By Meera Srinivasan At first, they were nameless. “Nine suicide bombers,” is all authorities would reveal. In a little over a week, the police identified each of them and their stories began coming out. Now, a month after Sri Lanka’s savage Easter attacks, a messy web of disgruntled radicals has emerged, throwing up troubling hints …
An open warrant for the arrest of Mohamed Zaharan, the self-styled leader of the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) had been issued by a Colombo Magistrate back in August last year, but the wanted man had gone into hiding by then and the search for him had dissipated with the arrest of the then Terrorism Investigations …
By Sanjana Hattotuwa Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go. Oscar Wilde If you didn’t believe the President is a megalomaniac, charlatan and liar. If you didn’t believe the UNP is governed by its own damning, disturbing embrace of racism, evidenced by episodic expression and a deafening silence around systemic roots, including …
In a scathing indictment against police inaction during the communal violence in three districts in the North Western Province and Minuwangoda, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka in a letter to the Inspector General of Police claims that police had been present while mobs congregated after curfew was imposed. In a letter to Police …
By Anurangi Singh When the courts ordered the Bodu Bala Sena monk to pay her Rs. 50,000 compensation after being found guilty of criminal intimidation, Sandhya Eknaligoda received the money in coins and 10 and 20 rupee notes, all piled into polythene bags. Supporters of the monk, who were being driven around in a brand …
In the wake of allegations over deputy leader of Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, singer Madumadhawa Aravinda, on his involvement in the Minuwangoda clashes on May 13, a former member of the Minuwangoda Urban Council had made a statement to the police over the connection of the former to the incident, the Sunday Observer learns.
By Aanya Wipulasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been ordered to give evidence before the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court on June 21 in a Habeas Corpus inquiry into the disappearance of two human rights activists who went missing during his tenure as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. Speaking to the Sunday Observer ex-Defence Secretary’s legal team …
By Ranmini Gunasekara If the Police do not arrest the General Secretary of the All Ceylon Thowheeth Jama’ath (ACTJ), Abdul Razeek, within the course of next week, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) will find him and do the needful, warned General Secretary of the BBS, Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera today (24). He was addressing the …
By Prof. A.N.I. Ekanayaka There is something intrinsically meaningless in the bare assertion “Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country” where the denial that it is a “Buddhist country” is obviously the most contentious part provoking bitter controversy. However, on any detached analysis the debate whether Sri Lanka is or is not a Buddhist country …
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a leading public policy research and advocacy think tank in Sri Lanka, yesterday expressed its deep shock and concern over the Presidential pardon of controversial Buddhist monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero. The general secretary of Bodu Bala Sena, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, who was convicted of four counts of …
Sandya Eknaligoda, the wife of missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, had written to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe requesting for security for herself and her children after the release of Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara. The monk was jailed after he was found guilty of Contempt of Court following verbal abuse hurled …
THERESA MAY strode out of the door of 10 Downing Street in a crimson business suit and bowed to the inevitable. Having failed three times to get her Brexit deal through a hopelessly divided parliament, and confronted with a Tory insurrection over her proposed fourth attempt, she announced on May 24th that she would step …
(Text of a Press Release Issued By the Media Office of the Tamil National Alliance ) The Tamil National Alliance unequivocally condemns the President’s act of pardoning Ven. Gnanasara Thero by abusing the Constitutional powers vested in the Head of State. He was jailed by the Court of Appeal for committing the offence of contempt …
