been so punished and therefore this government is totally responsible for the carnage left from these ‘terror’ attacks. It is total hypocrisy to say the intelligence agencies are now weak, demotivated and inefficient due to interrogations and arrests of some personnel for alleged crimes committed.

There was no lethargy, no inefficiency in collecting details and information on NTJ and its activists. Intelligence officers had kept track of all their movements and were up to date on NTJ as the once confidential report discloses. Lack of information was not the question. The major question was about not acting on available information. Rajapakshe’s ‘scholarly’ reading perhaps lack intellect in deconstructing and understanding these complex issues. It is no surprise either with academics like Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, a national list MP tabling a private member motion calling for a ban on wearing the ‘Burqa.’

His intellect makes him believe the Burqa and ‘terrorism’ live together. He is thus convinced, when women are denied the Burqa, men don’t turn ‘terrorists.’‘Extremism’ leading to ‘violence’ and ‘terrorism’ has nothing to do with the dress. If ‘dress’ is anything that decides violence and terror, then there cannot be monks in Lord Buddha’s saffron robe leading unruly violent mobs against the Muslim community. 

Inability and reluctance to have decent and intellectual debates and discussions in resolving these very sensitive and complex issues, the linear intellect in tossing up cheap racist candy for mass consumption create space for more extremist arrogance that can make very serious racist dents in all elections to come. One, all politicians seems to be playing for.