STORY FROM JAFFNA: HOW NOT TO FIGHT AGAINST A TERRORISTS’ OUTFIT

29/04/2019

“We would like to ask the media to please be responsible in the way you report news. Please don’t humiliate us unnecessarily or carry un-validated information designed to whip up suspicion and hatred against us.

I am the chief administrator of a Jaffna mosque. The Special Task Forces surrounded our area (where Muslims are concentrated) in Jaffna yesterday and went through all our houses with a fine tooth comb.

We are a community still rebuilding our houses after being displaced en masse in 1990. We share our accommodation with others of our community who do not have houses of their own.

When the problem burst last week, many Muslim students with families in other parts of the country, as well as traders with families in other parts of the country, locked up their rooms and ran home citing safety concerns.

When the Army / STF / Police came into our homes, we didn’t have the keys to those rooms we had rented out – so we had to break open the doors to show them what was inside.

Nothing of suspicion was found in any of our homes – we were fully co-operative. Then they came to the mosque and swarmed everywhere in boots. I begged them not to do that as it’s deeply hurtful to us to desecrate our place of worship like that – but all the forces were very rude in retaliation. They were clearly looking to charge us with something. In one of the mosque store rooms they found bags of loose tea leaf powder. We allowed a Muslim trader from Kandy to use the room to store his tea powder. We are a community still reintegrating into Jaffna with little to no outside help after being split apart in 1990, we help each other out like that.

Anyway, when the Easter attacks happened, he too decided to close up here and go back to his family in Kandy for some time. Most of our livelihoods as small time traders have been affected in this way. We travel all over the country selling simple goods and we are too scared to do so now.

The Police found the loose tea powder and despite our repeatedly telling them it was only tea powder, acted like they had found some explosive device and herded us into a police jeep for further interrogation. In the meantime the media had been tipped off – as I and other mosque leaders were being herded with insults into the police jeep, the media were in our faces taking photos and videos.

We were in the police station for only 10 minutes before the Public Health Inspector came along and verified what they had found was indeed tea powder – but none of the media carried that. Today, all the Tamil media on TV and print only carried humiliating photos and videos of me and others, along with reports that we had been arrested and taken in for having suspicious items in the mosque.

This is the Uthayan – the most widely circulated paper in Jaffna. It’s headline says, “Moulavi apparently tried to evade arrest by claiming that he was a former Municipal council member.”

They got two things wrong. I am not a moulavi. And I was not arrested – I was taken in for further questioning. Yes, I did tell the forces I was a former municipal council member. I did that in order to reason with them not to treat us like potential terrorists, that we were civic leaders holding or having held respectable positions and there was no need to be so rude to us. That didn’t help with the forces – but the Uthayan reporter picked it up and made a snide headline out of it.

Is there any way to hold the media more accountable? Please stop whipping up hatred against us, the innocent Muslims living amongst you.

We are willing to do anything to help wipe out terrorism. We are as shattered as you are. Stop making us the enemies.”

From the FB page of Humans of Northern Sri Lanka.

More tributes paid across North-East for Easter Sunday attack victims

190428 Nallur vigil ND 5.jpeg

Multi-faith leaders join prayers at Nallur temple

29 April 2019

More memorials and vigils were held across the North-East in tribute of the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks in Batticaloa and Colombo which killed over 250 people.

Prayers in Muthur East

Prayer vigils were held in Trincomalee at the Sampur Arasady Nagambal temple and Muthur East Muthumari Amman temple, as well as at Jaffna's Nallur Murugan temple.

The Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) also held a memorial event at its headquarters in Jaffna. (pictured above and below)

Sampur (above), Muthur East (below)

Related Articles: 

27 April 2019 : Batticaloa mourns children killed in Zion church bombing

27 April 2019 : CID detain mother of suspected Batticaloa church bomber

27 April 2019 : Sri Lanka's president blames UN inquiry for causing Easter Sunday attacks

Rajapaksas Know We Are Stupid

By Suranimala Umagiliya –APRIL 29, 2019

Easter Sunday massacre is perhaps the biggest setback Sri Lankans have had to face in the last ten years. How barbaric can a human being be to bomb people at prayer? The attacks were coordinated but the responses by an inept government and stalking opposition were not. The politicians have reached a new low and so has been the debate by a foolish, slavish majority. It is widely known that Sri Lankans have given a new meaning to “literacy levels”.

They imagine that they are highly literate (not intelligent or wise) and mistake it for wisdom and high capacity of thought. Stuff and nonsense. One has only to scroll down articles in social media to the comments section and all of them descend to support the Rajapaksa clan and or Wickremesinghe or castigating one or the other. That is the sum total of our literate debate.

The dastardly act is done. Families have been dismembered. The impact on the surviving members will be felt once the dust settles. Sri Lanka has to think positive. The narrative must move from tragedy to a positive mode to bring normalcy and get the economy back on track. People have shown that they wish to forge a single identity and recognise the diversity of race and religion. There is no time to vacillate. The empathy of the international community will last until the next catastrophe elsewhere.

What is shocking is that the Rajapaksa clan have not changed their style nor lost any shame in the face of this national tragedy. Mahinda ran to the scene of the crime to score some brownie points. It did not take long for Gotabaya and Mahinda to blame the government for not taking action on intelligence reports received prior to attacks. That is a valid charge. But they did not stop at that. They went on to say,

a) The present government imprisoned Army Intelligence Officers,

b) Gotabaya reasserted that he will run for President and crack down on Islamic terrorism.

How naive or how smart are they? The answer to that remains as to how intelligent or stupid Sri Lankans are.

The Intelligence Group who are imprisoned are held on charges of murder, rape, abduction and other offences. They have been committed to remand by a Judge and not a political party. That too for carrying out orders of, well you know who.