Camelia Nathaniel, Sandasen Marasinghe and Amali Mallawarachchi Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that the No Confidence Motion (NCM) against Industry and Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Co-operative Development and Vocational Training and Skills Development Minister Rishad Bathiudeen would be taken up for debate on June 18 and 19. Speaker Jayasuriya made this announcement in Parliament …
By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana Speaker Karu Jayasuriya today announced the appointment of an eight member Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) headed by Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri, to look into the Easter Sunday bomb attacks. The other members of the PSC include Ministers Rauff Hakeem, Ravi Karunanayake, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, MPs Kavinda Jayawardene, Ashu …
By B. Kolappan But with party not cutting through in bypolls, change in govt. is unlikely The DMK’s well-oiled campaign machinery, led by party president M.K. Stalin, on Thursday succeeded in stopping the Modi juggernaut from rolling into Tamil Nadu by mobilising votes with a focus on core issues such as demonetisation, NEET and the …
BJP has led NDA into a landslide victory in the 2019 General Elections, with the party alone winning 303 seats – 31 seats more than the halfway mark of 272. The NDA came close to the 350-mark, while the UPA, led by Congress, has sunk once again in the Lok Sabha. The grand old party …
By Priyanka Thirumurthy For the ruling AIADMK which hauled 37 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, results have been nothing short of disappointing this time around. As of 1.45 pm, the party is leading in just one seat in Tamil Nadu. Anbumani Ramadoss of the PMK – part of the AIADMK-BJP alliance – has …
By Ramanathan S. Sparking euphoria among his supporters across the country, and in a brutal defeat to the opposition, PM Narendra Modi has led his coalition to a victory, yet again. The BJP-led NDA is all set to form the Union government for a second consecutive term. With counting for the 17th Lok Sabha still …
By Chaturanga Samarawickrama Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera was released from the Welikada Prison, Commissioner General of Prisons, J. W. Tennakoon said. Earlier today, President Maithripala Sirisena ordered the Commissioner General of Prisons to release Gnanasara Thera who was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment to be served in six years …
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had decided not to participate in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), appointed to probe the Easter Sunday terror attacks. However, parliament yesterday approved a motion to set up a select committee to look into Easter Sunday attacks and to determine if any …
The Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that the No Confidence Motion against Industry and Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Co-operative Development and Vocational Training and Skills Development Minister Rishad Bathiudeen would be taken up for debate on June 18 and 19. The Speakers decision upheld the ruling party’s position that the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) …
By Chathuri Dissanayake Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Secretary General Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero has been granted a presidential pardon, highly placed sources confirmed. The hardline Buddhist group has called on its supporters to gather near Welikada Prison, where Gnanasara Thero was serving his jail term, at 3 p.m. today to welcome the monk, expected to …
By Ashwin Hemmathagama Lawmakers engaged in heated arguments yesterday in Parliament, unable to reach a decision on the date to take up the No-Confidence Motion against Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen and the Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to look into allegations against him. Having listened to lawmakers of both sides for two hours, Speaker …
By Kelum Bandara In the wake of reports about Arabic signboards in some areas of the eastern province, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed that they should be written only in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages. According to sources close to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister instructed Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardane to initiate …
By Ajith Alahakoon The resolution for appointing a Parliament Select Committee (PSC) to probe the causes of the Easter Sunday terror attacks which killed over 250 persons and caused injuries to around 500 others was passed in Parliament yesterday (22) with an amendment. UNP National List MP Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne PC brought the amendment to …
by Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera Minister Rishad Bathiudeen today said he had never influenced the army commander and that he only inquired about a person who was taken by an unidentified group. He told parliament that he never forced the Army Commander to release anyone and asked if it was wrong to inquire about …
By P.K.Balachandran There have been four very disturbing developments in Sri Lanka in the past few days, which, if not recognized and attended to immediately, could pave the way for more attacks by the local affiliates of the Islamic State (IS). In fact, the vitiated political and communal atmosphere could be used by any group, …
By Manoj Colombage Army Intelligence Major Prabath Bulathwatte has been back in the spotlight after Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake stunned civil society in a television interview last week, announcing that the officer, who was interdicted for allegedly running the white van squad responsible for a slew of attacks against journalists, had been reinstated into a …
By Gamini Weerakoon Politicians, like astrologers, are keen to predict a quick end to the ‘malefic period’ that befell the country on Easter Sunday for their usual fun and games to resume. The realisation that it was a fanatical, ruthless attack, the likes of which have devastated some countries has still not dawned on many. …
DECLARATION & PLEDGE BETWEEN FOCUS AND AUMSA The series of bombings on Easter Sunday (21st April 2019) and subsequent events compel us to reflect deeply about how we as Sri Lankans must change the way we think, speak and act towards one another. In light of this, the Fellowship of Christian University Students (FOCUS) and …
(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Sunday Observer” of May 19th 2019 Under the Heading “A long war against racism”) Ten years ago, Sri Lanka finally ended a bloody conflict that spanned three decades. It is particularly tragic that the week preceding this milestone was marked by calls to guard against a repeat of July …
By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya In the aftermath of the IS-linked Easter bomb attacks that left the country riven, Sri Lanka’s government representatives at the highest level were seen going in different directions – both literally and figuratively speaking. President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday (May 13) suddenly left for Beijing to attend a conference on Asian civilisations. …
The recent anti-Muslim attacks in the Gampaha and Kurunegala districts that left one dead and thousands affected were orchestrated by political forces connected to a key party, the Sunday Observer reliably learns. UPFA MP and SLFP General Secretary, Dayasiri Jayasekara made a statement yesterday at the Colombo Division DIG’s office regarding video footages that emerged …
BY TISARANEE GUNASEKARA “And even here Lies the other shore Waiting to be reached.” Tagore (My Reminiscences) The blue, red, yellow, orange and white lights are on, as are the makeshift stalls selling lanterns. Yet few pause to see, haggle, buy. Vesak, so near chronologically, had never seemed so far away spiritually. After the Easter …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene There is much good sense in the assertion by Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church this Friday that despicable communal violence by organised mobs against Muslims in the North Western Province and Minuwangoda a few days earlier was not only politically instigated but also a deliberate attempt to turn public focus away from …
By Sanjana Hattotuwa A decade after the end of the war, Sri Lanka is visibly, and far more than what’s acknowledged or reported openly, reeling from violent conflict. The anti-Muslim riots last week – of a scale, scope and speed of destruction that dwarfed Digana just over a year ago – coupled with the increase …
BY AANYA WIPULASENA AND ANURADHA KODAGODA An irredeemable gloom hung over the air. On Tuesday (14) evening Kottaramulla, in Nattandiya, was uncomfortably silent. As the 6.00 p m police curfew approached army personnel and police officers patrolled deserted streets. They would stop and check all vehicles going past that way. A day after an organised …
By Namini Wijedasa The mobs that hurled the stones were largely outsiders. But the men that threw bottles of petrol into his wholesale shop and struck the match while his family quaked in the flat above were from his own village. And that is what’s tearing communities apart in areas where, on Sunday and Monday, …
By Sandun Jayawardana The no-confidence motion (NCM) against Minister Rishad Bathiudeen alleges he tried to pressurise the Army Commander to release suspects arrested over the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, and that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce under him had supplied empty cartridge cases violating procedure to the copper factory owned by Inshaf Ahmed — …
