Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'This time terror attack in Sri Lanka' that was published in Newsband

This time terror attack in Sri Lanka

The serial blasts on Easter Sunday rank as the worst bloodbath Sri Lanka has seen. Some say that it could be the handiwork of a local Islamist radical group. As many as 290 people are dead, and nearly 500 wounded in multiple blasts, a few of them involving suicide bombers. All these suggest that the bombings were aimed at gaining maximum global attention.

The most immediate impact will be on the economy. Reports that specific overseas intelligence inputs were not taken seriously has made President Maithripala Sirisena to order an enquiry. He tried to address the concern voiced by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The administration has done a good job by preventing the spread of rumours and any backlash against sections of society. They have sought to deny the group any immediate ideological mileage and any claim to putative martyrdom by not identifying the group involved. Everyone is trying to guage the extent to which the shadow of the Islamic State is falling on the South Asian region.

India, especially TN has to be extremely careful, for, the latter is the closest neighbor of Sri Lanka. The State and Central Intelligence have to be extremely alert against the menace of rumour mongering through social media. Adequate and fool proof security must be provided round the clock to crowded places and places of worship of all faiths throughout the country. Every individual has a societal responsibility to maintain peace and harmony by remaining ever vigilant. The lack of open mind in the local investigations with intention to save the miscreants and target the groups they wish have committed the crime should be eschewed at least now with hinted involvement of another minority organisation. These are dangerous trends.

The free movement of the drug mafia is another curse the country is facing with reported active support from those with authority, political and otherwise, and it has not been brought under control. Emerging from the deadly war the country is yet to learn its lessons seen by discerning observers but not those who should.

The nation seems to have paid heavy price for not taking intelligence reports seriously. The incident might affect several sectors of the ecoñomy including the tourist arrivals. Immediate steps need to be taken to instill confidence among the foreign investors in particular. The neighboring nations such as India should help Sri Lanka for its further growth.

As per international media report, India has provided advance warnings to Sri Lanka about NTJ terror group as late as April 4th. However, President Sirisena's office failed to communicate the same to PM or take actions against the terrorists. It seems SL security services knew the terror members as they have arrested close to 30 NJT members soon after.