If this Intelligence Group was not in prison, the Rajapaksa’s allude that the suicide bombings would not have taken place. They would have acted upon the intel reports. Whoa!!!

How was it that the very same Intelligence Groups who are now in remand but very much active during Gotabaya’s reign as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence did not even get the intel that the LTTE was going to bomb him at Colpetty? Huh?

During the multi-religious meeting with President Sirisena, the Chief Mufti informs Maithripala Sirisena that as far back as 2014 he met Gotabaya, who was the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and warned him about this same radical Muslim group but he did nothing more than pass it on to his Army Intelligence team who in turn turned a blind eye. ( See date on the document)

If that is not proof enough watch the video.

Video Player

1. “Chief Mufti informs Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya”

3:25

Let us sympathise with the families that lost members and do what is necessary to compensate them. Let us lend support to the injured and pray for their recovery. Let us stand together as one nation accepting the diversity of race and religion. But most of all respecting our fellow human beings. Once that is done, let us not vote for this bunch.

Read More

Easter Sunday Savagery: The Unanswered Questions

Photo by Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP via Al Jazeera

DR. PAIKIASOTHY SARAVANAMUTTU-04/28/2019

Whilst the security operations continue, it is time for the committee set up by the president and indeed the rest of us, to consider the questions that refuse to go away and demand answers.   The carnage of Easter Sunday throws up many questions, some of which have been answered albeit unconvincingly.  Consequently a lot is riding on the committee appointed by the president to investigate as to how such a tragedy could have happened. Likewise, with the parliamentary committee that is proposed by MP Kiriella, for a similar purpose.

As to why in this election year and in this period of elections, Catholics should be targeted by Muslim extremists in a predominantly Buddhist country where there is no record of Muslim- Christian animosity and violence and where the most recent incidents of religious violence were perpetrated by Buddhists against Muslims, surely must raise more than a few eyebrows?  The horror was meant to set minority against minority, draw the country into an international network of terror and tension and via the attacks on the tourist hotels, cripple the economy and show that the government cannot provide security for its citizens and guests.  It most certainly has taken months in planning and has involved over a hundred locals in planning and execution.  Whilst the Islamic State has belatedly taken responsibility for the attacks, it does beg the question as to why they did not do so earlier, given the scale of the attacks and the number of fatalities.

The most appalling aspect of the horror is the news that there were warnings of such attacks- pretty detailed too – and that the warnings were not communicated to those in power and authority to do something about them. This included the President, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Minister of Defence.  Moreover, the Prime Minister has not been informed of National Security Council meetings since October 2018, although SLFP MPs have attended.  Equally disturbing is the reported allegation that the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ), the local organization alleged to be responsible for the barbarism, is being funded from an account run by military intelligence which, is also used to fund the BBS.  This is very serious and should be denied immediately, if not true.

Is it the case that the warnings were disregarded out of sheer disbelief that anything of such a nature could happen in Sri Lanka?  Were this to have been the case, is it also because of some collective relief and indeed belief that the scourge of terrorism was behind us, and that all was well on that front.  We do know that moderate Muslim organizations had written to authorities about the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) the organization that initially claimed responsibility for the attacks and its leader Mohamed Zahran, asking that both be banned on account of their activities including the defacing of Buddhist statues and the propagation of hate speech.  There were demonstrations in Kattankudy to this effect as well.  Some members involved in the Easter Sunday carnage had been arrested and released on the intervention of key politicians.  Perhaps there is more in the way of lapses of the security services and in security procedures?

In any other country, heads would roll and the government would resign.  The president, guilty of violating the constitution thrice last year, has clearly failed at the cost of 350 or more lives, as Minister of Defence, the minister in charge of the police and the National Security Council.  Yes, there is a need to reorganize the security establishment and ask the Defence Secretary to resign. Neither though, absolves the highest authority of responsibility for this atrocity.  As for the Prime Minister and the Deputy Minister of Defence – what were they doing with regard to their exclusion from meetings of the National Security Council? Surely, not being invited is no defence against the effective dereliction of duty?

Given the pivotal role of accountability in a parliamentary democracy and given the strong desire to strengthen this as per the Nineteenth Amendment, parliament must step in and play a lead role in finding out who was responsible, ensure they are brought to book without fear or favour and institute whatever reforms and reorganization of the intelligence and security establishment found to be necessary.  It is imperative that all political associations and the real reasons for the warnings not being sent to the President and Prime Minister are revealed.  Their rivalry should not be allowed to impede national security and certainly not at the cost of hundreds of lives.

As noted, this is an election year and no doubt the arguments for a strong and decisive leader will have gained in credence.  The news about the warnings and the National Security Council meetings must surely damage the prospects of the current dispensation considerably.  In this regard, Sri Lanka cannot escape the global trend towards strong leadership.  However, whilst authoritative leadership may be desired we must make sure that it does not lead to authoritarian leadership and a race back to the future.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared his candidacy for the Presidency.  Maithripala Sirisena still clings onto the possibility of his candidacy.  Both have now made common ground with their ridiculous argument that the carnage was made possible by the government following the dictates of the human rights NGOs – dismantling elite intelligence units, focusing on reconciliation, individual rights and freedoms.   Are we to defeat terrorism by trampling on rights and freedoms?  Do we need armed forces at wartime levels to fight terrorism?  Cannot they be more efficiently employed and indeed, deployed?  Is fighting terrorism the opportunity cost of protecting human rights?  Is not the sane and sensible policy one that combines the two?

The political challenge is to prevent the race back to the future.  Gothabaya Rajapaksa and his coterie cannot escape responsibility if it is shown that they were warned about the NTJ in 2014 and if the allegation about funding is proven to be correct.  And the government needs to be proactive in countering their arguments about listening to the human rights community to the detriment of national security.

