Sri Lanka - News and Discussion- Post PM appointment crisis

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 21 Apr 2019 14:20

To an Islamist group, one group of Christians = any group of Christians. Easy targets in Sri Lanka vs those in the west.

Mukesh.Kumar · Post by **Mukesh.Kumar** » 21 Apr 2019 14:23

Searching for the organization, it seems that it is originally a Tamil Nadu based organization:

They seem to be a fringe off shoot of the Indian organization which has flirted with extremist views before. Sample from 2014- Sri Lankan Muslims At The Cross-Roads – Part III

In the second part of this series of articles on SL Muslims at the cross-roads I dealt with the bizarre case of a Muslim who reportedly made outrageous statements against Buddhism at a public meeting. He had reportedly stated that in worshipping the Triple Gem the Buddhists are worshipping stones, that Buddhism encourages cannibalism, that the Buddha himself had once eaten human flesh, and that the Buddha had spoken about Allah. His statements were reportedly recorded in a video which has been in circulation since June 2013. My initial reaction, as well as those of my Muslim contacts, was one of total incredulity because it seemed to us impossible that any Muslim in his right mind would have made such statements. It seemed to us further that the video was probably inauthentic, just a piece of anti-Muslim propagandist garbage.

But it turns out to be authentic, and had been put across on MTV about a couple of weeks earlier. According to my informants, the person who made those statements was the President of a group that calls itself the Tawheed Jamaat, about which I must make a very important clarification. It is quite unlike the Tawheed Jamaat of South India which is very powerful with a huge membership, and boasts in Zainul-Abdeen a theologian of high caliber, according to a friend who is capable of making informed judgments on Islamic theology. The local Tawheed Jamaat, on the other hand, is small and relatively insignificant. It cannot be regarded as representative of mainstream Sunni Islam in Sri Lanka, nor for that matter of Wahabi Islam.

Prem Kumar · Post by **Prem Kumar** » 21 Apr 2019 14:50

The National Thowheeth Jama'ath seems related (probably a child) of Tamilnadu's TNTJ (Tamil Nadu Thowheeth Jama'ath). The latter douche-bags organized an "idol destruction conference" in Trichy back in 2006.

Every time I see this, I take my hat off to MAD for keeping our country safe for these past 5 years!

nithish · Post by **nithish** » 21 Apr 2019 14:54

#SriLankaBlasts | Seventh explosion kills 2 more in Dehiwela near Colombo

#UPDATE AFP News Agency quoting police: Eighth blast hits Sri Lankan capital. https://t.co/MabzUBcVcU

Sri Lanka government declares curfew with immediate effect, is unclear on when it will be lifted

#Breaking Total Seven blasts till now have killed more than 185 and injured 500. Presidential Secretariat declares nationwide curfew from 6pm to 6am tomorrow. 22nd & 23rd declared Govt holidays. #Srilanka #SriLankaBlasts #SriLankaExplosions #SriLankaAttacks https://t.co/9XUoT3GkJl

partha · Post by **partha** » 21 Apr 2019 15:11

Some chatter about all suicide bombers being Pakistanis. No official confirmation though.

hanumadu · Post by **hanumadu** » 21 Apr 2019 16:10

I have a feeling Sri Lankans will not pu**y foot with Islamists unlike HIndus in India.

VKumar · Post by **VKumar** » 21 Apr 2019 16:26

Twitter news 9 blasts. Curfew in Colombo. All bombers Pakistanis. More than 200 dead. At least 16 Indians dead.

VKumar · Post by **VKumar** » 21 Apr 2019 16:26

Social media shut down

menon s · Post by **menon s** » 21 Apr 2019 16:29

Operation On by the SL Police in a place called Dematagoga!

uddu · Post by **uddu** » 21 Apr 2019 16:32

VKumar wrote:mbo. All bombers Pakistanis. More than 200 dead. At least 16 Indians dead.

I think SL armed forces must come and Join the Indian forces in the War against Terror along LOC and participate in Operation Cold Wave.

menon s · Post by **menon s** » 21 Apr 2019 16:45

HQ of the bombers, in dematagoga, surrounded. Source:rupavahini, SL

abhijitm · Post by **abhijitm** » 21 Apr 2019 17:11

VKumar wrote:Twitter news 9 blasts. Curfew in Colombo. All bombers Pakistanis. More than 200 dead. At least 16 Indians dead.

source please?

Bharadwaj · Post by **Bharadwaj** » 21 Apr 2019 17:22

News 18 reporting the suspect(s) had targeted our high commission in Colombo earlier in the month.