By V. V. Ganeshananthan In the case of September 11 2001, communal loss is – comparatively, at least – well understood. Everyone saw or could see those deaths; they were on the news even as they happened; the broadcast was part of their lasting tragedy. Few perceived denial of the deaths as rational. The people …
Continue reading ‘Grief is a Country That Looks Different to Each Person Entering it.’ »
By World Socialist Web Site Reporters On Wednesday, World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) reporters visiting Minuwangoda, a bustling town in the Gampaha district of Sri Lanka, discovered a ghost town. The town, with many Muslim-owned shops, is located 50 kilometres from Colombo in the Western Province. It has been devastated by an anti-Muslim rampage by …
By Sunetra Choudhury On the last day of the 2019 election campaign, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra spoke about the big controversies of the day, her political debut, and the possibility of seeking election to the Lok Sabha. Edited excerpts: What is your reaction to the Prime Minister’s remark today that he can’t forgive …
by Jacinda Ardern Essentially, our motivations have been to create change for the better. In the wake of the terrorist attack in Christchurch New Zealand on the 15th of March, you may have seen many images or footage. Disturbingly, you may have also seen the attack itself. Not because social media was created to be …
By AN EYE WITNESS I happened to be there at the exact time when rampaging mobs were attacking the shops and the following is an eye witness account by me. The time was almost 7.15 pm in the evening. The police were only handling the traffic, no riot police or policemen with batons were present, …
By M.S.M.Ayub The terrorists of the National Thawheed Jama’ath cold-bloodedly killed around 300 Christians just because they were Christians. That was clear by the statement made eight days after the terrorist attack by Abu Bakr-al Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which seemed to be behind the Easter Sunday …
By Dr.Nirmala Chandrahasan It is said that those who do not heed their past often repeat it. In other words history repeats itself. Looking at the present scenario in the Country one feels that we might be on the brink of another period of conflict. Recent revelations that some members of the Muslim community have …
By Hemantha Randunu Police investigations have revealed that millionaire businessman and Mabole resident arrested for his alleged links to the proscribed Islamic extremist terrorist outfit National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) is the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) organiser for Wattala.
By Shanika Sriyananda Army Commander Lt. General Mahesh Senanayake yesterday said anti- Muslim violence carried out in at least three districts this week was perpetrated by well-organised groups. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he denied allegations that the military was ineffective in cracking down on the groups that carried out well-coordinated attacks across a number …
The Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association has strongly condemned the decision to restore an Army Intelligence official named as the main suspect behind the abduction and torture of journalist Keith Noyahr who is also linked to the murder of The Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge back into active service. In a statement issued yesterday, the …
by Dilrukshi Handunnetti COLOMBO –From the misty Knuckles Hills that form a part of Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands, a new snake species has been added to the island’s already rich catalog of unique reptiles. De Silva’s rough-sided snake (Aspidura desilvai) is described in a new paper published in Zootaxa, making it the ninth species in …
By Uditha Jayasinghe, Chathuri Dissanayake, and Chandani Kirinde The Police yesterday arrested 33 people linked to widespread anti-Muslim Ma attacks, which erupted countrywide as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe renewed appeals for the public to cooperate with security forces and Police to restore calm. The Police arrested 60 people from the North-Western Province, but only nine …
BY RAJEEWA JAYAWEERA Daham Sirisena entered wedded life last week. I believe most, if not all, citizens, will join me in wishing the newly wedded couple happiness, joy and wedded bliss in the years to come. Daham is no ordinary person. He is the youngest child and only son of Maithripala Sirisena, the President of …