The politics of hurt and harm and hate have struck a devastating blow.  Like it or not, we are all going to have to unite, work together to heal the wounds and make the country whole again.  And as we do so, there are no shortcuts or sleight of hand to mask the uncomfortable or unthinkable.  We have to forge ahead on the basis of the truth or else our polity will be dysfunctional and rotten to the core.  That is of course if it isn’t, already.

9 lessons for marketing from the terror attack on Easter

The Easter attack was part of a bigger plan strategised in 2010

Tuesday, 30 April 2019 

It was not only Sri Lanka that was shaken from the Easter attack but also the world. The lights on the Eiffel Tower were switched off, parliaments around the world observed a minute’s silence. US President Donald Trump made a special comment to the media. Sri Lanka became a top of the mind brand globally in the backdrop of ‘Lonely Planet’ declaring Sri Lanka as a must visit destination in 2019.


GDP drops to 3.2%

Whilst the dust is settling down on Sri Lanka, all we see in media is funerals and policymakers levelling charges on each other in Parliament and on media whilst the President and Prime Minister are stating that they were totally unaware of the threats communicated before the attack which is very poor leadership. My mind went back to the management philosophy, “The strength of leadership can be only tested when a crisis situation emerges.” On this premise the Sri Lankan Government failed on 21 April.

Whilst Sri Lanka was focussing on the tragedy, the Central Bank announced the economic performance in the last couple of years. The performance further took the leadership to the gutter. To be specific, the GDP growth was 5.3% (2015), 4.2% (2016), 3.8% (2017) and 3.2% in 2018 which is very sad given that our neighbours are registering a growth in excess of 5%.

Let’s accept it, this is not what we expected from a Yahapalana Government, not to mention how the Central Bank was robbed by the current Government and the country ran into a power crisis just a few weeks back. I guess the tourism theme ideally fits the situation – ‘So Sri Lanka’.

Let me take a positive perspective and capture the lessons for marketing from the terror attack on Easter. I dedicate this article to the people who lost their lives on 21 April.


Lesson 1: Bigger picture 

The attack on 21/4 was not just a terror attack but a masterminded plan as far back as 2010 when the ISIS focused on Sri Lanka. Initially it was a PR initiative and somewhere around 2014 the mastermind Zaharan and his team trained from Syria started operating in the country with radical thoughts.

As per a specialist on this subject Prof. Rohan Guneratne, only 10% of this entity are suicide bombers. There are another 90% who operate in a country creating the infrastructure and preparing the ground work to convert peace-loving Muslims into this thinking. Hence, finding the 139 core cadres by the Sri Lankan security is the easy part but dismantling the other 90% of the operation will be the tough task especially because it’s an election year.

Implication to marketing: When we are monitoring competitor activity we see new brands being launched or new advertising campaigns on media. Rather than just reacting to competition activity more data needs to deep-dived so that a bigger picture can be un-earthed.

For instance, when Lifebuoy soap some years back launched a white soap, it was not just a competitor move of a brand but a strategic directional move to move from a male-oriented germ kill bath to moving the brand to a family soap which was milder but on the DNA of germ kill. Hence, if we do a deep dive on the gains and loss of this brand, most beauty soaps will also become sources of business. To summarise always look at the bigger picture.


Lesson 2: Data-based decisions

We see that the Government is being run on perceptions and personalities with limited experience in proactive decision making. Hence, it is very evident that the thirst for data-based decision making is not in their working grail.

Even though the Indian authorities alerted the Sri Lankan Government on the massacre to take place on three occasions – 4 April, 9 April and 16 April (also reported in Colombo Telegraph website) stating that the President was also briefed, the data did not stimulate the policymakers for action. This also does not absolve the PM not being able to take action as mentioned by the former Army Commander in Parliament last Friday.

Implication to marketing: There are two pick-ups. Let’s say you are working for a FMCG company. Get hard data on household consumption (LMRB panel data), retail availability (Nielsen retail panel data) and then link it to your own company’s primary and secondary sales, so that you know if stocks are piling up in the value chain. The second being that the relevant decision-makers must be privy to such data and empowered to take action. In essence ‘data-driven’ decision making must become a way of life in today’s complex market place.


Lesson 3: Work on skillset

Since the time the current Government came into power in 2015, we have seen on many instances how the policymakers have demonstrated their low skillset – be it the recent power crisis, the four-year attempt to launch an integrated global marketing campaign to this disaster that killed 300 odd innocent lives that included 40 foreign nationals not to mention the Central Bank bomb scam. The most recent being the ‘skill disaster’ on the post 21/4 crisis management strategy of the country that included the poor management of interviews by the Prime Minister on Sky News and BBC.

Implication to marketing: If you are running a brand, you cannot wait till information comes to your table. You must design your work to ensure that the key data reaches you irrespective where you are based. Once the data is received, consult your team and reach for the experts to get their view and drive for ‘gold’ standard implementation. Remember that in marketing one does not have to invent solutions. There is always a “best practice” in the marketplace. Pick it up and make changes based on the situation at hand, and implement speedily. You can keep improving the actions on the run.


Lesson 4: Cutting edge leadership 

From the outset we see cracks in the leadership. The first being the denial from the leadership on the aware of the attack. Then came the bombshell from the Prime Minister that action cannot be taken against a militant group on Sri Lankan soil that was shredded by the respected lawyer Prathiba Mahanama. To add insult to injury, the overnight reduction in the casualties by almost 100 people was not very professional. It only just revealed to the world the poor leadership in control manage this ISIS debacle. Some professionals from the tourism industry commented that if we had managed the post disaster actions and communication, we could have avoided the tourism/travel advisories that were dished out by countries like India, Britain and US.

Implication to marketing: If you have been around in the world of marketing, disaster management and issues related to product quality/service levels are common. Take control and get a hold of the reality first. Thereafter ensure the senior leadership is behind you on the strategy. Get feedback at every stage of the implementation process and do course correction. Keep the senior management informed of the progress at regular intervals. People must have confidence that you are in control. Then half the battle is won.


