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Members of Sri Lanka’s police and military forces collaborating with mobs in vandalizing a mosque in north western Sri Lanka have been caught on video.

CCTV footage obtained by JDS shows army soldiers and policemen with firearms joining with mobs attacking the Muhiddeen Jumma Masjid in Thummodera Nattandiya on Monday (13), while a curfew was in force.

Following widespread violence that claimed the life of a Muslim carpenter, authorities declared a province wide curfew from 5 pm on 13 May.
The CCTV recording from the mosque shows an army soldier apparently calling the mob towards the premises with a hand signal around 6.45 pm.

In less than a minute later, at least three policemen and five soldiers can be seen among the mob that started pelting the windows with stones.

Military vehicles

A member of the Jumma Masjid administrative council speaking under conditions of strict anonymity confirmed the authenticity of the footage.

“The soldiers were transported to the premises by a military vehicle,” he told JDS by phone.

After smashing the windows, the mob has moved with the security force members to the adjoining Muslim locality.

“The mob of about 400 went through the lane behind the Jumma Masjid. They attacked the Masjid ul Umar mosque and set fire to several homes. About 14 to 15 homes were damaged.”

He said that the villagers are now living in fear.

“How can we be safe when those who are supposed to be providing security are the same people who terrorise us?”

Read full story: http://www.jdslanka.org/index.php/news-features/politics-a-current-affairs/884-video-exposes-security-forces-collusion-in-sri-lanka-anti-muslim-riots

Two high ranking UN officials have pointed out that the recent violence in Sri Lanka has highlighted a growing influence of nationalist and extremist views of identity in the Asia region, putting religious minorities at risk. The statement comes in the wake of riots that have resulted in at least one death so far. 

Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and Karen Smith, United Nations Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, issued a joint statement on Monday regarding the attacks made against religious minorities in Sri Lanka.

Full text of the Joint Statement:

"Recalling their recent statements against violent extremism and hate speech, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, and the United Nations Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Karen Smith are alarmed about the growing acts of violence on the basis of religion, including attacks against homes, places of worship and businesses, in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka.

The Special Advisers noted a recent spate of attacks against Muslim and Christian communities in Sri Lanka, a majority Buddhist country. The attacks committed on this weekend of 11 May follow deadly attacks carried out on Easter Sunday of 21 April 2019, against churches and hotels in various parts of the country in which more than 200 people were killed and hundreds were injured. The recent violence in Sri Lanka has highlighted a growing influence of nationalist and extremist views of identity in the Asia region, putting religious minorities at risk.

The Special Advisers stated that “it is in the interest of all ethnic and religious groups in Sri Lanka, as well as the Government, the opposition, civil society and the security sector, to work collaboratively in taking appropriate action and immediately stop these hateful attacks. The country is trying to move forward from a traumatic period of inter-ethnic armed conflict, but these attacks are pushing Sri Lanka backwards. If not adequately dealt with, the recent violence has the potential to escalate even further.”

The Special Advisers acknowledged and welcomed the swift response of the Government, including by deploying the security forces to protect affected communities and addressing the spread of false information and incitement to violence. They also encouraged the Government to make sure that these and other past similar attacks are fully investigated and those responsible for instigating or committing these violent acts are brought to justice and made accountable. They added that “the Government needs to give the example that it will not tolerate the spread of prejudice and hate among groups within its population. This needs to be done at national and local level, by putting an end to local discriminatory practices that perpetuate religious intolerance and violence”. Mr. Dieng and Ms. Smith also offered their support to work with the Government on inter-faith and inter-religious harmony and inclusivity.

The Special Advisers concluded by stating that “Sri Lanka has a pluralistic society. To be a Sri Lankan is to be a Buddhist, to be Hindu, to be a Muslim, to be a Christian. All these communities are entitled to their identity, to freely exercise their religion and to live in peace and security in Sri Lanka, as recognized by the country’s Constitution. We call on all Sri Lankans to respect one another."

Although there was a two day parliamentary debate held to discuss the Easter Sunday carnage caused by the bombs that were exploded in three churches and several tourist hotels, no consensus has yet emerged as to the primary causes that led to the complete breakdown of the security situation and such an abject failure on the part of the state to protect the lives of the people, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said in a statement.

"If there is to be a solution to such colossal failures, there has to be a consensus in the political establishment, as well as among the people themselves, as to the causes of the failures and the ways to overcome them, AHRC said.

Mere talk about some particular person taking the leadership does not answer any of the more pressing questions. While the Maithripala Sirisena/Ranil Wickremesinghe leadership has pathetically failed to deliver the promises that were made in 2015 to create the requisite constitutional changes and generate other measures to restore the rule of law and order situation in the country, the decisions made by the former government to dismantle apparatus of the democratic state, in favour of one man rule, cannot be disconnected from what has happened in the previous weeks.

