Courtesy The Daily Mirror
http://epaper.dailymirror.lk/epaper/iphone/homepage.aspx_articled2a8da39-b6e8-496d-b2e7-455c29eb88e3... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
මාධ්ය ප්රකාශය Federation of University Teachers’ Associations
2019 පාස්කු ඉරිදාව අප රට මුහුණ දුන් තවත් ව්යවසනකාරී දිනයක් ලෙස බොහෝ කාලයක් යනතුරු අප මතකයේ පවතිනු ඇත. යුද්ධය නිමාවී දස වසරකට ආසන්න කාලයක් ගිය තැන අප පසු වුයේ බෝම්බ පිපිරීම් සහ මහා පරිමාන ව්යවසනයන් තවදුරටත් අතීතයට අයත් වූ සිදුවීම් ලෙස සිතන ශුභවාදී මානසිකත්වයකිනි. ගැටළු තිබු බව සැබෑවකි. බොහෝ දේ මිට වඩා හොදින් කල හැකිවද තිබුණි. සංහිදියාව, සාධාරණත්වය හා සාමය වෙනුවෙන් බොහෝ කටයුතු ඉටුවිය යුතුව ද තිබුණි. එහෙත් අප විශ්වාස කළේ වඩාත්ම අදුරු යුගය ගෙවී ගොස් ඇති බවයි. එසේ වුවද පාස්කු ඉරුදින සිදුවීම් අපගේ මෙම සාපේක්ෂ ලෙස ශුභවාදී අදහස් අභියෝගයට ලක්කර... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Media Statement Federation of University Teachers’ Associations
Easter Sunday of 2019 is destined to be yet another day of devastation that our country will have to remember in the years to come. As we approach 10 years living in a country that is not at war with itself, we were hopeful that we had put the days of mass destruction, bomb blasts and explosions, behind us for good. Yes, there were problems; yes, there was much we could do better; yes, there was lot more work needed for ensuring reconciliation, justice and peace, but we did believe that... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
By Senaka Weeraratna
Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL) Public Lecture “Did Japan contribute to Sri Lanka and India gaining independence from British colonial rule?” by Senaka Weeraratna On Monday 29th April 2019 at 5.00 p.m. at the Gamini Dissanayake Auditorium No. 96, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 07 ALL ARE WELCOME Abstract The time has come to challenge the hype that Sri Lanka won independence from Britain in 1948 exclusively by our own local... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා අද උදෑසන ශ්රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණපක්ෂ කාර්යාලයේදී
ඇත්තටම රටේ ආරක්ෂාවක් නැහැ. රට අරාජික වෙලා. පාලනයක් නැහැ. එහෙ මෙහෙ බෝම්බ පුපුරනවා.මේ තත්ත්වය ඉතා ඉක්මනින් වෙනස් කරන්න වෙනවා යි හිටපු ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා පැවසීය. ඒ මහතා මෙසේ පැවුසවේ අද :23*උදේ ශ්රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ කාර්යාලයේදී මාධ්යවේදින් රටේ වත්මන් ආරක්ෂක තත්ත්වය සම්බන්ධයෙන් විමසන අවස්ථාවේදිය. එහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් මාධ්යවේදින් හමුවේ අදහස් දැක්වු ඒ මහතා මාධ්ය - එජාප මන්ත්රීවරු ජනාධිපතිිවරයාට චෝදනා කරනවා මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා - ඒක ඒ අයගේ වැඩක්නේ. මාධ්ය - පොලිස්පතිතුමා ගැන ඔබගේ අදහස මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතා - පොලිස්පතිතුමා වැඩ කරන්නේ රජය කියන විදියටනේ.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Prof. Hudson McLean
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html After over 10 years of Peace & Harmony, in the Island Paradise, sudden blasts killing innocent Easter Sunday worshippers, shocked the World. The well planned, organised, coordinated attack on three Churches and several hotels in different locations, add to the fact, that, the attacks were professionally managed & executed. It is dangerous to jump into hasty conclusions on the perpetrators, before investigations delve into details. Furthermore, people should refrain from taking the Law into their own hands, but leave it to the Law Enforcement professionals to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
වෛද්ය රුවන් එම් ජයතුංග
මොහොමඩ් සහරාන් හෂීම් නුඹගේ දෙවියන් නොඅදහන මිත්යාදෘෂ්ටිකයන් පිරිසක් මරාගෙන මැරී යාමට නුඹ සිතුවාද ? ස්වර්ගයට ගොස් කන්යාවන් දහසය දෙනෙකුගේ පහස ලබමින් කිරි සහ මීපැණි බීමට නුඹ සිතා සිටියේද ? මධ්යකාලීන යුගයේ ආගමික අන්තවාදීන් විසින් ඔටු සම් වල ලියූ ප්රලාප ශුද්ධ වූ දේව වාක්ය කියා නුඹ සිතුවාද ? මිනිස් බෝම්බයට බිළිවූ අහිංසක මිනිසුන් ගේ ලෙයින් තෙත් වී ගිය රත් පැහැවූ පොළව නුඹ දුටුවේද ? ඔවුන් ගේ ඥාතීන් වියෝග දුකින් නඟනා විළාප නුඹට... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
චන්ද්රසිරි විජයවික්රම
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2014/06/24/%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%9C%E0%B7%84%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%A9%E0%B7%8A-%E0%B6%BB%E0%B6%A2%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%AD%E0%B7%8F-%E0%B6%BA%E0%B6%B1-%E0%B6%B1%E0%B6%B8%E0%B6%A7-%E0%B6%B8%E0%B7%8F-%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%90/... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Dr. Daya Hewapathirane
The world renowned Israeli Professor Yuval Noah Harari, a historian, philosopher and author of the international bestsellers translated into 50+ languages and sold worldwide with his book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” (2014) looking deep into our past, his second book “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow” (2016) considering far-future scenarios, and “21 Lessons for the 21st Century (2018)” zooming-in on the biggest questions the world is faced with at the present moment, commenting on counter terrorism says – “If we want to fight terrorism effectively we must realise that nothing... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Dilrook Kannangara
