Whatever issues we have encountered in Sri Lanka have occurred due to two major causes, whether health related, security related, natural disasters or any other. We do not have a team of people to identify and analyze the different risks and threats to the country. Secondly, we don’t have a mechanism of taking corrective measures for the issues encountered to eliminate their root causes, neither do we take preventive measures to eliminate potential causes. When something happens we just rectify the situation without ensuring that these issues don’t recur.
If you take the recent suicide attacks on hotels and churches as a case study, you can clearly see the root causes of why it has happened. Firstly, what I have identified is that there was a huge communication gap. Though the information was received, it was either not communicated to the right persons or it was communicated without evidence of such activity. Secondly, our Intelligence forces and other security related groups were not able to take the required decisions on their own as they were only given the responsibility and not the authority. Thirdly, everybody responsible for this country’s security did not take things seriously but instead relaxed and enjoyed their lives, trying to wash their hands off the situation by passing the buck around.
This way of communication needs to be changed with immediate effect. What we have seen so far is that letters were the method of communication to the relevant department. Electronic or digital methods of communication, which are faster and leave a trail of proof, could have been used instead. Moreover, the situation should have been followed-up on by the person who originated the information.
The IGP and other heads of security forces have to be given more authority to take security-related decisions to a defined extent. They must have more power to work independently without bowing down to the politicians Monthly security review meetings should be held with the IGP and other heads. Details of measures taken so far and action plans for the future, along with responsibilities and target dates, need to be discussed and followed-up on during these meetings. Most importantly, dedication and commitment are two values that people in authority must have.
Obliviously, technology has become a tool for terrorism. Much of the radicalization linked to recent terrorism are found to have occurred and been influenced in private chat rooms as Terrorism 3.0, which marks an ugly and brutal appearance in a country where peace was preciously earned and prevailed. Virtual chatting and social media have been the tools recreating identities influenced by radical views and emotional imbalances.
There are many who get carried away by how their browsing patterns capture and send out notifications which direct them to certain posts. These are the norms of social media. Unknowingly, users tend to trust and look upon these as mentors, believing in the views and information posted.
Technology can be a friend more than a foe. The point is that some emotional and extremist plot can manipulate online life to an evil slant. Attention should be on cyber security and strengthening it under close surveillance. Such measures and findings should be shared by local and international security bodies.
It is deplorable that Sri Lanka had to face another terrorist attack, after ten years of ending the long drawn out war. This came about due to the irresponsible conduct of the “powers that be” and the politicians trying to gain political advantage. Be that as it may, the politicians must set aside their selfish ideologies and come together to destabilize the terrorist organizations and save our country and its people from further destruction.
Sri Lanka is equipped with the experience and expertise in countering terrorism and taking security measures to protect our country through our tri forces. Therefore the experts must be brought back to the arena and the intelligence unit should be re-activated by engaging the services of the personnel, some of whom are languishing in prison. The tri forces and the police should be equipped with the necessary powers to carry out their duties, without political interference.
The perpetrators of these heinous crimes and the politicians who have been responsible in building up extremist ideologies within the country should be brought before the law and severely punished. The religious leaders of the different communities also have a big role to play, in changing the mindset of the people and paving the way for a united Sri Lanka.
Trash the traitors! Much of the disasters have been created by our selfish rulers and administrators who have made a breeding ground for the culprits to manoeuvre their terrorist mission. Still with evidence, misconduct and allegations, much needs to be done in terms of law and enforcement. Dangerous culprits can still be at large.
Dual policy for rulers and the common citizen needs to be abolished. In the wake of these attacks, even after one month, the government still isn’t strong enough in terms of defence strategy. Many things are under a grey area, or these are projected as grey areas to mislead the citizens again, in the name of political votes.
This country has had enough terrorism and as citizens, we do not want it further. Let’s not let history repeat itself and let’s close the chapter for terrorism in Sri Lanka.
As water takes the form of the shape and the size of its container, terrorism too appears in many forms. Internationally, there have been world wars whose impacts were suffered at the country level, then Sri Lanka underwent the period of the Marxist rebels and youth unrest, followed by the separatist war – then known as the most brutal terrorists of the world, and finally the erupting of the extremists.
What these incidents had in common was terror – spreading terrorism. To counter the threat of terrorism we should be vigilant of such harmful developments that are evolving. There should be a direct link and mutual fit between the changes in social anthropology, defense strategies and intelligence services, for terrorism is not to be merely controlled – but eliminated.
Equality and maintaining the identity of a country amidst diversity, form the glue that strongly binds us to be resistant. It is not that every ethnic group in a country can raise their hands and get what they want. In Sri Lanka, this is what happened, is happening and will happen in future.