By Chandani Kirinde and Chathuri Dissanayake Huddled together with her one-year-old grandson, husband and daughter-in-law, Sarah Umma (55) left her fate in God’s hands as mobs stoned their house and set fire to the motorbike in the front patio. The mobs, over 500 of them, Umma says, took over the winding inner roads of Kottampitiya …
By Darshana Abayasingha Sri Lanka’s largest pasta manufacturing facility, Diamond Pasta Limited, which is located in Minuwangoda, was destroyed during the violence on Monday night. Speaking to the Daily FT, the company’s management stated that though Police was called to control the situation, only ten officers had arrived at the scene, and they had been …
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera yesterday denied that he had used political influence to get several suspects released from the Hettipola police station, insisting his intervention was only to calm a rapidly escalating situation. Jayasekera told reporters at SLFP party headquarters that he was informed of a large group of people …
By Divya Thotawatte Anglican Bishop of Colombo Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey yesterday called on authorities to take strong action to prevent mob violence, and warned that failure to do so will only expand rifts between the majority and minority communities in Sri Lanka. Addressing the media, Canagasabey stated that the Government should act without fear while …
The family of M.S. Fouzul Ameen (49) is in shock. The well-to-do furniture shop owner from Kottaramulla in Nattandiya fell victim to a mob attack on Monday night, passing away at the Marawila Hospital, having sustained serious cut injuries to his neck and face. M.S. Fouzul Ameen’s national identity card held by one of his …
The software engineer suspected by authorities of having provided technical and logistical support to the Easter Sunday suicide bombers was monitored by Indian intelligence agencies three years ago for links with Islamic State suspects, Reuters reported on Tuesday quoting investigators. Four sources in Sri Lankan investigating agencies had said they believed 24-year-old Aadhil Ameez was …
The head of the Catholic church in Sri Lanka, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, told newspersons here on Tuesday, that the clashes in the North-Western Provinces have no religious nuances and that the attacks on Muslim properties appear to have been carried out by political and not religious elements. “What we see is more a political crisis …
(Text of a Statement Issued by the NCEASL on the Recent Violence Against Muslim Communities) The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka ( NCEASL) is deeply saddened by the ongoing attacks on Muslim communities in Kurunegala, Gampaha, and the Puttalam districts. The violent mob attacks targeting mosques, Muslim owned-businesses and homes have left our …
By Meera Srinivasan On Monday afternoon, mobs unleashed sustained violence on a group of villages in Kurunegala district in the island’s North-Western Province, damaging several mosques in the area. A 45-year-old man, who ran a timber store, died of stab injuries, even as two busloads of people, aided by local goons, carried out raging attacks …
By Meera Srinivasan On Monday afternoon, mobs unleashed sustained violence on a group of villages in Kurunegala district in the island’s North Western Province, damaging several mosques in the area. At least two busloads of people, aided by local goons, carried out raging attacks on mosques, Muslim-owned shops and homes on May 13 in Kurunegala, …
By Meera Srinivasan Mobs attacked several mosques, torched dozens of shops and homes of Muslims in Kurunegala, some 100 km north-west of capital Colombo, on Monday, in the biggest outbreak of violence since the April 21 Easter serial bombings. A police curfew, initially imposed in six villages in the district, was later extended to cover …
Sri Lanka has partially lifted an overnight curfew imposed nationwide after an upsurge in anti-Muslim violence, three weeks after the deadly Easter Sunday bombings. The curfew in the North-Western province will remain until further notice, police said. Mosques and Muslim-owned shops have been vandalised or set on fire, and one Muslim man has been slashed …
By Chathuri Dissanayake As mob violence escalated yesterday, the Government clamped down imposing an island wide curfew and blocked social media sites as clashes erupted across three districts and the Government appealed for calm. As security forces struggled to contain the communal violence which started on Sunday night in several localities in Kurunegala area, the …
Concerns over state of governance were raised yesterday in political circles with President Maithripala Sirisena leaving to China on an official visit leading to the cancellation of today’s Cabinet meeting, putting off key decisions when the country is in a state of emergency post-Easter Sunday terror attacks.