What happened on April 21, 2019 was no accident. It was going to happen based on what happens around the world and in Sri Lanka. Explosives were unearthed, Buddhist shrines were vandalized, hate material were found and even intelligence reports indicated of an impending Islamic terrorist attack. The parliament was told that at least 35 Muslims from Sri Lanka had travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group. Peaceful Syrian Shia government reported recently that at least 36 to 50 ISIS terrorists from Sri Lanka were in Syria. Unfortunately, not all of them... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
New Zealand Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (SPUR - NZ)
New Zealand Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (SPUR - NZ) vehemently condemns the reprehensible and shameful terrorist attack on innocent people attending to their religious activities on Easter Sunday at several locations including holy places of worship in Sri Lanka. At this moment of national grief, on behalf of all New Zealanders, especially the Community of NZ Citizens of Sri Lankan descent, we wish to offer our heartfelt condolences and extend the arms of solidarity,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (SPUR) NSW Inc Australia
Our Society expresses its profound and heartfelt sorrow on the senseless killing of innocents in Sri Lanka. Our thoughts are with the families and persons affected by the deaths, grievous injury and destruction of property by terrorists who have caused fear and terror in the people of Sri Lanka and to the visitors to the island. We give our condolences to the Christians who had been targetted on their Holiest Day of Easter Sunday whilst at prayer with sacred thoughts and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Dr.P.A.Samaraweera
With the terror attack on Easter Sunday, the death toll had risen to 290. Nearly 500 being injured. It had been reported that 24 suspects are in custody and details about them are not known. The suspicion is on a Muslim terrorist organisation. However, on the day of the attack, Human Right Activists pointed the finger on Buddhists and quoted chapter and verse about attacks on Churches allegedly by Buddhists. They tried in vain to blame the Buddhists for the Easter attack. As everyone knows, we had similar experiences prior to 2009 by LTTE terrorists.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Prof. Hudson McLean
After over 10 years of Peace & Harmony, in the Island Paradise, sudden blasts killing innocent Easter Sunday worshippers, shocked the World. The well planned, organised, coordinated attack on three Churches and several hotels in different locations, add to the fact, that, the attacks were professionally managed & executed. It is dangerous to jump into hasty conclusions on the perpetrators, before investigations delve into details. Furthermore, people should refrain from taking the Law into their own hands, but leave it to the Law Enforcement professionals to deal with it... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Ilyas Haniffa, President Asiff Hussein, Vice President- Outreach Centre for Islamic Studies
Sri Lanka’s Muslims woke up to a rude shock on Easter Sunday, 21st April and reacted with disbelief to the news that churches and hotels had been bombed while our Christian brothers and sisters were celebrating Easter. As Muslims we are expected to show utmost compassion and tolerance to people of other faiths. Christians especially occupy a very dear place in Muslim hearts, being the followers of one of the most revered prophets of Islam, Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him). In the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
MAHINDA KARUNARATNE
It is a Muslim Jihad attack on other communities and a threat, which the damn govt. is impotent to accept, yet they are talking damn reconciliation. What was notable yesterday 21st April is that Muslims were new it very well, they kept their shops and businesses closed but with no any indication of such. Immediately after attacks took place, Muslim youths in and around Majestic City, Colombo 04 were rejoicing, taking selfies and in very jovial mode. Need not to say more. We told this five year ago,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
By Lee Brown Courtesy New York Post
The Sri Lanka suicide bombers had planned an attack on a fourth luxury hotel, but for some reason it never occurred, officials said Tuesday. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe revealed the plot on the unnamed luxury hotel without saying why it failed, according to the New York Times. “This man had also checked into the hotel the previous day,” an official source told Agence France-Presse of the terrorist. The source claimed that hotel staff became suspicious after news broke of the other hotel attacks and the would-be bomber fled... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
