Despite advance warnings received from international intelligence agencies, the lapses in information-sharing between the local security divisions and law enforcement agencies led to the Easter Sunday attacks, Ports and Shipping Minister Sagala Rathnayaka told the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) appointed to investigate the Easter attacks yesterday.
According to Minister Rathnayaka, he had obtained 407 reports on both Muslim and Sinhala Buddhist extremism during his days at the Ministry of Law and Order. “Even though SIS Director was reporting to the Ministry of Defence, we were able to obtain many reports. Among them were 13 reports containing the ISIS activities in Sri Lanka. I received the first report about Zahran Hashim on 2 November 2016. There had been a previous report dated 6 August 2016. I pointed out those reports to the then- Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Karunasena Hettiarachchi. ISIS is a global terror network. We too have threats from them. The then-defence authorities prepared a report on ISIS activities in Sri Lanka. We made various important points on the basis of the conclusion of that report, and emphasised on several matters,” he said.
“When I was the Minister of Law and Order, I used to receive a daily report from the Command Room in Mirihana. That report contained details of the previous day’s incidents countrywide. That is a very important report. I used to peruse that report and make necessary calls if there was anything important or unusual. I used to call the IGP daily and made inquiries. That report helped us understand the trends of the security situation. In addition, we used to meet once a week to cover various issues,” he added.
Minister Rathnayaka held that such important reports were shared with all departments responsible for taking action, and such action had helped in many ways. “There were no reports on explosives, bomb-making, and plans to carry out suicide attack reports during my time in office. There were instructions issued from my Ministry to suppress and catch Zahran and curtail his activities. But it seems that instructions were not carried out,” he added.
Responding to a question exploring the possibilities that kept the Police Special Task Force in darkness, Minister said: “The STF reports to the Inspector General of Police. In 2017, we created a new division to curtail organised crime, and included the STF into that. They performed well. There are many open warrants. STF is a para-military force. They are used for close-range activities. Zahran had not been identified as a terrorist then but only as a religious extremist.”
(FT)