Lesson 5: Get the media behind you

What we see in Sri Lanka is that in the absence of a strong leader in the post disaster activation, the media is loaded with bickering between the opposition and ruling party, not forgetting the politicians allegedly involved in providing material for the bombers and being closely associated with them. As at now the news editions are more like ‘discovery movies’ than progress on the ground. I will be failing in my duty if I don’t commend the strong leadership seen by the Army General in ‘Operation Samanthurai’. The confidence I got from the regular/focused communique must be highlighted.

Implication to marketing: When disaster happens, separate the problem from the people who created the issue. Remove the people from the situation and get to the core of the issue so that the media picks up your desire to solve the issue. For instance when the Tiger Woods scandal broke out some years back, Nike immediately took the decision to disassociate the company with the celebrity and move to damage control on the brand. These kinds of hard decisions are required so that the media backs you.


Lesson 6: Come out clean

The biggest issue with the attack on 21/4 was that the government did not come out clean. The Prime Minister revealed to global media that he was not aware of the ‘impending attack’ as he was not invited to the Security Council meetings for almost six months. The question asked by the former Army Commander in Parliament was why did he not inform the Parliament and may be even resigned as the PM. The other was that a multitude of ministers are allegedly implicated to have protected or been doing business with the family of the bombers. This did not help the Government given that some are senior cabinet ministers.

Implication to marketing: It goes without saying but in the job of marketing ‘financial integrity’ is a hygiene factor. Also when a situation happens, one must take responsibility and agree on the next steps for correction. The media and public must see you as a person above board and sincere to the task at hand. For instance Cadbury India was 100% transparent on the product issue and also bringing in Amitabh Bachman to be the brand ambassador. Remember one thing, SL media does not lie – there is some truth to any story reported.


Lesson 7: Heads must roll

Even after the most powerful person in Sri Lanka – the President – announcing that key heads would be changed within 24 hours, even as we speak as at today the IGP of the Sri Lanka Police continues to remain in his seat. This demonstrates weak leadership and creates a serious credibility issue of the administration, not only in Sri Lanka but globally.

Implication to marketing: If a serious issue happens that questions the credibility of the organisation, then heads have to roll. The best example was in 1984 when the famous Coca Cola product issue happened in the US, the Brand Manager immediately resigned. Later on, after almost 10 years, the same person was hired by Coca Cola as the Marketing Director, signalling to the world the uniqueness in values of the organisation.


Lesson 8: Focus on brand value

The last point is that the winner in marketing is singlehandedly the brand value. We must add value to the brand. Sadly, Sri Lanka as a brand has been battered in the last four years due to corruption allegations and the deteriorating performance of its key parameters like GDP growth. Brand Sri Lanka that was growing at an average 35% post 2009 till 2015 has now crashed to single digit growth in 2018. Countries like Algeria and Ukraine have beaten Sri Lanka on brand value performance in the last two years. The devastating Easter attack will compound to the Central Bank corruption issue. We might end the year at just around 90 billion dollars as a nation brand, from the current $87 billion is what analysts predict.

Implication to marketing: We must track brand value building as the single-minded performance measure in brand marketing. Currently, due to the difficult trading conditions in the marketplace, the focus of marketers are sales and net profit for obvious reasons. This is the reality, but we must move to the high order discipline of brand building which is more long-term and strategic in nature, especially in the tourism sector that is challenged on the profitability end and organisations are essentially making money on ‘asset enhancement’.


Lesson 9: Technology track

It’s scary but all attacks on 21/4 has been tracked via technology that it is almost like a horror movie. This is the first Sri Lanka has seen the power of CCTV and how people’s behaviour has been tracked up to the point a bomber having breakfast before casually walking up to the middle of the crowd and blowing himself and those around. It’s eerie and chilling but that is the reality of the world today.

Implication to marketing: Given the development of technology we now can track consumer conversations in the digital footprint and thereby conceptualise trends the very consumer who does this is not aware. Especially with the launch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) predicting consumer behaviour and understanding the brand equity strengths can be done at ‘time’. Marketers now need to use such technology.


Next steps

Whilst the 21/4 incident is very sad, we see the lessons it can teach business and practical marketers. The challenge is if we have the mindset to conceptualise such learning and change our behaviour in the organisations in which we work.

(The writer is an award-winning marketer and business professional who has worked for 23 years in top global multinationals including the UN and then went on to become Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and Sri Lanka Tourism. He is the President/CEO of a foremost global AI company based in Sri Lanka.)

Bullets and camouflage holster found in Jaffna mosque

 30 April 2019

 Lankan police reportedly found two rifle bullets and a camouflaged holster following a raid on a mosque in Jaffna, as the security forces continue to carry out raids across the North-East.  

The ammunition was found along with firecrackers at the Mankumpan Mosque, in Thevagam, Jaffna in a raid on Monday.

One person has reportedly been taken into police custody. 

Military personnel, Special Task Force officers, and police were seen in heightened numbers across the North-East, with temporary checkpoints, bag checks and house to house searches reported.

Read more: Increased security presence across North-East as troops conduct search operations

Read more: Sri Lanka parliament passes widely criticised Emergency Regulations for 30 days

Several arrests have already been made, reportedly in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks. In the wake of the attacks, emergency regulations were passed without a vote, which gives the security forces wide ranging powers arrest and detention.