By Frida Ghitis Courtesy CNN
(CNN)The first time I traveled to Sri Lanka, in 2010, a ghastly civil war had just ended. Military officers still manned checkpoints along major roads. Frida GhitisWhether we were passengers in a rickety tuk-tuk in Colombo, the bustling, leafy capital, or riding in an air-conditioned car across the countryside, armed men in olive-green uniforms would routinely order us to stop. They would check for explosives or for any sign that the violence that had plagued the country over nearly three decades might again threaten the peace won at... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Courtesy Adaderana
https://youtu.be/U1PDwCznUAU Parliamentarian Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe stated that the government including United National Party (UNP) MP Mujibur Rahman should bear the responsibility for the series of explosions which occurred around the country on Easter Sunday (21). MP Rajapakshe mentioned this at the special parliamentary meeting held today (23). According to him, on November 18th, 2016, he stated that 32 persons from 4 families in the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) organization had received ISIS training and is preparing for a terror attack in the country. “But government Ministers held... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Courtesy Mirror (UK)
An image released by the Amaq news agency shows alleged mastermind Zahran Hashim with seven men claimed to have carried out the bombings ISIS has released a picture which it claims shows seven suicide bombers alongside the mastermind who co-ordinated the Easter Sunday atrocity in Sri Lanka. The image was released by the Amaq news agency - Daesh's official mouthpiece - and is said to show extremist cleric Zahran Hashim, who has been identified as the man who planned the attacks. It later released a video which... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Courtesy Adaderana
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that investigators have made good progress in identifying the suspects involved in the Easter Day attacks. Speaking in a media briefing for the foreign correspondents today (23), the Prime minister also said “it is possible” the Easter bombings were retaliation for the Christchurch attacks, but did not provide any evidence. https://youtu.be/3Qn00KYbcbo He says that there were foreign links behind the attack and that it could not have been done just locally. “There has been training given and coordination which we have not seen... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Courtesy Adaderana
(CNN) Early warnings from India’s intelligence services to Sri Lankan officials ahead of the Easter Sunday bombings were based on information gleaned from an ISIS suspect, CNN has learned. Delhi passed on unusually specific intelligence in the weeks and days leading up to the attacks, Sri Lankan officials have said, and at least some of it was gleaned from material obtained during interrogations of an ISIS suspect arrested in India, an Indian official told CNN. The revelation comes as ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombings, which killed 321 people and injured more... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Courtesy Adaderana
https://youtu.be/OAItUhEnwoc President Maithripala Sirisena says that he hopes to affect changes among the heads of the country’s security forces within the next 24 hours. He stated this during his address to the nation, in the wake of Sunday’s devastating bombings targeting multiple churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. President Sirisena pointed out that various discussions, dialogues, debates, and criticisms on these attacks are currently ongoing in the country and that he considers this a fundamental characteristic of a free and democratic society. President stated that it... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Courtesy Adaderana
https://youtu.be/XFCMFtJhsTI... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
By P.K.Balachandran Courtesy newsin.asia
Colombo, April 23: The Islamic State and the Jamaat al-Tawhid al-Watania group have both claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks carried out in Sri Lanka on Sunday. Reuters quoted the Islamic State’s AMAQ news agency to say that the organization has claimed responsibility for the multiple suicide bombings which took the lives of more than 300 people including 38 foreign nationals. Earlier, Rita Katz, Director of the respected terror monitoring SITE Intelligence Group, said that Islamic State (IS) supporters have been applauding the attacks on social media,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Courtesy NewsIn.Asia
