(If you haven't read my earlier article detailing the Easter bombing from April 21, 2019, you can read it here.)
Despite there being well documented evidence that the Sri Lanka government had foreknowledge of the attacks; Sri Lanka saw a significant increase in conflict between civilian groups instead.
Divide and...
There is a history of religious conflict in the region, that had decreased significantly before the attacks. But soon after the Easter bombings, the distrust escalated, with mostly-Catholic mobs targeting Muslim businesses. Stoning and arson of vehicles, shops, Mosques, and other private property, became a big issue, along with robberies.
In the island, Buddhists make up the majority (70%), with Christians (7%) and Muslims (10%) as the minorities.
There have also been attacks with bladed weapons - including a man that was killed by a mob wielding swords. This all occurred despite troop deployment, nationwide social media censorship, and curfews. Most of these have been lifted by now, however.
In some instances police have been blamed for inaction, such as when Muslim-owned, Diamond Pasta Private Limited's factory was being burned to the ground, and the authorities just stood outside watching as three people struggled to escape the burning building.
Several arrests have been made of 'extremists', who are accused of organizing some of the recent communal clashes. They are targeted under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits spreading "hatred and disunity" among communities under it. They can be sentenced for up to 10 years in prison.
Schools were later re-opened, and the Sri Lanka military conducted security sweeps at schools. But parents were still afraid and kept their children at home. Meanwhile Church-goers watched mass on TV, in fear of another attack.
Deflecting the Blame on to the People
250 victims died violently while going on about their normal day, after all. And all because a terrorist operation that could have been prevented, was allowed to happen by the Sri Lankan government.
And despite there being no denial of this fact, and even going as far as to admit that, yes, they had the Jihadist group under heavy hour-by-hour surveillance; they still deflect the blame to the usual political tropes, such as "racism".
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, has missed no opportunity to remind the population of the fact that IS terrorists, benefit from communal division. However the Sri Lanka government is also being accused of doing the same thing; as there is the claim being pushed by Sri Lanka journalists and commentators, such as Victor Ivan, that junior level political figures are instigating violence between communities. Ivan seems to blame both the establishment and opposition parties for this.
But even though a number of politicians have admitted this issue is bigger than the religious divisions, they have refrained from speaking out against the security apparatus that was responsible for allowing the attacks.
Prime Minister Ranil, ignoring the mystery as to why the only group kept informed on the surveillance of the National Thowheed Jama'at (NTJ), was "VIP security"; offers instead to create 'racism' and 'counter terrorism programs' to fight ISIS.
The Premier, has also made claims that current laws were inadequate against the NTJ, which opposition parties deny, and also accuse him of claiming that to institute more "repressive laws". They also maintain that the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979, should have been used against the NTJ, as it was used against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Sri Lanka's UN representative Dr. Rohan Perera, also called for more censorship online, blaming the population of various forms of prejudice, for attacks that occurred thanks to completely unrelated reasons.
Justice, or Just Political Opportunism?
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP, has expressed support for a "fasting campaign" by a Buddhist member of parliament, to remove certain Muslim politicians from their positions. One such being Western Province governor Azath Salley, who is being accused of releasing two NTJ members, originally arrested for vandalizing a Buddah statue. He denies the allegations, but soon after, him and Eastern Province Governor MLAM Hizbullah, both resigned from their posts after much political pressure.
Another Muslim politician being looked at is ACMC leader, and Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishad Bathiudeen, who is accused of being connected to YM Ibrahim, the wealthy father of two of the suicide bombers. He denies this, and says that he is being targeted for refusing to back the 2018 coup. However soon after, he resigned as well.
Whether those cases are just an example of opportunistic in-fighting by politicians, or there is actual guilt here, is unclear, as investigations are still ongoing.
Ambulance Chasers
After the preventable deaths of 250 citizens, a whole new industry seems to have opened up in Sri Lanka.
President Maithripala Sirisena has made clear that foreign militaries will not be invited by him into the country. However there seems to be a push for more involvement with international intelligence agencies, and their "modern technology".
The FBI, and Interpol have been helping Sri Lanka investigate the attacks. Meanwhile Israel, China, India, Australia, the US, and the UAE, all have interest in providing Sri Lanka with "high grade military technology, including communication and surveillance equipment, to deal with future threats".
The UN also sold its Counter Terrorist Travel Programme, which launched on May 7th in Sri Lanka, and "seeks to support member states to enhance their detection capacity to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters".
Ambassador Dr. Rohan Perera, Sri Lanka's UN representative, expressed sales-pitch-like gratitude to Sri Lanka's cooperation with the UN "to meet new challenges", as it "grapples with a new kind of terrorist threat".
Sri Lanka has also welcomed the UN's Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT) group, and the Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), who the Ambassador is also gleeful about, to discuss assistance on their Interactive Advance Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record System (API/PNR).
Legislation relevant to "UN Security Council Resolutions on countering violent extremism and Foreign Terrorist Fighters", is also being worked on.
Sri Lanka now also has a vision - to become a hub for commerce and logistics, which the US Department of Defense is in full support. Although it is worth mentioning that the DOD has already worked with Sri Lanka's military in the past few years.
The Indian Ocean is a lucrative Geo-strategic point as 70% of maritime traffic is said to pass through it. And China has used this geography to its advantage before. Regional security programs such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response are also a benefit.
Aftermath
- A Sri Lanka Army Intelligence Officer, called Mohamad Nazir Imran was captured by Sri Lanka's Police Special Task Force (STF), in Moratuwa, Zoysa Pura. Mohamad went under the pseudonym John Walk, and posed as an Army Major.
- Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim (JMI), a Jihadist group connected to the Easter bombings, have been raided by Sri Lankan authorities. Many other Jihadists have also been arrested. While NTJ's leader, Zahran Hashim is now believed to be among the dead suicide bombers. Although it was not originally reported this way.
- A 24 year old Sri Lankan engineer, Aadhil Ameez, was also found by Indian intelligence to have been working with ISIS. He is accused of providing financial assistance, and technical and logistical support to NTJ and JMI, in the Horowpathana and Kebithigollewa regions.
- Aadhil has a LinkedIn profile that shows him as a Senior Engineer, and programmer, with a Masters in computer science, and bachelor in political science from the UK.
- Sri Lankan security groups have a preference for recruiting Muslims, as they tend to be fluent in Tamil and Sinhala languages.