{"id":200864,"date":"2019-04-24T23:52:22","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T18:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=200864"},"modified":"2019-04-26T23:25:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-26T17:55:02","slug":"easter-sunday-carnage-abdication-of-responsibility-by-pm-state-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/easter-sunday-carnage-abdication-of-responsibility-by-pm-state-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter Sunday Carnage & Abdication Of Responsibility By PM & State Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0<\/b>Amrit Muttukumaru<\/a> –<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Amrit Muttukumaru<\/p><\/div>\n

The greater tragedy is that the unspeakable carnage on Easter Sunday<\/strong><\/a> (21 April)<\/b> in three churches and three luxury hotels which so far has led to 359 persons needlessly losing their lives and 500 persons seriously injured could have either been prevented or drastically mitigated. This was only if the political triumvirate responsible for national security (i) President Sirisena \u2013 Minister of Defence and Minister of Law & Order (ii) Ranil Wickremesinghe – Prime Minister (iii)\u00a0Ruwan Wijewardene \u2013 Minister of State for Defence had heeded intelligence reports originating from India and the US conveyed to some Sri Lankan government agencies as early as 4 April.<\/b> This was confirmed<\/a> to the media by government spokesman and Minister of Health – Dr. Rajitha Senaratne as follows:<\/p>\n

(1) Intelligence agencies from India and US had \u201calerted the Government about threats on possible suicide bombing by Islamic extremists on 4 April\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

(2)\u201cfirst memo was issued on 9 April by Chief of National Intelligence Sisira Mendis to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) including all details of the terrorist group with the names\u201d.<\/i><\/p>\n

(3) \u201cOn 11 April Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Priyalal Dassanayake had written again to all Directors of Ministerial Security Division, Judicial Security Division, Retired Presidents Security Division, Acting Directors of Diplomatic Security Division and Acting Directors of Retired Presidents Security Division to tighten the security of the above mentioned\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

To bolster the UNP inspired fairy tale<\/b> that PM Wickremesinghe and Ruwan Wijewardene, Minister of State for Defence were not in the loop and were ignorant of these intelligence reports and tacitly place the entire political responsibility on President Sirisena, Dr. Senaratne for good measure stated:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

i) \u201cfailing to alert the Prime Minister\u2019s Security Division was a huge lapse on the part of State intelligence agencies\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

ii) \u201cneither Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe nor State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene had been summoned for any of the National Security Council (NSC) meetings held after the Constitutional Crisis on 26 October last year\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Ranil & Ruwan in Blissful Ignorance?<\/b><\/p>\n

Although President Sirisena as Minister of Defence and Minister of Law & Order has to shoulder the MAJOR RESPONSIBILITY<\/b> for preventing the carnage, it is ABSURD<\/b> to claim that Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Ruwan Wijewardene, Minister of State for Defence were IGNORANT <\/b>of these intelligence reports for the following reasons:<\/p>\n

(1) It is said that PM Wickremesinghe is an inveterate \u2018micro-manager\u2019. Hence is it not unlikely that these intelligence reports made available also to (i) Chief of National Intelligence (ii) IGP (iii) Directors of Ministerial Security Division would have escaped his notice?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(2) When Harin Fernando CABINET MINISTER<\/b> for Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology himself discloses that even his father in hospital was AWARE<\/b> of some of these intelligence reports, are not PM Wickremesinghe and Ruwan Wijewardene, Minister of State for Defence being ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH<\/b> by claiming in parliament they were oblivious to these intelligence reports? Have they not misled parliament? Could not the cabinet minister <\/b>for Digital Infrastructure have sent a WhatsApp message to the Prime Minister conveying the information received from his father? Surely he could have done so with ease from the hospital itself!<\/p>\n

(3) Ruwan Wijewardene is also Minister of Mass Media and the son of the country\u2019s largest print media owner. We are expected to believe that he has no sources in either the state or private media who can convey such information to him. His father\u2019s media organization has very skilled investigative reporters who are up-to-date on matters of national security and who pride themselves in having their ear to the ground. They have not tipped him off even to the extent of Harin Fernando\u2019s hospitalized father!<\/p>\n

(4) Is it not SHAMEFUL<\/b> for PM Wickremesinghe and Ruwan Wijewardene, Minister of State for Defence to claim ignorance on the basis they were kept away from meetings of the \u2018National Security Council\u2019 for the past 6 months? Why did not these gentlemen who LEGITIMATELY <\/b>made such a nationwide din in the aftermath of the October 2018 constitutional coup bring the CRUCIAL <\/b>issue of being kept away from NSC meetings to the attention of Parliament and the people through the media? Is this not a DERELICTION <\/b>of their national security duties?\u00a0 <\/span><\/b>Could we have a CREDIBLE<\/b> response from the PM and the Minister? This has even escaped the very knowledgeable political column of the \u2018Sunday Times\u2019 owned by his father.<\/p>\n

Former Presidents<\/b><\/p>\n

The belief that no matter who is in political power this country will continue to bleed is apparent when although the security chiefs of former Presidents Chandrika\u00a0Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa were privy to the intelligence reports of an imminent terrorist strike through suicide bombing, the former Presidents have not made this information available in the public domain.\u00a0 <\/span>Are we to believe that in this instance too the former Presidents were kept in the dark by their respective security chiefs? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n

In the context of big power rivalry in the Indian Ocean, the long festering ethnic conflict and the resultant armed conflict coming to a controversial<\/b> end in 2009, reconciliation issues still festering, extremist groups and hate speech still creating instability, is it not imperative to have competent professionals of proven experience with HUMANE<\/b> values and integrity to guide the security of this country?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Was it not PM Wickremesinghe himself who appointed his first cousin Ruwan Wijewardene to the crucial position of State Minister of Defence at the inception of the yahapalana government in January 2015?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is not Ruwan Wijewardene\u2019s claim<\/a> in Parliament that the Easter Sunday carnage in Sri Lanka on 21 April<\/b> was \u201cin retaliation to the Christchurch attack\u00a0in New Zealand\u201d<\/i> not plausible in the context of the \u2018Christchurch attack\u2019 taking place as recently as 15 March<\/b>? New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has lost no time in pooh-poohing this contention.<\/p>\n

Was it not President Sirisena who recently appointed Hemasiri Fernando his Chief of Staff as Secretary, Ministry of Defence? Prior to this under the yahapalana government he was successively Chairman, People\u2019s Bank and Chairman, Board of Investment.<\/p>\n

Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando in relation to the Easter Sunday carnage has reportedly told the media<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cDefence Ministry never expected an attack of this magnitude except for some isolated incidents in certain places\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

On the subject of the intelligence reports he has reportedly stated \u201cinformation received was unclear\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

The bottom line is that like everything else in this country be it the egregious bond scam, accountability for alleged war crimes particularly during the final stage of the armed conflict, alleged corporate crime which include the pumping and dumping of company shares, no political leader, state official or corporate bigwig will ever be made truly accountable<\/b>. This will inevitably apply to the crime of dereliction\u00a0of duty leading to the needless deaths of 359 persons and the resultant chaos to their families due to the Easter Sunday carnage. Of course off and on there will be some cosmetic accountability for public consumption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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