Text of a Press Release Issued by the Tamil National alliance on May 14th 2019 on reports of Mob violence Against Muslims in Sri Lanka ) The Tamil National Alliance is deeply concerned by reports of mobs attacking Muslim homes, businesses and Mosques in several villages over the last two days. It is particularly concerning …
Hollywood legend Doris Day, whose films made her one of the biggest stars of all time, has died aged 97. The singer turned actress starred in films such as Calamity Jane and Pillow Talk and had a hit in 1956 with Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be). Her screen partnership with Rock Hudson …
Doris Day was the fresh-faced, all-American girl who became one of the world’s most bankable film stars. Her glittering singing career included timeless classics like Whip Crack Away, Qué Será Será and Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps. On screen, the wholesome, girl-next-door never failed to find love. Off screen, she could not have had less luck: she …
By a Special Correspondent The main suspect in the abduction of journalist Keith Noyahr in May 2008, Major Prabath Bulathwatte, who also led the shadowy military intelligence unit suspected to have been behind the 2009 murder of The Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, has been restored to active service, Army Commander Lt. Gen Mahesh Senanayake …
By Norman Palihawadana All officials who received prior information about the Easter Sunday bombings but did not take any action to prevent them should be removed along with the country’s leadership, Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said at the Sunday mass at St. Lucia’s Cathedral, Kotahena, yesterday. This mass was held to commemorate those …
By Norman Palihawadana The slow reaction by Chilaw police to disperse a crowd that had gathered near a Thowheed Jamath prayer centre in Wattakkuliya, Chilaw resulted in unrest and property damage yesterday. Earlier a group of youth had informed the Chilaw Police that some persons were inside the prayer centre that had been abandoned some …
By Shihar Aneez, Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO (Reuters) – Several dozen people threw stones at mosques and Muslim-owned stores and a local man was beaten in the town of Chilaw on Sri Lanka’s west coast on Sunday in a dispute that started on Facebook, sources told Reuters. Three weeks ago in Sri Lanka Islamist bombers blew …
By Rohantha De Silva The US exploited last month’s terrorist bomb attacks in Sri Lanka to immediately dispatch Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials and military intelligence experts to Colombo under the pretext of assisting investigations. More than 250 people, including about 50 foreigners, died in the April 21 suicide bombings of Christian churches and …
By World Socialist Web Site Correspondents The Sri Lankan government has unleashed a crackdown, mainly targeting Muslims, following the horrific April 21 bomb attacks on three Catholic churches and three hotels that killed more than 250 men, women and children, and injured some 500 more. The government immediately seized upon the attack to impose draconian …
By Anbarasan Ethirajan For many Sri Lankans, it was a horrific shock to learn that local Muslims could have been behind the suicide attacks that killed more than 250 people last month. How could a small group have planned such a devastating wave of bombings undetected? The clues were there in mid-January, when Sri Lankan …
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) is receiving complaints from Muslims about widespread harassment tied to “cultural misunderstandings, stereotyping and insensitivities to a way of life,” said Deepika Udagama, its Chairperson, this week. The whole Muslim community was being branded for acts of terrorism perpetrated by a few amongst them, Dr Udagama said, …
By Namini Wijedasa The Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry has presented to the Government a bill called the Madrasa Education Regulatory Act that seeks to set up a Board with powers of regulation, registration, supervision, control and development of education within Madrasas in Sri Lanka. The Sunday Times obtained a copy of the draft …
by Sanjana Hattotuwa I posted on Facebook this week a rough comparison between New Zealand’s response to terrorism in Christchurch and Sri Lanka’s response to the Easter Sunday attacks, a month after. Fleshing this out and placing it for wider consideration amongst an older demographic, possible through this column, may help kickstart what Martin Luther …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene With the shadow of tragedy looming over a still stunned nation in the wake of the Easter Sunday atrocities, there is a curiously stark contrast at play in Sri Lanka. Even as politicians shriek, lie and pontificate for partisan advantage, the triumph of the human spirit soars above this ugly cacaphony. …
By Shamindra Ferdinando The Government Printer is yet to issue gazette notifications proscribing two extremist organizations responsible for the Easter Sunday carnage. Well informed sources told The Island that the Government Press was yet to receive the go ahead in this regard.