A security failure of such magnitude is not just failure of the security apparatus: it is the result of the state as a whole. When Thomas Hobbes wrote his famous “Leviathan” in which he formulated the need for a strong state that can make and uphold rules by which society can be held together, he provided the basis for the only way security could be provided for the people. By a strong state, he did not mean a theory. What Hobbes meant was the fully functioning institutions of the state, held together by strict adherence to the law, and the capacity of the state to sustain such a development.

Humans by their very nature are competitive and unless a well-enforced legal apparatus can control such competition, one person or a single group will try to destroy others and take everything for their sole benefit. This has been the universal experience of humanity throughout its history.

Perhaps no one saw man’s mean nature better than Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who exposed and described people’s capacity to behave much worse than animals if they are not restrained from doing so. What we have seen in the events of Easter Sunday is a behaviour in which no animal would ever engage. It was meanness and cruelty at its worst.No amount of rhetoric can convincingly deny that this capacity in human nature to be mean and brutish equally applies to Sri Lanka. In fact, the removal of restraining mechanisms has made the situation of Sri Lanka worse than in many other countries. This restraining capacity was removed by the 1978 Constitution, based on what is now described as unitary executive theory. There is no better prescription for ruining a nation than the practice of this theory. In Sri Lanka, this theory has now been in practice for more than forty years. This means that over the past forty years there has been a continuous disintegration of the restraining power of the state to control all forces of violence and unbridled greed.

The complaint of all the people today is that the politicians who play the leading role in both the government and the opposition are themselves mean-natured. Instead of leading the way to restrain the weak side of human nature, these leaders themselves exhibit these dark sides to such a degree that the topic about how to get rid of such leadership is perhaps the major theme being discussed among the people.
However, despite a consensus that the political predicament has gone terribly wrong, the people of Sri Lanka, including those who belong to the most educated sectors of society have not yet truly noticed the abyss into which they have fallen, nor do they have any ideas or ways to get out of this.

What is sadly lacking is the will of the people themselves to re-establish a strong state structure on the basis of the re-establishment of constitutional rules and legal structures by which the state can run its institutions for the benefit of everyone. The heart of the darkness in Sri Lanka is lawlessness. This darkness is so dense that all leaders can no longer see.

When the individuals who are responsible for running the basic mechanisms of the state are themselves so demoralized, no serious change can be expected. This political blindness can only cured by those who will be willing to think seriously about this problem and take upon themselves the task of bringing about the required measures that will guide the people to make a decisive change from the disabled state that Sri Lanka has become since 1978.

The mere mobilizing of military and the police, though necessary at the present moment, is not the final solution. In fact, this could bring about a ridiculous situation. Last week some police stations had only handful of officers to deal with complaints, as most of them were mobilized to assist with security operations elsewhere. In those places, the police officers could not attend to their normal routine duties.
AHRC underscored that Sri Lanka’s security problem needs to be understood in its full political context. 

"What this means is that we need to look into the historically proven methods of restraining violence in societies. Unless the thought process of people in the country is directed towards discussion and debate on that approach, the present calamity will continue to worsen."

Police have arrested 13 suspects over the the violent clashes that took place last night.

The suspects are accused of causing damage to shops and properties owned by Muslims in the Minuwangoda area. They will be presented to the Minuwangoda Magistrates Court today.

Police spokesperson said that the suspects have been arrested under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and that they could be sentenced upto 10 years in prison.

A Sri Lankan software engineer suspected by authorities in Sri Lanka of having provided technical and logistical support to the Easter Sunday suicide bombers was monitored by Indian intelligence agencies three years ago for links with Islamic State suspects, investigators said, according to the Reuters news agency.

Four sources in Sri Lankan investigating agencies said they believed Aadhil Ameez, a 24-year-old, was the link between two groups that carried out the attacks on churches and hotels that killed more than 250 people and wounded hundreds more.

Aadhil has been arrested and is in police custody, the sources said. His arrest has not been made public, but when asked by Reuters, Ruwan Gunasekera, the main spokesman for the Sri Lankan police, confirmed Aadhil was taken into custody on April 25, four days after the attacks. The spokesman declined to give more details.

A police official at India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) and another police official in the western state of Gujarat said they were providing assistance to Sri Lankan authorities.

Aadhil, who describes himself on his LinkedIn profile as a senior engineer/programmer/web designer with a masters degree in computer science and a bachelors in political science from U.K. universities, could not be reached for comment.

He does not yet have a lawyer and under Sri Lanka’s tough new emergency laws imposed after the attacks, he can be held indefinitely.

His father, M. Ameez, who lives in Aluthgama, a town south of Colombo, denied that Aadhil was involved with the plotters and said such “allegations are lies”.