Related Articles: 

25 April 2019 : Ranil admits 'failure' of government to ensure security

28 April 2019 : Increased security presence across North-East as troops conduct search operations

23 April 2019 : Rajapaksa lambasts current government for security lapses, calls for resignations

When Sri Lanka Lost Its Hard Earned Peace

While the revival of the LTTE in the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka has been ruled out, is a religious conflict in the offing? Or are multiple bombers the warning strikes?

by Ashok K Mehta-2019-04-30

 

Sadly, Sri Lanka earning the sobriquet of being the only country to comprehensively eradicate terrorism could survive for just 10 years. After battling several decades of guerrilla insurgency by a minority Tamil militant group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and vanquishing it in 2009, Sri Lanka was just returning to normalcy when the Easter Sunday attack on churches and high-end hotels across the island brought back its bloody and violent past. Racial tensions — between the minority Tamils and the majority Sinhalese Buddhists — leading to violence was common till 2009. But even at the height of that insurgency, no places of worship were attacked, only symbols of the Sri Lankan state. This is the first case of religious violence on an island that is worryingly close to a hub of fundamentalist Islamic activity, the Maldives.

 

By the Government’s own admission of an intelligence failure, at least seven to eight suicide bombers struck as far apart as Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa, killing nearly 310 and wounding another 500 people. This is, perhaps, the most sophisticated and well-coordinated terrorist attack by well-trained and motivated, probably local Muslims, with elaborate support from an international organisation like the Islamic State (IS). So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the heinous attacks. The Government has blamed the recently formed Sri Lanka Tauheed Jamaat (SLTJ), which has been linked to the vandalisation of Buddhist statues, and declared a national emergency.

 

The modus operandi was like this: Terrorists checked into three hotels the night before — according to one report, with the same name — with sophisticated explosive jackets and triggered the devices at or around breakfast time the next day. Similarly, terrorists sneaked into churches and blew themselves up on Eastern Sunday mass, again, all timed at 8.45 am. This is clearly a case of thinking global, acting local. The potential bombers were motivated in Colombo and probably trained in the Maldives.

 

Sri Lanka has not witnessed a single terrorist attack since the eradication of the LTTE a decade ago. The Khalistani

 

terrorism in Punjab and Tamil Tiger terrorism in Sri Lanka are two unique instances in recent history of a state subduing terrorism.

 

The politically dysfunctional cohabitation of what was once a national unity Government of two national parties — Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe — is extracting its toll. Last year, the unity Government was rent apart in a Constitutional crisis when Sirisena dismissed Wickremesinghe and appointed the man he had defeated in the presidential election, Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister. While the Supreme Court restored Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister, the divide between the two leaders is unbridgeable.

 

Sirisena has kept the Defence Ministry, intelligence and law and order (internal security) under his charge and kept Wickremesinghe out of the loop. The senior-most military officer, the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, under the CDS Act of Parliament 2009, reports to the President through the Secretary Defence, which is an administrative appointment.

 

In the past, the CDS used to brief the Prime Minister, too, and he used to attend NSC briefings, which evidently stopped after the Constitutional row. The intelligence failure was avoidable and has led to two parallel enquiries by the Prime Minister’s Office and the presidential secretariat.

 

On April 11, based on an international and Indian intelligence tip-off of April 4, the DIG, Police, warned that a Muslim organisation was planning to carry out terrorist attacks using suicide bombers. This was not shared with the Prime Minister’s Office. At a media briefing on Monday, the Government blamed the President (who was abroad on a private visit to India and Singapore) for not sharing the intelligence report and not appointing a care-taker in his absence.

 

The second round of feuding between the President and Prime Minister may have begun when the two should be seen to be acting in unison in this grave crisis. The guard was also let down: Ten years of not a single act of terrorism had induced complacency.

 

As someone who travels frequently to Sri Lanka, visits Colombo at least twice a year and as a former commander of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), I have detected laxity in security norms at hotels and public places — all this when Colombo and its airport were in complete lockdown till 2009. After the war was won, the heart of Colombo, Galle Face Green, was freed and decked with a victory flag aflutter, courtesy the winds of the Indian Ocean.

 

The aggrieved minorities in Sri Lanka are the Tamils in the North and East; and the Muslims, mainly in East and South, including Colombo. The Muslims were at the receiving end at the hands of the Tamil Tigers in the East, having been expelled from the North. During IPKF’s time, relatively prosperous Muslim groups had begun to raise clandestinely armed militias. But the birth of radicalised Muslims is a new post-2013 phenomenon. The immediate triggers for the suicide attacks most likely are the unbridled attacks by Sinhalese extremists, the Bodu Bala Sena, starting sporadically in 2013 and peaking in 2018 against Muslim religious and economic interests, thus forcing the declaration of emergency.

 

In one of my conversations with a senior serving military officer in 2017, I asked what he considered the main security threat to the country. He said, “We have no external threat…our main concern is internal security.” He named the IS as the chief worry, adding: “We identified 32 Sri Lankans, who joined IS, one of whom was killed”. But in next door Maldives, there are at least 300 hardcore IS activists and there are 30,000 Maldivians living in Sri Lanka. Visa-free movement is permitted between both countries. So it would seem that BBS depredations could have instigated the local radical groups belonging to SLTJ to avenge their alleged state/politically supported attacks.

 

The current spate of suicide attacks will hurt the state. Tourism makes up about five per cent of the island’s $87 billion economy, supporting about one million jobs. It is also the third largest source of foreign currencies with India contributing a sizeable chunk: In 2018, 397,985 Indian tourists visited Sri Lanka as against 384,628 in 2017. But after the attacks, there has been a 41 per cent increase in cancellation of departure bookings for Sri Lanka from April 21 to 27 from India, with a 17 per cent drop in enquiring customers.

 

Let me stick my neck out. The revival of the LTTE has been ruled out. But is a religious conflict in the offing? Or are multiple bombers the warning strikes?

