Skip to main content

A postscript on the Easter bomb attacks in Sri Lanka.










The Easter Sunday bomb attacks exposed the defects and shortcomings of Sri Lanka’s security establishment. A series of coordinated bombings on that day rocked Sri Lanka, killing at least 257 people and wounding 500 others. The attacks, carried out by two Muslim extremist groups were the deadliest the island has witnessed since the end of its civil war 10 years ago. The attacks targeted three churches as well as four hotels in the Western Province.

Since 2009, Sri Lanka enjoyed a negative peace. Having ended a war that lasted close to 30 years, the bomb blasts evidently caught people by surprise. The prospect of encountering terrorism of this nature appears to have not been registered even within the security establishment of Sri Lanka. Security experts, since 2009 in particular, have focussed on the maritime security aspect of Sri Lanka’s security and as a consequence failed to notice the emergence of internal security threats. Lately, public criticism has been directed at the political hierarchy in Sri Lanka for their failure to detect and circumvent terror threats. Moreover, the advent of foreign security forces to the country in the aftermath of these attacks, voicing the need to ‘protect’ Sri Lanka and ensure its security and safety needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

In this regard, the geographical, geo-economic and strategic salience of Sri Lanka’s position carries significant utility for major powers. Western nations may view the island as a node in the global strategy to ‘contain China’. Beijing on the other hand, may view Sri Lanka as a critical junction in its Belt and Road Initiative. Despite the intentions and blueprints of foreign major powers, the Government’s decision to focus on foreign powers and their activities in the Indian Ocean whilst overlooking the internal security dynamics of Sri Lanka was a significant shortcoming.   Even when extremists’ groups garnered some attention, it was chiefly centered around the “Awa” Tamil extremists group in the North. Despite the government’s efforts at establishing peace and harmony in the island, one can posit therefore that this endeavour has also not been efficacious.

According to Theresa May, “National security is the first duty of a government”. However, in the case of Sri Lanka one has reason to doubt whether the government adequately paid attention on guaranteeing the island’s national security. The lack of intelligence exchange, the absence of intelligence specialists and the lack of an effective national security policy for the island was starkly visible in the aftermath of the attacks. Sri Lanka must do more in future to prevent a further recurrence of terrorism in the island.

By Dulanjani Wijesinghe
MA in International Relations (Reading), University of Colombo

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and not the institutional views of the BIDTI, nor do they necessarily reflect the position of any other institution or individual with which the author is affiliated.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Communism, Nationalism, Racism to Separatism (The rise and fall of Tito’s Yugoslavia)

Introduction Yugoslavia, the land of the South Slavs was formed after World War I.   Although they spoke a common language (Servo-Croatian), the country comprised of six ethnic groups, with different histories, different beliefs, and distinct identities. During the last century, this nation achieved an incredible rise to power and had a devastating collapse in the span of nine decades. Yugoslavia experienced a variety of governmental structures 1 . The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established in 1918, only to be substituted in 1943 by the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia. Just three years later, the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed under the influential leadership of Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980) 2 . The country which existed for 85 years and flourished under Tito’s leadership, is now non-existent. It is argued that the continuous adoption of various ideology caused instability and eventually led to the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
Post a Comment
Read more

Reconciliation through sports diplomacy: An overview of the 1995 Rugby World Cup

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was an anti-apartheid political revolutionary who served as the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black President and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. This article discusses the trials and tribulations of the South African President and how sports diplomacy played a significant part in the country’s efforts at nation-building. Mandela decided to get involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics after South Africa’s National Party’s white-only government established a system of racial segregation that privileged the white community in the country. As a result of his political activities, he was arrested and imprisoned on several occasions (Nelson Mandela Foundation, n.d.). Having served 27 years of life in various prisons, Mandela was freed by President F.W de Klerk in 1990 owing to growing domestic and international pressure. Mandela and de Klerk jointly led efforts to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Diploma in Diplomacy and World Affairs – An Experience like no other

In a rapidly evolving world in which major new developments take place in the blink of an eye, a comprehensive understanding of the intricacies of the international arena is immensely beneficial for all individuals. Following the Diploma in Diplomacy and World Affairs offered by the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI) is the ideal opportunity for any individual to gain extensive knowledge about the field of international relations. When I first set foot in the BIDTI, I was a little fledgling who had just left school and was still months away from starting university. The knowledge I had pertaining to the field of diplomacy was practically non-existent. Fortunately, we were blessed with an extremely conscientious panel of lecturers who were well-aware of the fact that they were catering to a diverse group of students from different educational and professional backgrounds. Starting at the very basics of diplomacy, we went on to explore more complex realms li...
Post a Comment
Read more