By James Simons-
The Sri Lankan government has shamefully admitted failing to act on multiple warnings before a coordinated series of attacks ripped through churches and hotels on Easter Sunday.
After over 24 hours in the dark about the perpetrators of this atrocious act , the Shrilankan government announced that international Islamic extremist terror group might have been behind the atrocities.
A government spokesman, Rajitha Senaratne, admitted that warnings were received in the days before the attacks, which killed 290 people and injured at least 500 more, including from foreign intelligence services. No group has yet claimed responsibility.
An estimated 2 million Christians live in the Buddhist-majority nation. Christians from Bhuddist and Hindu backgrounds have long faced discriminatory attacks for their faith. Revelations that intelligence services in India and the U.S told Sri Lanka of the threat in early April is so shocking that it compounds the effects of the terrorist attack. One of the warnings even went as far as providing a list of suspects, but it was negligently unheeded.
Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne, said foreign intelligence agencies tols Sri Lankan officials of a potential plot to launch suicide attacks against Christian churches and tourist spots.
Five days later, the country’s Defence Ministry informed the Inspector General of Police of this alleged plot, and named a group believed to be behind the plan, the Nations Thawahid Jaman (NTJ).
Another memo two days later signed by Priyalal Dissanayake, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, was circulated widely to a range of security services and some government ministries, according to Senaratne and a police source. A final warning is reported to have come minutes before the attack, highlight a potentially preventable death trap that has now put the Shrilanka in a state of national mourning.
Violent attacks from Buddhist extremists have been rife since 2012 , with Buddhist Monks in the past leading the persecution against Shrilankan Christians who comprise a mere 6% of the population, making the suspicion of an Islamic terror attack on Christians there a new dimension. Militants have historically burned churches and attacked Christians, Islamic terrorists may have seized the evil opportunity to exploit the historic tension between Buddhists and Christians in Shrilanka
Buddhism is the island’s predominant religion, accounting for just over 70% of the population.he rest of the minority groups are made up of Hindus who comprise 12.6% of the population, Muslims (9.7%) and Christians (7.4%).