By Bishop Duleep de Chickera The worship had just reached the Anamnesis, the affirmation of God’s intervention in history, when the police arrived. The officer was courteous but firm. The service had to be terminated and the people dispersed. Beyond this he remained tight lipped. Pictures on people’s smart phones said the rest. Unbelievable scenes …
The Sri Lankan government on Friday ordered mosques to clamp down on extremists and to submit copies of sermons in new fallout from the Easter suicide bombings that left 258 dead. The country has been on edge since the April 21 attacks by jihadist bombers who attacked three churches and three Colombo hotels which also …
By Shavini Madhara The Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake ordered the Batticaloa Prison Authority to bring the sister of the Thawheed Jamaath Leader Zahran Mohammed Hashim to the Colombo Judicial Specialist Medical Officer to verify the DNA test to determine the identity of the Suicide bomber, who carried out the bomb blast at Shangri-la Hotel. …
All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Leader and Industry and Commerce Minister, Rishad Bathiudeen said were attempts to accuse him falsely regarding his recent visit to Oman and incidents that took place recently, but that he was prepared to face them and prove his innocence. In a statement issued to the media he said, “Various people …
By Shehan Chamika Silva Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake today allowed the prosecution to obtain a DNA report using a blood sample obtained from Zahran Hashim’s daughter for the investigators to confirm the identity of the Shangri-La Hotel suicide bomber. The CID also informed the Court that two suicide bombers who blasted themselves at the …
By Lakshmi Subramanian AS DEFENCE SECRETARY in his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government, Gotabaya Rajapaksa played a ruthless role in wiping out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which had waged a civil war for three decades in Sri Lanka. A few days after the terror attacks on Easter Sunday, THE WEEK met Gotabaya in …
By Saman Indrajith State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene told Parliament, yesterday, that the government would hold an investigation to find out how son of Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hisbullah had secured shares amounting to 500 million rupees in the proposed Sharia University in Batticaloa. The University is a gift from Saudi Arabia. President Maithripala Sirisena …
By Sandun A Jayasekera Former Minister and joint opposition stalwart S.B.Dissanayaka continuing his verbal battle with Commerce and Industries Minister Rishad Bathiudeen yesterday said the government had ample evidence to arrest minister Bathiudeeen and a team of joint opposition members including him would urge President Maithripala Sirisena to direct law enforcement authorities to arrest him …
By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera President Maithripala Sirisena had been informed of the recent terrorist attack at the Security Council (SC) for more than 15 times but he had nodded off the repeated warnings, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said today. He told parliament that those who had participated at the SC had confirmed the …
By Saman Indrajith UNP MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, yesterday, told Parliament that he had opposed fielding Maithripala Sirisena as the common candidate against Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 2015 presidential election as he had realised Sirisena’s inability to handle national security. “I was dead against him. It was Chandrika Bandaranaike who brought this Kodivina (voodoo). …
By Sarah Jameel Dear Fellow Humans, Some of you may know Sri Lanka from the recent news, some of you may have tried our exquisite cinnamon or world-famous Ceylon tea, some of you may have visited the island on holiday, some of you may have left during the civil war, some of you may have …
By Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake Analysis of the Easter carnage in Sri Lanka has focused on the massacre of innocents that took place in three of the island nation’s coastal churches and congregations and largely overlooked the fact that the ocean-front, super-luxury, five star, Shangri la Hotel, was the only non-Sri Lankan “asset” (to use security jargon), …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Communal violence has raised its ugly head again in the Western coastal city of Negombo 32 KM to the North of Colombo on Sunday May 5th. Although sections of the mainstream media have either blacked out or played down the events in Negombo as a clash between two groups of people due to …