 

(The writer is a retired Major General of the Indian Army and founder member of the Defence Planning Staff, currently the revamped Integrated Defence Staff)

Sophisticated response to terror attacks needed

by Jehan Perera-April 29, 2019, 6:45 pm 

Sri Lanka ended its first week after coordinated terror attacks in six locations left more than 250 killed and 500 injured without any further attacks. But the country remained in a state of semi-paralysis with people fearful about going to their workplaces in urban areas and to crowded places such as shopping centres and markets. Schools also remain closed. Some foreign embassies even ordered the evacuation of children and asked their staff not to report to work. After churches and hotels were attacked people do not know what the next target will be.

Such sustained and widespread fear did not grip the country even during the worst days of the three decade long war with the LTTE. There were suicide and other bombings then too but they did not denude the streets of people for so many days at a time. The willingness of the NJT to expend the lives of as many as nine of its members as suicide bombers on a single day suggests the availability of more waiting in the wings. This is a major cause for apprehension.

The NJT is reported to have had about 150 members. Whether they are all ready to be suicide bombers is a matter for speculation when little is known of this organization. So far the security forces have made many arrests. Whether they are all members of the organization or others who are supportive of them or members of other extremist groups is not known. The people await the government’s announcement that security is assured before they will be willing to venture out of their homes with confidence.

The ending of the nationwide curfew on Sunday a week after attacks seems to have had a positive impact on the public mood. There is more of normalcy in the flow of traffic and in office attendance. The continuation of the curfew was an indication that the government was adopting a cautious attitude to national security. The country cannot afford another bomb attack that kills and maims people.

DANGEROUS ANGER

There is already much anger seething in society about the government’s failure to give the people advance warning about the possibility of these attacks. This is anger that can be turned into a communal conflagration as in the past which needs to be prevented at all costs. Information regarding Muslim extremists was given by the Muslim religious and civil leaders to the government as long as three years ago and also more recently. This information was detailed, giving names and even videos of the speeches that these extremists were giving.

There was information that came from Indian intelligence services of the day and specific targets. It is a grave dereliction of responsibilities that the government failed to take all these warnings into account to protect the people. It is beyond belief that the top political leaders of the government and opposition did not get these intelligence reports about the impending catastrophe. These intelligence reports appear to have been widely disseminated within the security and intelligence services, and it is difficult to believe that none of them shared this information with those who were leading the country and with whom they had been working closely.

The tragedy of Sri Lanka is that no one takes responsibility for the security lapse or for downplaying the threat or for waiting to take political advantage of the crisis that was bound to come. The president and prime minister who lead the country have been pulling in different directions since their working relations began to seriously deteriorate last year. The government from which so much was expected has failed to deliver on its potential due to infighting.

The leaders of the opposition who continue to have influence in the area of national security claim innocence. They promise to come back to power and deal effectively with the situation. There is widespread public yearning for strong leaders who will do the needful to eliminate terrorism. Indeed there is a very powerful undercurrent of emotion amongst the people that unscrupulous political leaders can seek to exploit. When anger is mixed with fear it can easily get transmuted into hate.

RELIGIOUS ACHIEVEMENT

One of the achievements of the present time, and in which Sri Lankan society can take strength, is that there have been no acts of retaliatory violence. The primary credit for this should go to the clergy of the Catholic Church whose adherents paid the biggest price in terms of the numbers of lives lost. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has been the public face of the church in calling for accountability from the government leaders who did not take the necessary action to prevent this catastrophe and for asking the people not to take the law into their own hands.

Sri Lanka can also take strength in the competence of its security forces that once battled the LTTE and set up systems of information gathering and counter terrorism that military personnel from other countries have come to study. The government has brought in Emergency Regulations to arm the security forces with additional powers. It is important that they be reminded of the need to function within the laws and to respect the dignity and honour of the people whose homes they may have to enter in search of terror suspects.

Dealing with religion based extremism requires a sophisticated approach. Civic, moral and religious leaders of all communities should reflect on the areas in which each of their communities could do more to improve engagement and relationships with those of other communities. We should not repeat the mistakes of the past. In 1979, President J R Jayewardene issued orders to the security forces to go to the North and eradicate terrorism in six months. However, the alienation that set in as a result of heavy handed counter-terrorism action alienated the people and the seeds of the thirty year war were sown.

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and the Catholic Church have set a good example in a time of national anguish and fear, and in a situation in which the Catholic community feels that they have been targeted. Muslim-Christian relations in Sri Lanka were never bad or conflictual and must not ever become so, which is what the Cardinal and other leaders of the Church have sought to ensure. The reliance on the coercive power of the state needs to be backed by the moral and reconciliatory power of religion as it is meant to be.

A bloody Easter Sunday and political prevarications

• Sunday, April 28, 2019

There is a special kind of atavistic horror when terrorists attack places of worship. These strikes aim at decimating not only the life and limb of innocents but also destroying a community’s faith and spirituality, the very qualities that distinguish human beings from barbarians. As bombs ripped through churches and top end hotels on Easter Sunday and small children were killed while saying their prayers, Sri Lankans entered into their own interpretation of living hell. Christians could only echo the anguished words of Jesus Christ when he said, ‘forgive them for they know not what they do…’

A treacherous quicksand of political lies

But let us step back apace. Forgiveness aside, this nation is not comprised of idiots to accept this ‘I did not know’ explanations proffered unblushingly by the President, the Prime Minister and Ministers. The great efficacy with which the police and intelligence services acted in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks suggests that there was no intelligence failure as touted. It was simply that political pressure coupled with stupidity held preventive concrete action criminally in abeyance. Put bluntly, this atrocity happened because of Sri Lanka’s politicians, no more and no less. Clueless, bumbling and grossly ignorant, they stumbled their way into a treacherous quicksand of lies, prevarication and infamy. Each manifest absurdity suceeded another.

Grinning Ministers informed us on national television in the first press conference after the attack that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had not been invited to the National Security Council meetings since the October coup last year. But that is no excuse whatsoever. This problem did not come about during the past six months; it had a far longer gestation period. And indeed, jihadist radicals in the East and elsewhere were being closely monitored for years by Sri Lankan intelligence. In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks, a veritable arsenal of weapons is being recovered by police commandos and intelligence who obviously know exactly where to go and what ‘safehouses’ to pinpoint.

