31 July 2019 05:55 am Views - 2315
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said the Easter Sunday bomb attacks could have been prevented had the officers attached to defence establishments informed him about the prior warnings they have received in early April.
President Sirisena said this during the National Conference on Peace, Harmony and Coexistence organised by Governor Western Province A.J. M. Muzammil last evening. “I was not aware of the prior warnings of the April 21st attacks but if the officers attached to defence establishments had informed me, I would have taken steps to prevent them.
Therefore the Easter Sunday attacks could not be avoided due to shortcomings of certain government officers,” the President said. “I was blamed for not doing anything to prevent the attack but the truth is that I was never aware of it,” he added.
“The Easter Sunday attacks have led to a fear psychosis among the communities in this country. Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims have begun to suspect each other.
Those who died in the Easter Sunday attacks are Sri Lankans. Also one should consider that Muslims also suffered as a result of the riots that broke out after the Easter Sunday attacks,” he also said. The President mentioned that some are trying to get mean advantage out of Easter Sunday happenings.
“It is necessary to keep politics aside and work together to bring back peace and harmony to Sri Lanka,” the President said in this regard. Secretary-General of the Muslim World League Dr. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdul Karim Alissa said that everyone has to understand that Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country. He said this reality should be understood through an exchange of love and respect.
“The world is in dire need of national intellectual awareness that leads to bolstering harmony and stability. This will give rise to the respect of constitutions, laws and cultures in countries where we live in addition to the respect of religious and cultural dominance that express the opinion of the majority and also considering their feelings,” he said. (Yohan Perera)