VikramA · Post by **VikramA** » 21 Apr 2019 17:49

pakis on twitter are furious that Indian 'twitter warriors' are blaming pakistani nationals for the attack.

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 21 Apr 2019 17:54

SL was having a tourist boom past few years.Chinese might be wanting to slow this to drag SL deeper into the Chinese debt trap & grab some strategic locations. They used Pakis to blast christian churches on easter day to deter dollar tourism from West at the start of Yala Monsoon tourist period.
That "free visa on arrival" facility to 39 countries starting from May 1, all of them western countries was to give a bigger boost to the tourism sector.This scheme was hoped to being extended to nations in SAARC aswell .

SRI LANKA TO GIVE TOURISTS FREE VISA ON ARRIVAL FOR SIX MONTHS
It currently costs £27

The Independent Travel

UK visitors to Sri Lanka can get a free visa from 1 May 2019.
The South Asian country is rolling out free visas on arrival for citizens of 36 countries in total.
The scheme will initially run for six months, but could continue if the move significantly boosts tourist numbers.
A 30-day double-entry visa for British tourists currently costs £27.
Before the new rules come into play, visitors can only get a free “transit” visa if they pass through Sri Lanka and stay for no more than two days.

The countries included in the visa on arrival program are as follows: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand and Switzerland.
The program will be a pilot project effective for an initial period of six months commencing 1 May and ending 31 October. The program will be considered for continuation thereafter based on the progress achieved during the pilot period.

Mukesh.Kumar · Post by **Mukesh.Kumar** » 21 Apr 2019 17:59

Lilo wrote:SL was having a tourist boom past few years.Chinese might be wanting to slow this to drag SL deeper into the Chinese debt trap & grab some strategic locations. They used Pakis to blast christian churches on easter day to deter dollar tourism from West at the start of Yala Monsoon tourist period.
That "free visa on arrival" facility to 39 countries starting from May 1, all of them western countries with few exception in SAARC SAARC region like India & Pakistan was to give a bigger boost to the tourism sector.

Liloji, my thoughts precisely. Who gains from destabilizing Sri Lanka? Are the 4 Chinese nationals collateral damage?

Have friends there. The country was slowly crawling back and now this. Coupled with already local papers calling it a dereliction of duty by Sirisena and the fracas few months before. Who gains from destabilizing? Who gains from creating a narrative of fear? Who can concede to power? And who will that person favour?

Bart S · Post by **Bart S** » 21 Apr 2019 18:17

Looks like the Lankans have a fair idea now about who did it, as the last blast was by a suicide bomber who blew himself up as police were raiding/searching a particular location, killing 3 policemen.

ranneel · Post by **ranneel** » 21 Apr 2019 18:35

Bomber queued at Cinnamon Grand hotel buffet then unleashed devastation
The suicide bomber waited patiently in a queue for breakfast buffet at the Cinnamon Grand hotel before setting off explosives strapped to his back.

Carrying a plate, the man, who had registered at the hotel the night before as Mohamed Azzam Mohamed, was just about to be served when he set off his devastating strike in the packed restaurant, a manager at the Sri Lankan hotel told AFP.
From the Hindu.

Lilo · Post by **Lilo** » 21 Apr 2019 18:35

House in Dematagoda was where the last blast happened while the SL police were raiding the house.

Rupavahini correspondent standing in front of the house in dematagoda says it is where the attacks were planned (acc to security on site). 4 arrested from the house, 3 taken to hospital and apparently more bodies inside yet to be taken out following the explosion.

https://twitter.com/iromip/status/1119915681712095232

1) One of the #SriLanka church suicide bombers is reportedly Zahran Hashim. In late 2017 I did some research on pro-Islamic State Sri Lanken Facebook accounts. His was one of the accounts I looked at, where he was a self styled 'Islamic Preacher' who held some pro-IS views. https://twitter.com/RobertPostings/stat ... 8173100033

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 21 Apr 2019 19:33

Karan M wrote:To an Islamist group, one group of Christians = any group of Christians. Easy targets in Sri Lanka vs those in the west.

I think that you are right. It is retaliation for the NewZealand slaughter.

No need to target a small country which has not provoked anyone recently and was just meandering about, minding its own business. Specific community wise targeting is very indicative.

The SLs will hit back very very hard, just like they vaporized the ltte, as indeed they must.

Krita · Post by **Krita** » 21 Apr 2019 19:40

Bharadwaj wrote:News 18 reporting the suspect(s) had targeted our high commission in Colombo earlier in the month.

