Over the past several days, I have reflected prayerfully on what happened in three Christian churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and also in some of our city hotels on Easter Sunday. It is sad that humans have arrogated to themselves the right to commit mass murder in the name of God Almighty the giver of life, also injuring,
Every single footballer in Sri Lanka as well as thousands of the games’ fans and fanatics will remember the great sports promoter, benefactor and trusted poor man’s helper President R. Premadasa whose 26th death anniversary fell on May 1.
The Easter Sunday attacks have been extremely traumatizing to one’s eye. As photos, videos and subject matter relating to these events continue to circulate on mainstream and social media, it may be difficult for certain people to grab everything at once.
Sri Lanka’s security forces have engaged in many battles and armed confrontations during the long war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009 brought an end to the conflict. Thereafter for ten years, the country has been experiencing peace and relative tranquillity. The armed forces too were confined to
It was almost a decade ago that countries across Europe began wrestling with the issue of the Muslim veil – in its various forms. The debate encapsulated religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. The conversation explored the multiculturalism in Europe, as many argued that there needed to be a greater effort to assimilate
Born on 1 May 1891 in Kandy, A. E. Goonesinha was educated at Dharmaraja College and at St. Josephs College in Colombo. He commenced his professional career as a journalist and publisher of the Journal “Search Light” to support the National Movement in Ceylon.
I am an individual who had the opportunity to serve under the late President Premadasa as the Chairman and Director General of the Greater Colombo Economic Commission and also as the First Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka from 1991 to 1993 and prior to that as the Chairman of the Peoples Bank, State Mining and Mineral Development
Girls too young to understand the essence of religion adorn the Nikab. Some forced due to cultural imposition, and others too young to know why. Madrasas spread across the island ignore history, art culture, literature and theology which form the core of religious education.
In the wake of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, a question has emerged regarding the inadequacy of the existing laws to combat terrorism, and whether new laws should be brought in to counter international terrorism. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Skynews that there were no laws in Sri Lanka to arrest those who joined foreign terrorist groups and returned to the country.
The earliest recorded engagement of a Muslim with Samantakuta, according to Senerath Paranavitana, occurs in 851 CE in a travel account by an Arab merchant called Soleyman. However, Soleyman does not refer to it as aadam malayi, the name we see in the later Muslim reconstruction of the Peak. Instead he alludes to it as “Al-Rohoun”, a term the 9th century Indian poet Rajasekhara
I didn’t know at the time that the noise that woke me up on Easter Sunday morning was the explosion at the Kingsbury. Living across from the Port City development, there were always loud noises coming from the construction. This was different though, after a loud bang was heard; a long alarm sounded. “Is this a tsunami warning?” I asked my Sri Lankan partner. As an Australian expat, who had lived in Colombo the past four years, a tsunami was the
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka has urged all citizens to refrain from engaging in hate speech or inciting violence, and to act responsibly against all forms of extremism, in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terror attacks....
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bloody Easter Sunday attacks against churches and luxury hotels. However, one should be careful in reading too much into these claims. That is not just because the Islamic State has a history of owning up responsibility for sake of glory. But more specifically, the local involvement in the multiple suicide attacks on Easter Sunday is extensive; networks of Islamist cells, some non-violent and o
The current national security crisis should essentially be managed within the Democratic framework of governance. Inability to protect the citizenry is not a condition that arose due to our collective faith in democratic governance, but because of an indisciplined leadership that proved to be attitudinally bankrupt in the past and in the present.
“Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.”
Appreciate that you made the effort to find out the timing of our mass. Appreciate that you learnt more about our religion to know that Sundays are the days we go to Church for the congregational prayers and Mass. But I guess there were some things you, rather unfortunately, didn’t get to learn. Perhaps you didn’t know that what you did
Katuwapitiya is a part of the Negombo urban area about 3 miles from the sea as the crow flies. It may be a part of the Katana Police Division but it is definitely part of the Negombo urban area. It is at the church of St Sebastian at Katuwapitiya that the 2nd terror blast (if we count Kochchikade as the first) took place. When I learned that the St Sebastian’s church had been targeted together with St Anthony’s Kochchikade, which was an obviou
Much has been written about his professional and academic contribution in the field of Taxation, as such I do not wish to add anything more to it. I shall therefore confine myself to a few personal incidents.
“We understand how sad and angry they must be feeling for the loss of their relatives. But, we also hate terrorism. We love peace and freedom which is why we came to peace-loving Sri Lanka,” Hafza, a Pakistani national, said. Hafza...
So many heartbreaking stories about victims of gruesome terrorist attacks, that took place on Easter Day, are heard via the media these days. The more intimately affected – those families and friends currently dealing with....
Tension and uncertainty prevailed in Batticaloa yesterday, three days after a deadly suicide blast in the Zion Church on Easter Sunday claimed the lives of 29 persons, including 14 children, prompting clergy and officials to call for peace and calm, as the eastern district experienced another day of mourning and shut-down.
A special Police information unit was installed opposite the Chief Judicial Medical Office at the Colombo National Hospital (CNH), where police officers have been deployed to assist in providing information on deaths related to the explosions that took place in Colombo this week. More than 350 people were killed and over 50
The late Lalith Athulathmudali was at one time the Minister for National Security and one who took his responsibility very seriously and never forgot that he was primarily accountable to the people of this nation. The recent suicide bomb blasts were definitely a déjà vu for many of us who have lived through the 80’s and this article aims to demand accountability from the
On April 22 (Monday) the final rites of 12-year-old Sharon Steven, his 10-year-old sister Shara Ebshiba, and their 13-year-old friend Jenakshika Thivenithan were held in Batticaloa, along with the funerals of 23 other victims of the Easter Sunday bomb attack that claimed the lives of 29 people in Zion Church. A total 14 children (7 girls and 7 boys) and 12 adults have so far
It was minutes after the Rev. Father delivered a speech about the importance of helping people during difficult times that the suicide bomber triggered the bomb at the St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, Negombo, killing scores and injuring many. Taking a cue from a recent incident in Trincomalee, where an injured youth was seen on CCTV desperately seeking help from bystanders who ignored him, Rev. Father at the Sebastian’s Church preached to
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