Sheer commonsense would tell us that much of this was known beforehand. No other explanation is conceivable. Yet no preventive action was taken. Why? Was the impunity attached to a few politicians courted by both the Government and the Opposition for their vote banks in the East, the answer? The ‘go slow to act’ of Sri Lankan intelligence monitoring coupled with the brushing aside of specific warnings by Indian intelligence speaks to far more than mere carelessness. The President  and the Prime Minister owe this country an explanation, beyond their asinine ‘I did not know’ stories. The resignation of a horrendously inept Defence Secretary and calling for the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to step down will not do.

Dealing with uncomfortable realities

In fact, the last two days have been particularly excruciating as those in command wilted under extraordinary pressure. President Maithripala Sirisena lost himself in a morass of unconvincing explanations, culminating in a ridiculous claim that all this would be dealt with ‘in a few days.’ The Prime Minister could only say that Sri Lanka’s law did not give the power to deal with those having links to foreign terrorist organisations. This explanation is as false as it is silly. I do not propose to enumerate the laws that could be used for this purpose. But self-evidently and on the Prime Minister’s statement itself, narrowly tailored laws or amendments to existing laws could have been brought in upon intelligence disclosures of jihadi extremism, if the Government felt that it lacked the needed legal force. Why was it not done?

This week’s tragic events puts the inevitable seal on the argument that Sri Lanka should not have counter-terrorism legislation at all. What is called for is a more measured and strategic approach. A harsh counter-terror law following Western models is not the answer. If that heedless way is chosen, we will be thrust into a playground for global forces of terror and counter-terror compared to which, previous domestic conflicts will be a walk in the park. Emergency regulations currently in force must be examined when space permits. However at least here, there is periodic parliamentary control of the state of emergency and the Supreme Court has the benefit of excellent cursus curiae requiring emergency regulation to conform to constitutional safeguards, provided judicial fortitude is shown.

There are lessons for others as well. It is a trite truth that just as all Tamils are not terrorists, all Muslims are not Salafi-inspired jihadists. But the spread of Wahabism had been an open secret from the Rajapaksa years, to the extent that the non-Wahabist dead were not allowed to be buried in Kattankudy and jihadists in that area had spread their tentacles elsewhere. Yet critiques of this phenomenon were met by cries of ‘victimhood.’ Pundits claiming exclusive ‘analytical’ perspectives through funded ‘projects on reconciliation’ questioned opinions of ‘ordinary’ residents of multi-ethnic communities in Mawanella and elsewhere who complained of increased conservatism in their Muslim neighbours.

I have experienced this reaction myself, when briefly touching on the responsibility of Muslim politicians in the radicalisation of their voter bases. Email responses have asked why there is no focus on Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism as impetus for this radicalisation, even though this factor had been repeatedly acknowledged in these columns. But the point is that one wrong cannot be justified by another. Now we are in undeniably new terrain. Islamic State jihadism which inspired the Easter Sunday attacks must be placed in its own and deeply frightening context of a monster, born at least in part out of the West’s historical transgressions in the Middle East.

The remarkable resilience of a nation

So as Sri Lanka becomes engulfed in grotesquely unfamiliar religious extremism, the one comfort has been the exemplary behaviour of affected communities since that bloody Easter Sunday. Wise preachings by Catholic and Christian clergy that ‘meeting violence with counter-violence is not the Christian way’ were taken to heart even in Negombo whose residents are not particularly famed for their restraint. Despite isolated incidents, the resilience of a shocked and angry nation has been remarkable. The courage of police officers and security forces conducting relentless investigations, despite loss of lives, has been commendable. This exemplifies the best of Sri Lanka but does not excuse the criminal behaviour of the political command.

If political negligence was at heart here, (taken at its best possible meaning), and if intelligence had warned of an attack on the Presidential Secretariat or on Temple Trees, would similar apathy have prevailed? This is all of a piece with how the police responded or more accurately, did not respond to the attack on the Methodist Prayer Centre in Anuradhapura earlier this month when a provincial councilor of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ran amok.

This responsibility of properly addressing religiously motivated attacks lies equally on both the Government and the Opposition. With chilling presentiment, it was questioned in these column spaces last Sunday as to whether the State would be called upon to provide security to all Sri Lanka’s churches? Those words have proved to be sadly and forebodingly true.

And now, in the wake of unforgivable political failures, we are left with grievous loss, as individuals, as families, as communities and as a nation. Who will atone for this?

How Wahhabism was fostered until it’s too late

Sri Lankan Muslims are the greatest strength in the country’s fight against Islamic extremism. However, their radicalization is also the greatest long term threat

30 April 2019

On Friday, the imam of a Sufi mosque in Saindamarudu was alerted by the locals about a suspicious crowd in a house in the neighbourhood housing scheme called, Bolivia village. That is an exclusively Muslim housing scheme of 400 houses built after the Indian Ocean tsunami. The owner of one of the houses there had given his residence on rent to a man who claims to be a telecom engineer from Kattankudy; since new tenants moved in, he has observed a stream of unusual visitors to his house.   

A delegation from the local mosque, the Grama Sevaka and the owner visited the house to inquire and were confronted by the angry tenants.  

The locals then alerted a passer -by traffic cop. A police team was dispatched from Kalmunai Police , and was fired upon as they approached the house.   

Police Special Task Force and army were called in for help. As the troops encircled the house and evacuated residents in the nearby houses, around three gunmen kept firing. Later in the night, three explosions believed to be suicide blasts ripped through the house. Following day, troops found the remains of three men, believed to be gunmen, laying at the entrance of the house. Inside, charred bodies of 12 others, including six children, three women and three men were found. The men were believed to have blown themselves up killing the rest of the family members.   