The constitution of this country does not stand firm, rather, it variegates accommodating all directions, compromising the country’s integrity. In the name of democracy, Sri Lanka may have weakened certain notions that should be strong. You may recall the words of an Australian prime minister on a similar note –’As long as someone lives as an Australian citizen, they must be able to accept the lifestyle, culture and beliefs, the Australian way’.
It’s easier to put on slippers than to carpet the whole world. Terrorism can pop up on the grounds that valid reasons exist. It is even more disastrous when the nation cannot establish a connection between a cause and effect – as to reason out why and how it occurs. Those who take to terrorism have many reasons as to how their ideologies, theories and injustices can be right. The common factor is that all these cannot be acceptable in a civil society.
Eradication of terrorism starts by closing the loopholes for these perpetrators, regardless of the fact that depending on various types and phases of terrorism, loopholes can vary. It has to be supported by a corrupt-free political administration, law enforcement system with dual policies, regulatory watchdogs doing their duty right as well as reinforcing the defence strength of the country. If countries maintain their security standards, there will be lesser breeding grounds for terrorism.
Ten years after enjoying peace and quiet, the invisible hand of terrorism has invaded Sri Lanka yet again. This time, violence has taken a new form with swords and kris knives coupled with bombings we were so used to back in the LTTE era. Whilst the dust is still settling down in the aftermath of the devastating attack on Easter Sunday, before commenting on the measures to be taken on preventing future attacks, if any – we cannot help but think back on so many ‘What If’s, which the government failed to take action on.
If only the relevant authorities took the warnings they received seriously and took necessary precautions, all those grieving families would be smiling today. We must say that our Security Forces and the Police must be highly commended for their fast action, placing their own lives at stake. As a result of their timely action, we have managed to arrest a number of terrorists as well as recover large quantities of weapons. But sad to say, our government is yet to initiate a plan to counter the threat of terrorism. Instead, they are all thriving in a blame-game.
As a government they must first identify the characteristics of this terrorist group and the real threat we face without trying to whitewash it. And they must form an alliance with the more experienced people in the subject. As Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka wisely stated, combating terrorism cannot be achieved in a day or two. Terrorists are a pack of psychos with hatred cultivated in their brains, who are trying to achieve their own targets; they have no race or religion. It can be prevented only with careful planning and timely action to counter any further attacks.
The government must take intelligence warnings more seriously and make national security their top priority. The general public too must be more vigilant at all times. Mostly, the government must unite and plan proper counter action by strengthening our well-versed Intelligence, Security Forces and Police to prevent terrorism.
Whatever issues we have encountered in Sri Lanka have occurred due to two major causes, whether health related, security related, natural disasters or any other. We do not have a team of people to identify and analyze the different risks and threats to the country. Secondly, we don’t have a mechanism of taking corrective measures for the issues encountered to eliminate their root causes, neither do we take preventive measures to eliminate potential causes. When something happens we just rectify the situation without ensuring that these issues don’t recur.
If you take the recent suicide attacks on hotels and churches as a case study, you can clearly see the root causes of why it has happened. Firstly, what I have identified is that there was a huge communication gap. Though the information was received, it was either not communicated to the right persons or it was communicated without evidence of such activity. Secondly, our Intelligence forces and other security related groups were not able to take the required decisions on their own as they were only given the responsibility and not the authority. Thirdly, everybody responsible for this country’s security did not take things seriously but instead relaxed and enjoyed their lives, trying to wash their hands off the situation by passing the buck around.
This way of communication needs to be changed with immediate effect. What we have seen so far is that letters were the method of communication to the relevant department. Electronic or digital methods of communication, which are faster and leave a trail of proof, could have been used instead. Moreover, the situation should have been followed-up on by the person who originated the information.
The IGP and other heads of security forces have to be given more authority to take security-related decisions to a defined extent. They must have more power to work independently without bowing down to the politicians Monthly security review meetings should be held with the IGP and other heads. Details of measures taken so far and action plans for the future, along with responsibilities and target dates, need to be discussed and followed-up on during these meetings. Most importantly, dedication and commitment are two values that people in authority must have.
Obliviously, technology has become a tool for terrorism. Much of the radicalization linked to recent terrorism are found to have occurred and been influenced in private chat rooms as Terrorism 3.0, which marks an ugly and brutal appearance in a country where peace was preciously earned and prevailed. Virtual chatting and social media have been the tools recreating identities influenced by radical views and emotional imbalances.
There are many who get carried away by how their browsing patterns capture and send out notifications which direct them to certain posts. These are the norms of social media. Unknowingly, users tend to trust and look upon these as mentors, believing in the views and information posted.
Technology can be a friend more than a foe. The point is that some emotional and extremist plot can manipulate online life to an evil slant. Attention should be on cyber security and strengthening it under close surveillance. Such measures and findings should be shared by local and international security bodies.
