Easter Sunday Mayhem- Sanity must prevail in the midst of insanity
The dastardly attacks on worshippers at Catholic Churches and Hotels where civilians gathered, has been universally condemned by all sections of Sri Lankan Society, as well as the international community. That human beings could inflict such carnage on fellow human beings defies belief. Sri Lanka and its people have been jolted out of the peaceful environment they have been enjoying by the brutal acts of misguided individuals on a journey of their own.
In the face of this tragedy the country salutes the Catholic Church and the Catholic people who have done the country proud. The leadership given by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith is an inspiration in these bleak times and has greatly helped to put things in perspective and keep the people calm. It is natural that the death and destruction caused to one’s loved ones will cause emotions to run high, but the Catholic community has shown, by example, how to cope with tragedies of this nature.
The inevitable suspicions, doubts and uncertainties about each other, that arise in the wake of senseless attacks of this nature, cannot be prevented. But the real mettle of a country and its people can best be judged by the manner in which these situations are managed. Looking at it from this perspective, it can be stated that the country, as a whole, has matured and is now sufficiently resilient to face the challenges of the future.
The country’s political leadership too, has risen to the occasion by playing its part in diffusing tensions. President Maithripala Sirisena called upon the people not to hold the Muslim community responsible for the actions of a few. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has echoed these sentiments and gone further, to express his regret for the Government’s lapse, despite him not having received critical information that was available to Intelligence prior to the attack. Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa too, has been restrained in his comments and couched his criticisms of the Government in a responsible tone, although the same cannot be said of a few of his followers.
It is clear, from what information has emerged in the public domain, that these acts of terror have been carried out by a group of individuals who number less than 200, according to President Maithripala Sirisena himself. The Intelligence services themselves had all the information about these individuals and had been monitoring them for a few years. Much of the intelligence has been supplied by the Muslim community itself, with at least two socially active individuals and a leading Muslim organization claiming they have given a list of over 100 names to the Intelligence authorities within the past two or three years.
The failure of the authorities to prevent the tragic events of Easter Sunday could therefore, be clearly attributable to a failure of the security apparatus, rather than an Intelligence failure.
The immediate task, therefore, is to ensure that all those responsible for these terrorist acts are brought to book and arraigned before the law. The fact that the number of persons involved in the tragedy are comparatively few in numbers and totally alienated from the Muslim community, will make the task of the security forces that much easier. The utter revulsion and anger of the Muslim community for the actions of these individuals is compounded by the fact that they have acted in complete violation of the letter and spirit of Islamic teachings, which have, over and over, emphasized the sanctity of human life. One of the well known tenets of Islamic teachings is that killing one individual is akin to killing the entire human race. The taking of one’s own life (an act of suicide) is considered one of the most abominable sins. The level of culpability attached to those who carry out suicide attacks, in order to cause innocent deaths, is therefore, although more reprehensible.
The fact that this group, individually or collectively, had never been known to have articulated any grievances of the Sri Lankan Muslim community, is a clear indication of the fact that their objectives had no relationship with any concerns of the local Muslim community.
After the incidents of last week, the actions of these individuals have been attributed to an organization called the National Thawheed Jamaath, which is unknown and never been heard of within the Muslim community. At best, it is probably a label that has been thought of after the event. There is now a demand to ban this so called organization. Before embarking on such a course of action, one has to give a great deal of thought about the implications of such a decision.
By banning an organization which is probably non existent, the State will be giving an identity and an image greater than it actually has. With the prospect of the capture of the few individuals behind the attacks, in the near future, very real, the course of action of banning such an organization can well have the unintended effect of giving it a life of its own.
A similar, but less dangerous happening in recent times, is the phenomenon of Namal Kumara. He suddenly emerged on the scene with a Press Conference, claiming there was an attempt to assassinate the President and the former Defence Secretary. He gave himself the grandiose title of Director of Operations of the Anti Corruption Organisation. This so called organization has never been heard of before, but the media have, by continuous usage, given this individual a public presence by continuing to use the title and name of what is clearly a non existent organization.
A number of initiatives are currently being discussed to address the fallout of the past week. All such courses of action must be well thought out, before being put into action. Knee- jerk reactions without adequate reflection can do untold harm to the country and its people. As much as the ordinary people have to act with restraint in these difficult times, without giving into their emotions, the country’s leaders too, should not respond to the pressures caused by the tragic events of Easter Sunday, without adequately examining all the ramifications of any new measures they may wish to implement.