By Latheef Farook –

Latheef Farook

Who was responsible for the Easter Sunday massacre of innocent chruchgoers ,those in hotels  and, in its wake,violence against Muslims?  

This remains an unanswred question even at  the first anniversary of this meticuusly planned and implemented carnage which falls on Tuesday 20 April 2020.

Easter Sunday massacre is by all means the 9/11 of Sri Lanka.The targets were the same-Islam and Muslims. Numerous independent reports pointed out that 9/11 was an inside job by American intelligence ad Israel’s Mossad to justify US-European and Israeli wars on Islam and Muslims worldwide.

The bombings of hotels and churches in Sri Lanka had all the resemblance of Israel’s Mossad involvement in the 9/11 World Trade Centre bombing in New York while , in its wake, attacks on Muslims resembled RSS Hindutva attacks, burning  and destructions on Indian Muslims – the latest being Prime Minister Narendra Modi government sponsored attacks on New Delhi Muslims last month.

The Easter Sunday massacre proved a  conspiracy to blame Muslims, demonise them and  and justify attacks on them. This, according to reports, involved racist politicians, businessmen, professionals, media, monks, foreign forces  nd others. As planned ahead media unleahsed a fierce campaign, selling lies, accusing the entire  Muslim community which had nothing to do with this crime.    

According to reports the Indian intelligence informed the government seventeen days before on 4 April about imminent attacks .President Maithripala Sirisena and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were aware of it.

Now the question is why did President Sirisena, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, intelligence units and others involved fail to prevent the carnage and save innocent lives. 

This is the question to which they owe answer. Instead Maithri went to Tirupathi Venkateswara Temple in Kerala, perhaps Sri Lankan god was not answering his prayers, and then to Singapore on holiday while Ranil was holidaying in the beach resort.

This clearly showed they allowed this carnage to take place, perhaps, implement evil international forces’ agenda against Muslim community. Some speculate that this may have been a conspiracy to pit the Christians against Muslims. However such a calamity was averted due to timely intervention by Cardinal Malcom Ranjith who repeatedly said the Muslim Community has nothing to do with this carnage.

Thus a worse tragedy was averted and a conspiracy defeated.

Therefore the two, Maithri and Ranil, should be held responsible for this carnage which provided an opportunity for United States led European and Israeli war mongers’ to bring in Islam phobia to Sri Lanka.

Under such circumstance one would expect both Maithri and Ranil to accept responsibility and resign from their jobs. Unfortunately such moral values, legacy of British colonial rulers, disappeared long ago under rising racist politics. Maithri is still in politics and attending functions while Ranil functions as the opposition leader.

This is the ridiculous state of affairs in the country.

In fact Maithri-Ranil government started losing its credibility shortly after being voted to power.

When the two promised the country that, if elected to power, they would bring all involved in crime, corruption, plundered the country and ruined its economy before the law, people trusted and voted them to power. However instead of bringing them to book the two created the political atmosphere for the very same people to come to power.

Equally when they promised there will be no more violence against the persecuted Muslims, they trusted their assurances and voted for them. Instead of protection they turned blind eyes when racist thugs unleashed violence  against them starting from Gintota followed by Digana, Akurana and the areas surrounding of Kandy to island wide violence in the wake of Easter Sunday massacre.

In this conspiracy to destroy the Muslim community, it appears Zahran and his team of fanatics, absolutely nothing to do with peaceful Islam and the Muslim community, were carefully screened, selected and paid for the job which many ministers said were the work of international forces.

However no one had the courage to state who these international forces were.

Zahran and his team of fascists were a pampered lot by the authorities under Maithri-Ranil government. This was clearly stated with vivid details in his book  “Sri Lanka’s Easter Tragedy; WHEN THE DEEP STATE GETS OUT OF ITS DEPTH” by Rajan Hoole, a founder member of University Teachers for Human Righty’s (Jaffna) together with Dr Rajani Thiranagama and Dr K Sritharan.

This book brings into focus the Deep State’s a body of organized interests comprising dominant sections of the political establishments and the security apparatus, ready and willing to pursue partisan goals in contempt of law. Zahran, credited with “masterminding” the Easter attack, would not have succeeded his former stature as a provincial Sufi basher, had the law enforcement not become a sphere of political intrigue, stated the book

Some said Zahran and his team were contract killers.  

The question is who gave the contract? Many were aware, but no one wanted to disclose.   

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to probe into the bombings and killings is yet to complete its work.  

The atrocities committed to Muslims, burning and looting their houses, shops, factories and other such units, chopping a fasting Muslim to death in the presence of his teenage son, beating a Muslim to death and all such barbarities were very well recorded. 

However the disgusting aspect  of these atrocities, starting from the end of the the ethnic war in 2009, was the freedom the mob enjoyed. For example  no one was arrested so far including the violence unleashed after Easter Sunday attacks .  

Security forces came only after mob were given sufficient time to loot, plunder, burn and kill.  Shamefully then Army Commander Major General Mahesh Senanayake said the mob attacks were well coordinated.

Muslims have always been at the receiving end of abuse, harassment and humiliation at the hands of the Sinhala Buddhist extremists since the end of the LTTE in 2009.

In the wake of Easter Sunday carnage the community bitterly resisted security forces entering Mosques and houses with their boots taking dogs. Mosques usually comprise of large prayer halls with one or two rooms. Thus there is no need for forces to enter with boots and take dogs inside.

Sandwiched between Muslim politicians accused of corruption and selling the community for positions and perks, and equally controversial and politicized Jamiathul Ulema which has lost the trust and the respect of the community, helpless Muslims community remain deeply wounded and hurt. 

As one columnist pointed out “how could one phrase the context of Sinhalese violence against the Muslims more appropriately than the Mayor of Colombo, Rosy Senanayake, who puts it succinctly “Sinhalese terrorism has risen through violence”? It is unsurprising then, that the President, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, who greedily absorbed the Ministry of Law and Order to his remit in 2018, demonstrated competency in neither. Law and Order became parochial and usurping when his party General Secretary (SLFP) had bailed out four Sinhalese suspects who had been arrested by the police following the violence against Muslims in Kurunegala, much to the glee of the cheering crowd. What a sorry state the country is in when a MP so brazenly undermined law and order legitimizing the mob violence.

Meanwhile, once again to divert the attention from the Easter Sunday massacre, perpetrators of this crime, started a sinister media campaign to demonize Muslims on the eve of the forthcoming anniversary of this tragedy.

Now the question is will the country ever know the masterminds behind these bombings, killings and violence?

Did the perpetrators now turning their guns against Muslims learn any lesson from the 30 year ethnic war which battered and bruised the country?