By Radhika Coomaraswamy (Text of Speech made by Dr.Radhika Coomaraswamy at the Vigil for a United Lanka held at the Independence Square on May 4th 2019) For people of my generation, as Sharika Thiranagama wrote in her recent article, news like the Easter Sunday blasts does not initiate a new fear, it ignites an old …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Western Province Governor Azath Salley yesterday alleged that Atchchi Muhammadu Muhammadu Hasthun, who blew up the Easter Sunday congregation at St. Sebastian Church, Katuwapitiya, had married an underage Tamil girl, Pulasthini Rajendran, alias Sarah from Batticaloa before the attack. The blast caused by Hasthun claimed the lives of over 100 men, women …
BY Norman Palihawadana Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, yesterday, said a politically motivated group had been behind last Sunday’s clashes at Poruthota, Negombo. The Cardinal said that a group of persons in a state of inebriation had come to Negombo from another area and tried to create tension between the Catholics and Muslims who lived …
by Amal Jayasinghe The Roman Catholic Church appealed for calm and an alcohol ban on Monday after clashes between Christians and Muslims in a town scarred by the Easter suicide attacks. Hundreds of security forces entered Negombo to impose a curfew after dozens of Muslim-owned shops, homes and vehicles were attacked. St. Sebastian’s church in …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, MP, yesterday, said that law enforcement and intelligence services were free to inquire into the members of parliament in connection with the ongoing investigations into multiple suicide bombings on Easter Sunday. Speaker Jayasuriya said so when The Island asked him what would be his response to a spate of …
By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya The horror of the new reality that the Islamic State (IS) terror group has chosen Sri Lanka for its operations – for whatever purpose – is yet to fully register with many. While that is understandable against a backdrop of 10 years of peace, the government’s response to this new crisis, with …
By Gayan Kumara Weerasinghe Makandure Madhush, an organised criminal considered the god father of the Sri Lanka underworld detained by Dubai Police was brought down from Dubai to Sri Lanka by a special Police team yesterday. Informed sources said the special Police team which left for Dubai last week arrested Makandure Madhush who was in …
(Text of a Statement Issued by Former President and Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa Under the Heading “A counter terrorism law to stifle democracy and to foster terrorism”) One of the pledges given by the present government to their foreign masters through UN Human Rights Council Resolution No: 30/1 of October 2015 was to …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene As Sri Lankans are besieged by daily if not hourly reports regarding the rounding up of suspected islamist jihadists in the wake of last month’s Easter Sunday atrocities, it is crucial to recognise that the terrorism of a barbaric few cannot and should not be allowed to taint an entire Muslim …
By Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu 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. …
By Don Manu As the SUNDAY PUNCH stated last week, the Indian intelligence warned their counterparts in Colombo not once, not twice but thrice. The first warning, it is said, was given on April 4 the second the day before the attacks, the third hours before the attack. And it was thrice ignored. Indian intelligence …
By Namini Wijedasa Quran Madrasas and Arabic Colleges have mushroomed in their thousands around Sri Lanka during the past decade, promoting a “pure” form of Islam imported from West Asia that is at odds with South Asian traditions. The trend mirrors developments in other parts of this region, including Bangladesh, where strong Gulf influence has …
By Wijayani Edirisinghe Intelligence agencies are still doubtful of the death of the National Thawheed Jamaath (NTJ) leader Zahran Hashim, said to have died in the suicide bomb attack at the Shangri-La hotel on Easter Sunday. Intelligence agencies suspect that one suicide bomber and Zahran had come to the attack, but Zahran had not committed …
By Gayan Kumara Weerasinghe The suicide bomber Zahran’s wife Abdul Cader Fathima and Katuwapitiya Church suicide bomber Mohomaddu Hasthun’s wife Pulasthini Rajendran alias Sara had bought nine sets of white clothing, nine blouses, skirts and undergarments from a shop in Giriulla on April 19. This was disclosed by Zahran’s wife Fathima on being questioned by …
By Ameena Hussein After the Easter bombings, I am struggling to understand how violent ideology has taken hold in my Muslim community. Two days after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in Sri Lanka, I met my greengrocer at the Colpetty market, a symbol of the cosmopolitan city that I call home. I have known Ashraff …
Continue reading ‘Fighting for the Soul of Islam in Sri Lanka’ »
By Sharika Thiranagama On the evening of April 20, I was making Easter bread with my children at our home in California when a friend texted me, saying there had been bombings in Sri Lanka. My chest hurt. I thought, I have been there before. I grew up partly in northern Jaffna, one of the …