An
areal view of the Maligawa
Were proper and ad- equate security ar-
rangements made to protect Kandy, Sri Lanka's principal cultural city and the
Sri Dalada Maligawa, Buddhism's most venerated shrine?
The question was on everyone's lips in Kandy-the peasant, professional, clerk, clergy, doctor, driver, businessman and what have you ?
If the terrorist bombing of the Maligawa hurt them deeply, almost all that sadness was written on their faces.
Those who were angry did not hide their feelings. Some shed tears as they spoke out. They said what happened last Sunday was something that never took place for centuries. Why did the Government choose to hold the Golden jubilee celebrations in Kandy if it could not provide protection to the most cherished and venerated place of worship ?
Others complained that whilst politicians had large squads of trained men as their bodyguards, the safety of Sri Dalada Maligawa, was left in the hands of a few untrained Policemen and women.
The
gate the LTTE broke through
The pathetic plight was underscored by none
other than the Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeyeratne, a man devoted to the
Maligawa when he broke down like a child before TV cameras after the incident.
"Security has always been a serious concern for the Maligawa. Even the gate which was damaged by the explosion was put up with our funds. Just three days before the suicide bomb attack, I signed a cheque to tighten security along the road through which the truck entered," he told The Sunday Times.
The remarks appeared an indictment on those responsible for security. Maligawa funds had to be provided to secure the road. Before those measures came into effect, an Isuzu Elf truck had arrived with nearly 250 kilograms of explosives.
Making this intrusion was not difficult. A permanent security barrier that was placed midway along Kings Street had been removed in November, last year. The purpose of this barrier was to prevent a bomb laden vehicle crashing through. Many reasons were attributed for the removal
A contractor, a resident of Jaffna, working on a Cultural Triangle project had succeeded in having the railing removed. It was on the grounds that vehicles carrying construction material had to be moved without hindrance. They say the contractor, with close connections to the son of a politician, is now missing.
Another said the barrier was removed after appeals were made by some lawyers who complained that the barrier was a hindrance when they attended the Court houses located nearby.
Efforts by The Sunday Times to verify this either from Deputy Inspector General A.A. Samarasinghe or Senior Superintendent Nimal Mediwake were not successful. They did not wish to meet the media.
However, a senior Police officer spoke to us on a promise of anonymity. He said security in and around the Sri Dalada Maligawa was almost entirely in the hands of the Police. But there were only some 150 Policemen and they worked in shifts. Requests for 50 additional men for Maligawa security had gone unheeded. Police were also in a position to obtain additional men for security from the Army, but an Army official in Kandy told The Sunday Times no such request was made.
If that was not bad enough, The Sunday Times also found, no officers representing the Army were present on many occasions when top level conferences were held to discuss security arrangements for the independence celebrations.
He said there was simply no invitation to the Army.
Damaged
paintingsThe Sunday Times found that there was strong and widespread
criticism of Police inaction. A week after the bomb explosion, no action had yet
been taken against any Police official for any lapses - a phenomenon that
appeared to be all too common whenever LTTE triggered off incidents.
The most recent was the bomb explosion at the World Trade Centre in October,last year. Another Police officer of junior gazetted rank remarked wryly "a few PCs will get interdicted. The big people will end up with promotions and even medals."
The Government's decision to hold the golden jubilee independence celebrations in Kandy led to the suicide bomb attack at Sri Dalada Maligawa, the Maha Nayake of the Malwatte Chapter, the Most Venerable Rambukwelle Sri Vipassi Thera told The Sunday Times. He said restoration work would have to be carried out carefully in keeping with the 400 year history of the shrine.
Last Tuesday about 600 Buddhist monks staged a protest sitting outside the Maligawa. Crowds swelled as the hours passed.
Monks from other temples, had rushed to the Maligawa after they heard of the explosion.
One of them, Ven. Mathurata Dhammarama Thera said "Selecting Kandy to host the independence celebrations was a good idea. But proper security should have been in place." He had come all the way from Walapone on hearing of the incident.
Kandy's Mayor Harindranath Dunuwille said he welcomed the idea of holding the golden jubilee independence celebrations in Kandy. "This came as an opportunity to give the hill capital a face-lift."
The Kandy Municipal Council's Opposition leader Sena Dissanayake of the PA was in full agreement with the UNP Mayor. He said it would have given a much needed boost to the city.
Like any tragedy, the sad tale of the Sri Dalada Maligawa bomb explosion also told the story of human suffering.
Seventeen year old Sagarika Sirisoma, a student of Panwila Ranjan Wijeratne Vidyalaya in Ehaliyagoda, still does not know that her mother is no more. The mother died on the spot when the truck bomb exploded.
From a bed in the Kandy hospital, Sagarika told The Sunday Times "We were on a pilgrimage to Anuradhapura. We had a vow to fulfil at the Maligawa. I saw a blue truck coming at high speed towards the Maligawa. It knocked down some people. I ran to see whether any of my family members were knocked down. Just then, someone shouted Duwanna, Duwanna (run, run). I took to my heels. I had only run a short distance when I heard a loud explosion. I woke up in hospital."
Sagarika
Sirisoma being treated at the Kandy hospital
Despite confident
assertions by PA leaders, the bloody violence triggered off by the separatist
war continues .As the nation is set to celebrate its fiftieth year of
independence, a sacred institution, so close to the hearts of Buddhists and so
respected by other faiths as a symbol of national pride and culture has been
desecrated by a bomb attack. Never before has such an event occurred. Never
before has the nation been shocked so much.
Whether the attack on the Sri Dalada Maligawa will also go into the limbo of forgotten things or whether those responsible for security lapses will be taken to task, is the question that looms large.
In Kandy last week, all were agreed that the LTTE should be unequivocally condemned for the savage attack.They were equally unequivocal in their assertion that who ever allowed this by the neglect of duties also collaborated in allowing a terrorist act.
Only the coming weeks will show how a Government, which takes pride in celebrating 50 years of independence, will deal with those who allowed terrorism to invade Sri Lanka's holiest shrine, be they the mighty and the powerful or the weak and unwilling.
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