Colombo, April 23 (Reuters): A whole Sri Lankan Muslim family, comprising two brothers and the wife of one of them, was involved in the serial suicide bombings which ripped through Colombo on Sunday, police said. The brothers, whose names have not been revealed, carried out two of the three hotel suicide blasts. The featured image at the top shows a suicide bomber walking to the Church in Negombo along with other worshipers An attack on a fourth hotel failed. But this helped lead the police to the Islamist... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/04/19)
Courtesy The Daily Mirror
The officials said Indian security agencies had alerted Sri Lanka that another National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) team led by Jal al-Quital alias Rilwan Marzag could carry out more attacks, Hindustan Times reported today. Noufar Moulvi, brother-in-law of Hashim, recently returned to Sri Lanka from Qatar and had taken charge of the group, they added. The NTJ, the little known group blamed for the bombing of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Sunday, appears to have been inspired by Islamic State (IS) though direct links between the two are yet... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/04/19)
Courtesy Adaderana
CCTV footage of the suicide bomber, who is responsible for the Katuwapitiya Church explosion, entering the Church and setting off the bomb, has been released to the media. Accordingly, the arrival of the suicide bomber is marked on the first CCTV camera at around 8.56 am and at around 8.59 am, he enters the church premises. The CCTV camera inside the Church has recorded the suicide bomber entering the church after touching a small child in front of the church. He enters the church through a door on the left side of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/04/19)
Courtesy Adaderana
Islamic state has claimed responsibility for coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka which killed 321 people and injured about 500 others, the group’s AMAQ news agency said on Tuesday. The group did not give evidence for its claim, a Reuters news report said. https://youtu.be/IvnvYyvoHpQ The statement on the Amaq news agency, which the group uses to put out statements, claimed that the attack was the work of “fighters of the Islamic State”. Until now, no group had claimed responsibility for the explosions, many of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/04/19)
Courtesy NewsIn.Asia
By P.K.Balachandran
Colombo, April 23 (The Citizen): The Sri Lankan government said here on Monday, that the a local religious group, National Thowheed Jamaath, was behind the suicide attacks in Colombo and two other towns on Sunday in which 290 people, including 38 foreign nationals, were killed and more than 500 were injured. “Since such a small local group could not have organized such wide-scale and deadly attacks, an international group was likely to have been involved”, cabinet spokesman Dr.Rajitha Senaratne said. Addressing the media, Senaratne said that the “international support”... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/04/19)
Colombo, April 23: Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam Centre for International Studies in Singapore, says that the serial bombings in Colombo and two other towns in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, appear to be the handiwork of the Islamic State (IS) in collaboration with its “Sri Lankan branch.” Dr. Gunaratna, who is the foremost Sri Lankan expert on terrorism and political violence and author of Inside Al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror (2003) told this correspondent over the phone from Singapore on Monday: “After the IS was ousted from Iraq and Syria, it branched... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/04/19)
Courtesy NewsIn.Asia
SColombo, April 23 (newsin.asia): Former Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said that he was shocked to witness the marring of the “respectable history” of Sri Lankan intelligence service in the case of the serial bombings in Colombo and elsewhere on April 21 – Easter Sunday.Under his watch, the Sri Lankan intelligence service had ensured the safety of all Sri Lankans. It was strengthened to a level where it was among the world’s leading intelligence services, Gotabaya said in a statement.”It was the first and foremost responsibility of any civilized society to denounce terror attacks... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/04/19)
Courtesy NewsIn.Asia
Colombo, April 23 (Ada Derana) – All police stations in Colombo have reportedly been advised to stay on high alert with regard to a suspicious lorry and a small van entering the city. On the receipt of this intelligence, the DIG in charge of Colombo District has notified all senior police officers in the Colombo District and all police stations to stay on high alert. Information on suspicious vehicles and other suspicious incidents can be relayed to the Air Force emergency call unit through the hotline 116, stated Sri Lanka Air Force... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/04/19)