It is deplorable that Sri Lanka had to face another terrorist attack, after ten years of ending the long drawn out war. This came about due to the irresponsible conduct of the “powers that be” and the politicians trying to gain political advantage. Be that as it may, the politicians must set aside their selfish ideologies and come together to destabilize the terrorist organizations and save our country and its people from further destruction.
Sri Lanka is equipped with the experience and expertise in countering terrorism and taking security measures to protect our country through our tri forces. Therefore the experts must be brought back to the arena and the intelligence unit should be re-activated by engaging the services of the personnel, some of whom are languishing in prison. The tri forces and the police should be equipped with the necessary powers to carry out their duties, without political interference.
The perpetrators of these heinous crimes and the politicians who have been responsible in building up extremist ideologies within the country should be brought before the law and severely punished. The religious leaders of the different communities also have a big role to play, in changing the mindset of the people and paving the way for a united Sri Lanka.
Trash the traitors! Much of the disasters have been created by our selfish rulers and administrators who have made a breeding ground for the culprits to manoeuvre their terrorist mission. Still with evidence, misconduct and allegations, much needs to be done in terms of law and enforcement. Dangerous culprits can still be at large.
Dual policy for rulers and the common citizen needs to be abolished. In the wake of these attacks, even after one month, the government still isn’t strong enough in terms of defence strategy. Many things are under a grey area, or these are projected as grey areas to mislead the citizens again, in the name of political votes.
This country has had enough terrorism and as citizens, we do not want it further. Let’s not let history repeat itself and let’s close the chapter for terrorism in Sri Lanka.
As water takes the form of the shape and the size of its container, terrorism too appears in many forms. Internationally, there have been world wars whose impacts were suffered at the country level, then Sri Lanka underwent the period of the Marxist rebels and youth unrest, followed by the separatist war – then known as the most brutal terrorists of the world, and finally the erupting of the extremists.
What these incidents had in common was terror – spreading terrorism. To counter the threat of terrorism we should be vigilant of such harmful developments that are evolving. There should be a direct link and mutual fit between the changes in social anthropology, defense strategies and intelligence services, for terrorism is not to be merely controlled – but eliminated.
Equality and maintaining the identity of a country amidst diversity, form the glue that strongly binds us to be resistant. It is not that every ethnic group in a country can raise their hands and get what they want. In Sri Lanka, this is what happened, is happening and will happen in future.
The constitution of this country does not stand firm, rather, it variegates accommodating all directions, compromising the country’s integrity. In the name of democracy, Sri Lanka may have weakened certain notions that should be strong. You may recall the words of an Australian prime minister on a similar note –’As long as someone lives as an Australian citizen, they must be able to accept the lifestyle, culture and beliefs, the Australian way’.
It’s easier to put on slippers than to carpet the whole world. Terrorism can pop up on the grounds that valid reasons exist. It is even more disastrous when the nation cannot establish a connection between a cause and effect – as to reason out why and how it occurs. Those who take to terrorism have many reasons as to how their ideologies, theories and injustices can be right. The common factor is that all these cannot be acceptable in a civil society.
Eradication of terrorism starts by closing the loopholes for these perpetrators, regardless of the fact that depending on various types and phases of terrorism, loopholes can vary. It has to be supported by a corrupt-free political administration, law enforcement system with dual policies, regulatory watchdogs doing their duty right as well as reinforcing the defence strength of the country. If countries maintain their security standards, there will be lesser breeding grounds for terrorism.
Ten years after enjoying peace and quiet, the invisible hand of terrorism has invaded Sri Lanka yet again. This time, violence has taken a new form with swords and kris knives coupled with bombings we were so used to back in the LTTE era. Whilst the dust is still settling down in the aftermath of the devastating attack on Easter Sunday, before commenting on the measures to be taken on preventing future attacks, if any – we cannot help but think back on so many ‘What If’s, which the government failed to take action on.
If only the relevant authorities took the warnings they received seriously and took necessary precautions, all those grieving families would be smiling today. We must say that our Security Forces and the Police must be highly commended for their fast action, placing their own lives at stake. As a result of their timely action, we have managed to arrest a number of terrorists as well as recover large quantities of weapons. But sad to say, our government is yet to initiate a plan to counter the threat of terrorism. Instead, they are all thriving in a blame-game.
As a government they must first identify the characteristics of this terrorist group and the real threat we face without trying to whitewash it. And they must form an alliance with the more experienced people in the subject. As Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka wisely stated, combating terrorism cannot be achieved in a day or two. Terrorists are a pack of psychos with hatred cultivated in their brains, who are trying to achieve their own targets; they have no race or religion. It can be prevented only with careful planning and timely action to counter any further attacks.
The government must take intelligence warnings more seriously and make national security their top priority. The general public too must be more vigilant at all times. Mostly, the government must unite and plan proper counter action by strengthening our well-versed Intelligence, Security Forces and Police to prevent terrorism.