Religious Terrorists And Drug Cartels Are Targeting Us

More than two weeks have passed since Sri Lanka suffered one of the worst terrorist attacks in its history.

- Lakshmi Subramanian/Colombo

The suicide blasts on Easter Sun-day, which targeted churches and prominent hotels, were said to be executed by local terrorists with possible links to Islamic State. The Sri Lankan government, led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, is focused on restructuring the security and intelligence apparatus of the island nation to foreclose the chances of further attacks. In separate interviews with THE WEEK, Sirisena and Wickremesinghe listed the measures taken by their government to tackle the terrorist menace.

Excerpts:

Q/ Was there intelligence failure leading to the attacks? And why were you kept out of the loop? A/ The defence secretary and the inspector general of police were informed and letters were exchanged, although I was not apprised of the situation at that time. They did not fulfil their responsibilities properly. I have taken action to remove them and appoint new people in their positions. However, I don’t think it was done deliberately. It was due to lack of understanding, negligence and lack of commitment to their duties.

Q/ Are there suspects linked to Islamic State still at large in Sri Lanka?

A/ The nature of terrorism is such that we cannot say who will get attacked where. I can’t say whether Islamic State supporters are here or not. I don’t think even the presidents of the US or Russia will be able to clearly say such a thing under such circumstances. Europe, Indonesia, Canada, Australia and many other powerful countries have been victims of terrorism. Therefore, I must say that this is not a problem for Sri Lanka alone. This is a problem for the entire world.

Q/ Were the attacks a political conspiracy to tarnish your reputation?