The Lankans are busy dissing News18 on its twitter handle for naming peacefools as perpetrators(Lest it hurts the secular narrative peddled by Leli gang). Here we thought this secular contagion was restricted to India only in the subcontinent.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Apr 2019 19:42

How will SL hit hard? I have a tough time visualizing the SLAF and SLN pounding Islamagood and Karachi and Gwadar. Scratch that, Gwadar is owned by the same ppl who own Hambantota and Trincomalee (Thirukkonam or something like that is the real name).

Long b4 we headed to the caves of Mongolia, my Evil 7th Coujin Abdul Habib Kandywali used to live in central SL. Majority of the population there (tea estate town) were Tamil-speaking Indian Muslims, generally from Toothukkudi (TyootiCorin to the illiterate)/ TiruNelVeli Dt. of TN. They were certainly not radicalized then, though, well... they had the general characteristics to be (not much national identity, generally bissed-off at everyone, steeped in religious custom, and generally not interested in politics). They did make wonderful sweets, bless them.

Their coujins lived on the East Coast: Battocoloa. THOSE were considered to be pretty nasty characters, already radicalized etc. Even the Sinhalese extremists generally did not ventured into those parts.

Anyone know the situation now? With all the upheavals of the JVP and LTTE and Sinhala "rage", what has happened to these people?
IOW, they are the most likely targets of any SL Polis/Army "revenge". Sad.

Bart S · Post by **Bart S** » 21 Apr 2019 19:46

Krita wrote:
Bharadwaj wrote:News 18 reporting the suspect(s) had targeted our high commission in Colombo earlier in the month.
The Lankans are busy dissing News18 on its twitter handle for naming peacefools as perpetrators(Lest it hurts the secular narrative peddled by Leli gang). Here we thought this secular contagion was restricted to India only in the subcontinent.

Well, they are trying to prevent communal riots and chaos. This isn't some kind of ISPR type twitter trolling, but the govt channels including their top leadership has specifically asked not to use names and ethnicity till the immediate situation is contained. It is a perfectly legitimate request that must be supported.

What happens afterwards is more important, and hopefully the SLs will act as decisively against Paki/ISIS types as they did against LTTE.

rajsunder · Post by **rajsunder** » 21 Apr 2019 20:18

IndraD wrote:Reports say the Indian High Commission in Colombo was on target. Lanka Police chief names an outfit called the Towheeth Jamaa'th that could be behind the attacks. Clampdown on internet services. Inputs on the involvement of drug cartels based in Pakistan & Afghanistan. #SriLanka

remember that statement from paki minister that there would be an attack between 16th to 20th of April, may be this was the one he was referring to.

rajsunder · Post by **rajsunder** » 21 Apr 2019 20:22

VKumar wrote:Twitter news 9 blasts. Curfew in Colombo. All bombers Pakistanis. More than 200 dead. At least 16 Indians dead.

Also read on SM that these guys are workers on Chineese ships.

Pathik · Post by **Pathik** » 21 Apr 2019 20:41

Naive question - but having read about tons of explosives required to cause this level of destruction how did mere suicide bombers manage to cause roof blowing level of destruction with just devices strapped to their backs? Or did they just carry the fuses, remote detonators and the explosives lay hidden elsewhere?

abhijitm · Post by **abhijitm** » 21 Apr 2019 21:31

Suicide bombing require months of mental brainwashing. How was this escaped from SL or even RAW intelligence? Or the bombers were imported from pakistan for this attack? They have abundant suicidal terrorirst for export.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 21 Apr 2019 21:35

abhijitm wrote:Suicide bombing require months of mental brainwashing. How was this escaped from SL or even RAW intelligence? Or the bombers were imported from pakistan for this attack? They have abundant suicidal terrorirst for export.

there are reports that 10 days ago a 'foreign intel agency' had warned of bomb attacks at churches & the Indian HC.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 21 Apr 2019 22:22

Pathik wrote:Naive question - but having read about tons of explosives required to cause this level of destruction how did mere suicide bombers manage to cause roof blowing level of destruction with just devices strapped to their backs? Or did they just carry the fuses, remote detonators and the explosives lay hidden elsewhere?

RDX or other MIL grade equivalent explosives.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 21 Apr 2019 22:24

rajsunder wrote:
VKumar wrote:Twitter news 9 blasts. Curfew in Colombo. All bombers Pakistanis. More than 200 dead. At least 16 Indians dead.
Also read on SM that these guys are workers on Chineese ships.

guys please quote the sm sources.

they can be tracked further.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Apr 2019 22:32

Beyond saying that IVS (visa service?) will remain closed on April 23 and 24, no sign of any news at website of Indian Embassy Colombo. Of course website will be hosted somewhere else. Oh, wait, Twitter feed at the site has updates.

