A sheikh revealed information about possible attacks: Gnanasara Thera

Colombo, July 22 (Daily Mirror) -

Considering their speeches on political stages about the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, all these political leaders should be in prison and have no moral right to preach or talk about the incident, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera said today.

The truth of this great earth has been killed by all these political gangs operating in the country, including the people who are ruling this country and demanding the ruling power of this country.

Addressing the media, he said that as Buddhist monks, they revealed all the details related to the Easter Sunday attacks to the responsible persons and parties in the country, not only to safeguard Sri Lankan Buddhists but for the sake of all the people in the country, including those of all religions, he added.

"We informed the details about the attacks before we came to know these politicians," he said.

He further said that all details related to the attacks were provided by a sheikh in Dikwella on June 20, 2014, following a request from the sheikh to meet him in that area. The sheikh requested him to inform about the deadly attacks because they were unable to tell the country themselves, fearing they might be arrested as extremists.

"Due to the influence of global terrorist groups, the Sheikh asked us to inform Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa that Sri Lanka has been chosen for the most powerful and most dangerous terrorist attack in Asia by extremists in the name of Islam in a way that insults the religion of Islam. The Sheikh also said that they could not inform the then government because they would be arrested claiming that they were extremists," he said.

The sheikh claimed that a deadly attack was planned to kill about 2,000 people, targeting major religious events in the country, including Buddhist, Muslim and Christian festivals. He claimed that all funds and facilities for launching the attack were organized and that there was also a plan to carry out another massacre targeting 50 villages across the country.

"We had no choice but to inform the Defense Secretary, despite the potential backlash. Consequently, many politicians and people blamed us, suspecting us of being extremists. The Defense Secretary took action to prevent the attack. The truth was that no Easter Sunday attack was reported during the Rajapaksa government. After revealing this, some politicians in the Rajapaksa government began attacking us, claiming that we were extremists and accusing us of inciting racism. They also claimed it was a Norwegian conspiracy and prevented us from speaking the truth.

"After revealing the names of more than 15 terrorist and extremist organizations, it was found that they were hidden among political leaders, including those from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the groups that supported the Yahapalanaya government and the National People's Power (NPP). While providing shelter to extremist groups, they placed the blame on us, claiming that we were the extremists and that was the truth," Ven. Gnanasara Thera said.

"Later, the extremist forces were armed during the Yahapalanaya government and I was sentenced to prison. I was sentenced to 19 years in prison for requesting the judge not to take actions that would paralyse the intelligence services in the country. I was sentenced for contempt of court by the Homagama Magistrate. If the Rajapaksa government and the Yahapalanaya government had listened to us, there would be no need to discuss the Easter Sunday bomb attacks now.

"I met the Colombo Archbishop, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, at Bishop's House and was informed about a deadly attack, and he said that all details were revealed in 2014. I was informed about a person named Saharan in Kattankudy who was planning the attack. I also claimed that he was engaging in attacks on people and traditional Muslims with swords. I warned the Cardinal about the attack on the Christian community," Ven. Gnanasara Thera said.

"The Cardinal told me that he knew about this attack, and to prevent that, we started making plans. That was his answer to me. Now the Cardinal, along with other priests, is requesting justice for the Easter Sunday bomb victims. Now he has nothing to say. He put the blame on all Sinhala Buddhist people and tried to wash their hands," the thera said.

Ven. Gnanasara Thera finally said that extremist terrorist groups are still operational in the country and have already acquired certain land areas. Some Muslim individuals have claimed that there are ongoing training sessions underway.

"We are not creating racism in the country. As Sinhala Buddhists, we are committed to protecting all the people in the country. We cannot allow anyone to attack people under the guise of any religious community," the thera said.