Courtesy Hiru News

Former Minister Kanchana Wijesekera questioned why the Sri Lankan government, which reportedly received information about a possible attack on October 7, did not inform the public or tighten security measures before the U.S. Embassy’s announcement. He expressed concerns that officials failed to share details regarding actions taken in response to the information received from diplomatic missions, emphasizing that national security threats should never be taken lightly, especially given that tourism is a crucial source of income for the country.

The former minister suggested that if the government had acted on the earlier intelligence and communicated effectively with diplomatic missions, a travel advisory could have potentially been avoided. He urged the president and foreign minister to convene a meeting with diplomatic missions and security officials to outline measures taken to ensure safety and to work collaboratively to lift the travel advisory on Sri Lanka.

Several countries have updated their travel advisories for Sri Lanka following a warning from the American Embassy about a potential attack targeting Arugambay. In response, Israel’s National Security Council has advised its citizens to leave Sri Lanka or move to Colombo, citing intelligence regarding a possible attack on its residents.

Acting Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya addressed the situation in a special statement yesterday afternoon. This prompted former Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera to raise questions via his official X account.

aking to twitter the former minister wrote:&nbsp;<br /><br />According to the statement made by the Acting Chief of Police, the information on a possible attack was received by the GOSL on the 7th of October and was discussed at multiple security council meetings, investigated and precautions taken.

If the Government did have information before the statement from the US embassy went out, it&rsquo;s a serious concern why the officials didn&rsquo;t tighten security before.

The reality is that there was no presence of any security officials or armed forces in any of the tourist areas until the warning statement from the US embassy and other foreign missions went out to its citizens.

Another concern is why the Government failed to call a meeting with the Diplomatic missions and brief on the steps taken in regards of the information received and the steps taken to prevent such a threat.

While the threat on national security should never be taken lightly, Tourism income is one of the most important revenue streams for the country.

If the GOSL did have info before hand and had they briefed the diplomatic missions, a travel advisory warning could have been prevented with the precautions taken.

President&nbsp;@anuradisanayake&nbsp;and the Foreign Minister should at least now call a meeting with the Diplomatic missions and the security officials, brief on the steps taken and work with the foreign missions to remove the travel advisory on Sri Lanka.