 A woman and a child was recovered from wreckage and were later identified as the wife and the child of the mastermind of the suicide bomber Mohammed Zahran.   

The father and brother of Zahran, Mohammed Rilwan who was mentioned in the previous intelligence memo were also identified among the dead. Prior to the raid on their hideout, the three men had recorded a video in which they claimed the credit for the previous attacks and urged the Muslims to give up earthly responsibilities to wage Jihad.  Without the local help, the raid would not have been possible. In most part of the world, especially in the West, battle against Islamic extremism is fought with limited success exactly due to the lack of community cooperation. Instead, Muslims youth, mainly of immigrant origin give the middle finger to the police.  

The greatest strength in Sri Lanka’s fight against Islamic extremism is the local Muslim community. Their cooperation is crucial anywhere, and especially in the East, where Muslim majority enclaves have already insulated from the rest of the country to a great deal.   

Just like in Saindamarudu, the community is cooperating with the law enforcement authorities to help nab suspects. (One of the female suspects in police wanted list Fathima Lathifa, and the wife of one of the alleged vandals of Mawanella Budhdha statues was handed over to police by her parents)  

However, the greatest long term threat to Sri Lanka is also the radicalization of the same Muslim community. If the current level of radicalization persists that would erode the future prospects of cooperation. Similarly, mishandling the situation, leading to mass victimization of Muslims due to security measures may also result in a fall out of the Muslim community with the Sri Lankan state.   

Sri Lanka’s challenge would be to strike a balance.  

To begin with that the country should come to grips with the full scale of radicalization, both in terms of violent extremism and non-violent extremism.  

Last week, President Maithripala Sirisena belatedly banned National Thawheed Jammaath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem (JMI) in Sri Lanka as per powers vested in him.   
National Thawheed Jammaath is a breakaway group of Sri Lanka Thawheed Jaamaath (SLTJ). It was launched by Mohammed Zahran in 2012 after he broke away with a local mosque of the Sri Lanka Thawheed Jamaath. The first mosque of National Thawheed Jammaath was set up in a ramshackle hut in Kattankudy. Over the coming years, it grew in followers, resources and controversy it courted.   

The first mosque of Thawheed Jammaath in Beruwela was set up in 2002. It immediately triggered a major push back from local moderate Muslims

Zahran was reportedly removed from the leadership of NTJ in March this year after a clash with local Sufi followers. The clash sent Zahran and his brothers to underground. However, another brother of Zahran was appointed as the new leader of NTJ, which cast doubt over the sincerity of the decision to remove the hate preacher.  

Zahran and his followers then joined with a group from Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem (JMI). Local Thawheed Jammaath factions now claim innocence over the Easter Sunday Attacks and pin the blame on JMI.  

However this explanation is too simplistic.   

Thawheed Jammaath as a whole is propagating an austere form of Wahhabism based on literal interpretation of Quran and Hadith. It is this ideology of a recreation of medieval Islamic caliphate and a perceived clashed between Islam and the West that provides ideological inspiration for al Qaeda and Islamic State-led global Jihad. The only difference between other Thawheed Jaamaath factions and NTJ and JMI are their rationalization of use of violence- more specifically , the use of violence within Sri Lanka against Sri Lankan targets-to achieve their religious ends.  

The purported fallout of NTJ from the rest is due to this fundamental difference. Baring that all groups advocates an austere and militant form of Islam with reintroduction of Sharia and suffocating Arabized social and cultural norms. They all have more in common with Al Qaeda’s ideological vision than moderate local Sufi Islam.  

Their supposedly non-violent extremism is a stepping stone for violent extremism of global Salafi Jihad. Their followers travel back and forth between the two narratives.  

That radicalization happened due to the politically influenced indifference towards encroaching Wahhabism and sheer lack of political will to act against the looming threat. The spread of Thawheed Jammaath to Sri Lanka happened in 2002 on the back of Al Qaeda-led Salafi Jihad after 9/11 attacks.  

The first mosque of Thawheed Jammaath in Beruwela was set up in 2002. It immediately triggered a major push back from local moderate Muslims. Periodic sectarian clashes continued for the first decade. However, despite initial resistance, Thawheed Jammaath persisted, supported by large donations from Gulf states. More and more Muslims were lured into new Wahhabi brand of Islam. Financial and political calculations also led local Muslim political leadership to extend political patronage to creeping Wahhabism at the expense of moderate Sufi Islam. They may not have known the full scale of monstrosity that they were courting, however, their conduct effectively empowered Thawheed factions at the expense of moderate Islam.  
There are more than 200 Thawheed mosques in the country, of which only a few are registered as places of worship. Thawheed Jammaath followers have encroached positions of Ministry of Islamic Affairs and institutions that cater specifically to Muslims.  

Radicalization of Muslims is real and far reaching than one would assume. It cannot be combated merely by banning NTJ and JMI. Thawheed factions that are left out are not much different in terms of ideology they propagate. They may not espouse violence as of now, but, make no mistake, Islamic extremism is evolving and expansive ideology. They also provide sufficient radicalizing impetus. Suicide bombing is just a step away.  

The problem is Sri Lanka cannot ban all Thawheed factions. A good number of Sri Lankan Muslims, in some estimates around 20 per cent of the Muslim population in Beruwela, are followers of Thawheed Jaamaath. Some of them may already be cooperating with Police to nab the followers of their splinter group.  

 On the other hand, banning would drive them underground. Sri Lanka should launch an open dialogue with these communities, at the same time keeping a tab on their preaching and violent impulses of their more zealous followers.  

More importantly, the government should also launch a concerted programme to strengthen the moderate Sri Lankan Islam, empower their preachers, provide assistance to their Madrasas and encourage them to police their own communities for bad apple and to lead a counter radicalization narrative.

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