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With questions being raised on how the state agencies handled prior warnings about the Easter Sunday bombings, there are also concerns over more blunders and blunders. One such case is the ongoing Emergency Regulations, introduced just a day after the dastardly incidents.

This was followed a day later by another gazette notification to correct as many as 33 mistakes in the original gazette.

Some of the mistakes were clearly seen as ones which could have been avoided only if the officials were more attentive on a document which deals with national security.

Here are some of the mistakes that were corrected.  The corrected version with the erroneous words within brackets follows:

‘The  Commander of the Army’  (Commissioner of the Army ),  ‘Use’ (sue), ‘Offence’ (office),  ‘Police station of his area’  (police of his are), ‘Not exceeding’ (after exceeding) ‘to incite’ (to incine),  ‘not less than five thousand rupees and not exceeding ten thousand rupees’ (not less than five hundred rupees and hundred rupees and not exceeding five thousand rupees),  ‘shall be guilty of an offence (shall be of an offence) ‘acts or omission’ (acts or commission). In addition, several regulation numbers too were corrected.

Only few weeks ago, a ‘textual’ mistake occurred in a gazette notification was corrected.  A gazette notification issued by the Secretary to the President was rectified with a mistake being about the name of an officer appointed to a Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

Rajitha says he and seven ministers on terrorists’ hit list
When religious leaders were rejecting bullet-proof vehicles and requesting more security for the people, politicians were concerned more about their own security. One of them was Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne who said that eight ministers, including himself, were on the hit list of the extremist terrorist groups.

“My security told me to stay put at home as we are targets of the terrorists. Therefore, on April 28 and 29 I stayed at home. We can’t endanger our lives so we take our own measures to create our own security.” He explained that he survived both the JVP uprisings and LTTE terrorism because he took the security advice given to him seriously.

He divulged one of the security steps taken by him. He said he used to get himself dropped at his Ministry by the visitors who came to his residence.
“If the visitors were going past my ministry, I hitch a ride in their vehicles,” he said. Having now revealed this secret, he will have to change his strategy.
Last week, more than hundred Government and Opposition MPs sought more security from the government.

JVP wants national security plan
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will not hold any political rallies until the security situation returns to normal, spokesperson Vijitha Herath MP said yesterday.

He said the party would extend its full support if the government formulated a national security plan to bring about normalcy.

Clarification on burqa ban
President Maithripala Sirisena has agreed to make amendments to the Gazette notification banning the niqab and the burqa.
The move follows representations made to him by a Muslim group. The change relates to covering the ears.

Army seeks help from ex-LTTE cadres

The services of one-time LTTE cadres were sought this week in the North – that was to help in keeping an eye on suspicious movements in the area after the Easter Sunday bombings.

On Tuesday, some former cadres were asked to be present for a meeting at a Jaffna Army camp where senior Army officers explained how the ex-cadres could play a role in ensuring national security and requested their assistance.

In return, the ex-cadres who have been marginalised socially and politically by their own community — for whom they said they took up arms in the past — assured they would extend their support to the Forces in their efforts to maintain security.

Only one passenger on Swissair flight
The number of foreign tourists to Sri Lanka has dwindled in the past two weeks.
A Swissair flight that landed in Colombo on Friday had only one passenger getting off.

Cardinal raises questions about security measures

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith on Friday expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which security operations were being conducted against ISIS terrorists.

He said that only one layer was being probed whilst other aspects were not being focused upon.

His remarks came when a delegation from opposition parties led by Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa met him on Friday night.

The Cardinal, who is also the Archbishop of Colombo, said some politicians had been given ministerial positions which they had abused. Such persons have not been probed for the multitude of allegations for fear that they would lose votes.

The Cardinal said opposition parties, if they were to form a government, should not take such persons into the Cabinet. Instead it would be better for them to form a government with a stable major party than opt for such unscrupulous persons from smaller minority parties.

The Catholic Church has been co-operating with many state agencies and passing on information it receives about matters relating to the Easter Sunday carnage. In one instance, it gave the name of a foreigner who had come to Sri Lanka with US$ 100,000. He was arrested and investigators had revealed that his account balance had since increased. Further questioning is under way.

Archbishop’s House sources said Cardinal Ranjith was alluding to the role of a Muslim minister who is alleged to have extended support to the IS terrorists and their local counterparts. He is alleged to have been responsible for obtaining empty copper artillery shells and passing them down to a factory owner who is in the thick of terrorist activity.

At the meeting with the Cardinal, among others who took part were Dinesh Gunawardena, Wimal Weerawansa, G.L. Peiris and Vasudeva Nanayakkara.

Another case of warning being ignored

It’s unbelievable but true. A hotelier on a visit to a European capital met a Sri Lankan diplomat, a former bureaucrat.

He claimed that he had taken a report when he was in Colombo to a political leader. That was about the activities of an extremist Muslim group which was bent on violence.

The politician, he complained, snubbed him and declared “Just be. Don’t do anything to offend the Muslim community.”

Army chief blames politicians

Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake is indeed outspoken and appears to be disturbed about the Easter Sunday massacre.

He told the BBC during an interview that politicians should take the responsibility for the bombings.