In addition to the numbers given below, Indian citizens in need of assistance or help and for seeking clarification may also call the following numbers +94777902082 +94772234176

No mention of any attack at the embassy itself.

Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj
✔
@SushmaSwaraj
Indian High Commission in Colombo has conveyed that National Hospital has informed them about the death of three Indian nationals. Their names are Lokashini, Narayan Chandrashekhar and Ramesh. We are ascertaining further details. /3

From undieTV:

The NTJ is a radical Muslim group in Sri Lanka that came to notice last year when it was linked to the vandalization of Buddhist statues.

Oh! I c! Must be friends of VinayLalAssociateProfessorOfHistoryAtUCLA, the SpokesDung of the Forum of Inquilabi Leftists and the Fiends of South Asia.

disha · Post by **disha** » 21 Apr 2019 22:37

https://www.opindia.com/2019/04/islamis ... al-blasts/

Islamists celebrate Sri Lanka attack even as terror sympathisers blame Hindus for the serial blasts
Many were caught on social media 'celebrating' the Sri Lank attack

abhijitm · Post by **abhijitm** » 21 Apr 2019 22:49

Need to watch out that lunatic Sirisena. He will see this now an opportunity to remove Wikramesinghe.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Apr 2019 22:57

"several" US citizens and at least 5 UQ citizens among the dead, another 25 "foreigners" among the dead, unidentified, 9 missing. Not that their lives were worth more than those of the local people, but now there are a few more nations that might wonder how to Give Peace a Chance... No mention seen, of ties of the NTJ to Pindi.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 21 Apr 2019 22:59

UlanBatori wrote:"several" US citizens and at least 5 UQ citizens among the dead, another 25 "foreigners" among the dead, unidentified, 9 missing. Not that their lives were worth more than those of the local people, but now there are a few more nations that might wonder how to Give Peace a Chance... No mention seen, of ties of the NTJ to Pindi.

Foreign citizens lost their lives even during 26/11. What happened then?

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Apr 2019 23:06

Well.. we don't know. If there had been an Indian retaliation they might have at least shut up and vetoed the Chinese condom-nation in Yoo Enn. We will never know. But I think Eff Bee Eye cooperated somewhat in catching/de-briefing "David Headley" / Dawood Gilani.

Lawsuits on behalf of Phoren citjens are probably wending their way through Discovery. 9/11 suits against KSA are just coming up (saw some over the past year), so it obviously takes time.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Apr 2019 23:39

Question now is: IF this is traced to Pureland, is it cause enough for a combined-ops takeout of PA/LET/NTJ "facilities" in Pak, from east to west and north to south?
Or, at minimum, another nice painful Indian jhapad with a pest-e-sha'eed of around 1000? And a

at the UNSC? "Collateral damage" as in a few missiles being misdirected and accidentally taking out a dozen F-16s at Sargodha or Peshawar or Skardu? Just hoping.
I mean, SRI LANKA? On EASTER? If someone wanted to raise the "Profile" of the Paki Passport to even further heights, they have done it nicely.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 21 Apr 2019 23:46

My third cousins neighbor knows a lot of Pakistanis who somehow vacation/have business ties in Nepal and srilanka. I think those are about the only two countries in the neighborhood with easy visa and friendly climate to Pakistanis.

There was also a rumour that Pakistan helped Lankan army against LTTE. India, for example had declined to provide things like ground attack aircraft. Also there's the Chinese connection: China probably wants its two poodles to be friends.

Nevertheless, the Lankans probably didn't realize that you invariably import Pakistaniyat with Pakistanis.

It's too early to tell who did it. But the attacks seem very sophisticated. Multiple targets on a pre determined day (Easter) across multiple cities separated by vast distances. Probably used high explosives like rdx. All without anyone getting arrested beforehand. Pretty scary. Given their history with terrorism, they probably have a sophisticated domestic intelligence agencies by now, but still missed it. Sri Lanka was limping to normalcy, after a generation of violence. Hope things settle down.

souravB · Post by **souravB** » 22 Apr 2019 00:45

Karthik S wrote:
Foreign citizens lost their lives even during 26/11. What happened then?

Some of them are atleast making films on it and showing it to citizens who were either woefully ignorant or wonderfully nonchalant. Films are a very good method of propaganda and mass knowledge.

IndraD · Post by **IndraD** » 22 Apr 2019 00:53

^ Not so
Pakistan was funding LTTE
While China armed SL army after India was reluctant nevertheless SL clearly said that India provided important intelligence support.
Also London, Norway were providing LTTE moral, diplomatic support