Our island nation of some 22 million people has been dominated for decades by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority and the Hindu Tamil minority, not forgetting the rest who are Christian and Muslim!!! Looking back at the decades of terror that we survived due to Tamils being mistreated and overlooked; a de facto homeland came into being in the country’s north!!! Notwithstanding the countless thousands who died during the decades of terror, it is believed that tens of thousands of Tamils died when the Government finally crushed the Tamil Tigers in 2009!!! 

Militancy

However, there is no history of militant Muslims creating violence throughout the country and bringing about such an unprecedented number of deaths and wanton destruction in one single day and on a holy of holy days, at that!!! There was a time however when the Buddhist monks tried to bring about a religious rift by implying that the Muslims were a pernicious threat!!! The Christian minority has also had their own harassments to cope with but we have never ever had to deal with anything of the magnitude of Easter Sunday!!! Generally, all religions have coexisted in inter-religious harmony; hence the inability to comprehend the incongruity of Easter Sunday’s senseless carnage!!! 

What a shame

Looking back at the time when our Island nation first gained Independence, we recollect with justifiable pride not just the beauty of our beloved country that was known as the Pearl of the East, but more importantly; the absolute peace and tranquility that pervaded our land in those unforgettable eras!!! Men of the calibre of Senanayakes, Kotelawelas and Bandaranaikes will never again grace this land with their inimitable style, presence and good governance!!! Never again will the people of Sri Lanka feel SECURE IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY!!! NO, NOT WITH A GOVERNMENT THE LIKES OF WHICH WE HAVE TODAY!!! POLITICIANS WHO KNEW WHAT WAS TO BEFALL THE COUNTRY YET DID NOTHING ABOUT IT!!! POLITICIANS WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT TOURISM INSTEAD OF THE SECURITY OF THE NATION, THE SECURITY OF CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS, POLITICIANS WHO REMAIN UNCONCERNED ABOUT THE STATE OF INSECURITY AND TENSION THAT PERVADES OUR NATION TODAY!!! IF THEY HAD ANY SENSE OF SHAME AND SELF-RESPECT THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT BY NOW!!! A NEWSFIRST NEWS BULLETIN SAYS AND I QUOTE: “The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka serving his fifth term of Office – none of which he has completed to its full term – appears muddle-headed in his explanation as to why the authorities failed to initiate action having received intelligence on specific targets!!!” The fundamental premise of being Prime Minister, responsible for the security of the people, appears to have flown over the Prime Minister’s Head!!!’

Cardinal role

It was Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith who maintained peace by calling upon the Christians to exercise restraint and self-control; to act the way Jesus taught his followers with forgiveness, patience and forbearance!!! The peaceful aftermath is due to the obedience of the Christians who exercised that restraint instead of auguring a blood bath!!! The government should be going on their knees to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith that the situation was contained, instead of erupting in a veritable blood bath!!! The Risen Lord would indeed be proud of you Cardinal!!! 

Questions

The citizens of our country are becoming increasingly concerned about the discoveries that are being unearthed; weapons and more weapons, a magnitude of swords and other weapons and one is constrained to ask, “How did all this get past our Customs?” Did it mean nothing to the Customs or were their eyes ‘conveniently closed’??? One wonders!!! And, as if that were not enough we learn that a house in Nuwara Eliya has been rented by Zahran for training but it did not stop there, Zahran also had a 25 acre plot in Batticaloa where the NTJ had made plans to establish a Training Centre!!! Where were the Government authorities when all this was happening; didn’t they care, or were they paid not to??? With the colossal amount of money that this organization has at its disposal, anything is possible!!! Rs. 140 million in cash and 7 billion worth of assets, it is mind boggling!!! 

Security

Despite numerous assurances from the government and commanders of the armed forces, people are still hesitant; they are not fully convinced that the threat is over, that it has been dealt with in its entirety!!! How can they when the brutality of what happened still remains fresh in their minds??? Most importantly, how can they TRUST WHAT THEY ARE BEING TOLD, PARTICULARLY WHEN THIS COLOSSAL LOSS OF LIVES COULD HAVE BEEN AVERTED IF THE GOVERNMENT HAD ACTED ON TIME??? One man, Parliamentarian Duminda Dissanayake, has had the decency and the courage to say that “Every Parliamentarian should apologize to the citizens for their behaviour in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks!!!” They most certainly should, but they will not!!! Very interestingly, the people are told ‘NORMALCY RESTORED’ send your children back to school; bring tourists back into the country BUT, VIPs KEEP THEIR CHILDREN AT HOME FOR A SECOND DAY!!! WHY THE DOUBLE STANDARDS??? IF IT IS SAFE FOR OUR CHILDREN, WHY IS IT NOT FOR VIPs’ CHILDREN??? ALL CHILDREN, WHETHER VIP OR NOT, ALL CHILDREN ARE PRECIOUS, AND ALL PARENTS WILL SUFFER THE SAME GRIEF IF THEY LOSE THEIR CHILDREN!!! WHO DOES THIS DAMN GOVERNMENT THINK THEY ARE FOOLING??? THE LOW PERCENTAGE OF VIP CHILDREN AT SCHOOLS DEMONSTRATES THAT THE VIPs THEMSELVES ARE NOT CONFIDENT OF THE SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS!!! WHY DON’T THE VIPs SET AN EXAMPLE BY SENDING THEIR OWN CHILDREN TO SCHOOL FIRST???

Change necessary

The horrendous Easter Sunday attacks which reached barbaric proportions, in which hundreds lost their lives, will most definitely change the political scenario in Sri Lanka!!! We have constantly advocated that change is necessary, very necessary!!! So many have requested that Sarath Fonseka be allowed to take over Law and Order because he is capable, very capable of making a real change; the change that is needed to set this country on the right track, without tolerating any nonsense; but it is always withheld from him and the big question that all right thinking people are asking is WHY??? WHY IS IT NOT GIVEN TO A MAN WHO IS EMMINENTLY CAPABLE OF EFFECTING THE CORRECT CHANGE??? NO MATTER HOW EDUCATED, TALENTED, RICH OR POWERFUL YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE, HOW YOU TREAT PEOPLE AND DEAL WITH SITUATIONS ULTIMATELY TELLS ALL, BECAUSE LIFE IS NOT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SINCERE IN FRONT OF YOU; IT IS ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE HONEST BEHIND YOUR BACK!!! 

THE VOICE