Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Sri Lankan President Promises to Fire Intelligence Officials in Aftermath of
Easter Sunday

by Anjana Pasricha

   NEW DELHI --

   Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena is vowing to replace the
   leaders of the nation's security forces in response to the apparent
   failure to prevent the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that have now
   claimed the lives of 359 people.

   In a nationally televised address Tuesday, President Sirisena said he
   will take "stern action" within the next day against officials who
   failed to inform him about intelligence it had received that such an
   attack was imminent.

   Reports say Indian intelligence agencies sent out several warnings to
   Sri Lanka, and that Indian security agencies had gathered details about
   Islamic militant group National Thowfeek Jamaath (NTJ), which is
   suspected of carrying out the attacks.

   The government also faces scrutiny on whether bitter political
   wrangling between President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil
   Wickremesinghe contributed to the failure to act upon warnings about
   the attacks. Wickremesinghe acknowledged Tuesday that there had been a
   "breakdown in communication," but said any differences with Sirisena
   have been resolved.

   Asked if there are currently active threats in the country,
   Wickremesinghe said there are "still people on the run with
   explosives."

   In the aftermath of the attacks, several officials have pointed out
   that the prime minister was blocked out of security meetings by the
   president, who holds the defense portfolio.

   Alaina Teplitz, the U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka, told a group of
   foreign reporters in Colombo Wednesday there were "clearly some
   failure" in Sri Lanka's intelligence system prior to the Easter Sunday
   bombings. Teplitz says a team of FBI agents have arrived in Colombo to
   assist their Sri Lankan counterparts in the investigation.

   'Meanwhile, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara told reporters Wednesday
   that an additional 18 suspects were arrested during a series of
   overnight raids, raising the total number of detainees in connection
   with the bombings to 58. The police and military were given sweeping
   powers of search and detention under emergency laws. A nighttime curfew
   continues.

   Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said the suicide bombings, which ripped
   through four hotels and three prominent churches, targeting tourists
   and Christian worshippers, could have links to Islamic State, which has
   claimed responsibility.

   Another official indicated the bombings were in retaliation for last
   month's attacks on mosques in New Zealand, where 50 Muslim worshippers
   were gunned down in Christchurch by an avowed white supremacist from
   Australia.

   Amid scenes of intense grieving and reciting of prayers, the first mass
   funeral took place Tuesday at St. Sebastian's Church in the city of
   Negombo, which suffered the worst devastation.

   Coffins of the young and old were lowered into graves, as white flags
   fluttered and armed soldiers guarded a compound packed with those who
   had lost loved ones. More than 100 Easter Sunday worshippers, including
   children, died at the popular shrine.

   People throughout the country lowered heads and observed three minutes
   of silence at 8.30 a.m. local time -- marking the time that the first
   blast rocked the country. Flags on government buildings were flown at
   half-staff, and mourners held candles outside another church that was
   targeted in Colombo.

   Meanwhile, questions continue about how the NTJ could have conducted an
   operation of the sophistication and magnitude involved in the serial
   blasts. The group was primarily associated with a few videos of hate
   speech and the defacing of Buddhist statues.

   Muslims make up about 10% of Sri Lanka's Buddhist-majority population.
   Islamist militancy had not posed any threat, although there had been
   animosity and clashes between hard-line Sinhala Buddhists and Muslims.

   The country's Christian community, which was among the major targets of
   the attacks, has not faced any significant violence, either.

   Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka, which was wracked by an ethnic
   separatist insurgency for two decades, does not face major religious
   tensions.

   "The government will continue its policy of having unity in the country
   and of having religious groups getting together, while cracking down on
   global terrorism," he said.