If information on threats was received on October 7 why was action not taken, asks Kanchana

Colombo, October 24 (Daily Mirror)- Former Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara asked why the government did not take action to beef up security for foreign tourists in advance if it had received information on a possible threat on October 7, according to the statement made by Acting Chief of Police.

In a post on X, he said the information on a possible attack was received by the GOSL on October 7 and was discussed at multiple Security Council meetings, investigated into and precautions taken.

"If the Government did have the information  before the statement from the US embassy went out, it is a serious concern why the officials didn’t tighten security before.

"The reality is that there was no presence of any security officials or armed forces in any of the tourist areas until the warning statement from the US embassy and other foreign missions went out to their citizens.

"Another concern is why the Government had failed to call a meeting with the diplomatic missions and brief them on the steps taken in regard to the information received and the steps taken to prevent such a threat.

"While the threat on national security should never be taken lightly, tourism income is one of the most important revenue streams for the country.

"If the government did have information before hand and had they briefed the diplomatic missions, a travel advisory warning could have been prevented with the precautions taken," he said.

President @anuradisanayake and the Foreign Minister should at least now call a meeting with the Diplomatic missions and the security officials, brief on the steps taken and work with the foreign missions to remove the travel advisory on Sri Lanka.