The Indian investigators said they had been monitoring Aadhil since 2016 and named him in two chargesheets filed in Indian courts against suspected Islamic State operatives as being one of their contacts.

According to one of the chargesheets, reviewed by Reuters, he showed up in Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram chats with two of the suspects who are on trial for plotting an attack on a synagogue in the western city of Ahmedabad.

The two suspects Ubed Ahmad Mirza, a lawyer, and Stimberwala Mohamed Kasim, a hospital technician, were accused of planning “lone-wolf” attacks, according to the chargesheet.

Lawyers for both men rejected the allegations and said they were innocent. Both lawyers declined to comment on the possible role of Aadhil.

Aadhil has also been named in another chargesheet filed in court by the NIA for providing propaganda and online material to three Indians arrested in early 2016 for promoting Islamic State.

The three men, Sheikh Azhar ul-Islam, Adnan Hassan and Mohammed Rafiq Sadique Shaikh are on trial in a special Delhi court facing charges of criminal conspiracy to propagate the ideology of Islamic State, recruit, raise funds and facilitate the travel of people to Syria, according to the chargesheet.

Sheikh Mohammad Munawar, a cousin of ul-Islam, said the charges were fabricated and that he had no criminal record ever.

Families of the other two accused could not be reached. Their lawyers were not immediately available for comment.

Reuters was unable to determine when the Indians informed Sri Lankan authorities of the surveillance. The two officials declined to say whether they continued to keep Aadhil under surveillance after they completed investigation of the cases in India.

Indian intelligence services warned Sri Lankan authorities of a possible attack at least three times in April alone, officials have said.

Sri Lankan authorities have said two local Islamist groups – the National Tawheed Jamaath (NTJ) led by radical preacher Zahran Hashim and the Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim (JMI) – were involved in the synchronized blasts in Colombo, the island nation’s capital, and two other towns. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Two sources in Sri Lanka’s police Criminal Investigation Department and two military officials said Aadhil was the link between the two groups.

The groups used the dark web and WhatsApp to communicate, they said.

However, investigators don’t know yet whether Aadhil was simply a facilitator for the bombers, or if he was also one of the ring leaders involved in planning and executing the attacks.

Last week, police raided IT firm Virtusa, where Aadhil had interned in 2013, according to his profile. One current employee has been detained for questioning in connection with the attacks, police say, but no other details have been provided.

Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake said that the Sri Lankan military is prepared to use maximum force against nationalist groups who attack innocent Muslim citizens. 

"I am warning those who go around in motorcycles destroying properties of innocent people. The Army will use full force to end this. If necessary, the Army will use maximum force together with the other armed forces," the Army Chief said.

Meanwhile, Acting IGP Chandana Wickramaratne also warned that they would respond to those who instigate riots with maximum force during a televised address yesterday.

Island wide curfew was imposed last night after violence spread across towns in Kurunegala and Gampaha districts. Police had fired into the air and used tear gas to disperse unruly mobs.In the north-western town of Kiniyama, windows and doors to a mosque were smashed and copies of the Koran thrown on the floor.

The attack was triggered by a group of people demanding a search of the building after soldiers inspected a lake nearby looking for weapons, Reuters news agency reports.

The government said that security forces have restored calm to streets in the areas affected by violence and insist officers are preventing revenge attacks on Muslims.

An island-wide police curfew will be imposed from 9 p.m. today  until 4 a.m. tomorrow (15), Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said. 

He further said that curfew has been imposed to the North Western Province from 6 p.m. today to 6 a.m. tomorrow (15).

The persons who founded, expanded and funded the National Thowheed Jama'ath (NTJ) will timely be revealed, says Minister of Justice Thalatha Atukorale.

Atukorale made these remarks on Monday addressing an event held for the inauguration ceremony of the proposed project for carpeting the road from Gabbela to Kalal Ella-Ambalanwatte road in Ratnapura District at a cost of Rs. 500 million.

The Justice Minister added that the incumbent government assumed power when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government had left them with a debt of more than Rs 10,000 million. 

"We will reveal in due course who were behind the formation of these Thowheed Jama'ath organisations and how they mushroomed over the years and who funded their operations. I read yesterday about a statement made by Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament about how they never interfered with the media even at the height of the war. Yes, they never interfered with the media. They just abducted them. Then there is no need to interfere with the media. What about Lasantha Wikramatunga and Prageeth Ekanaligoda? How many journalists left the country at that time? We would like to remind Mr. Rajapaksa that we want to create a civilised society where everyone can live in harmony," the Justice Minister said.

The National Organiser of 'Nawa Sinhale' movement, Dan Priyasad has been arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) over his involvement of the recent acts of violence.

Priyasad was arrested today after he surrendered to the Police through a lawyer.

Leader of the Mahason Balakaya Amith Weerasinghe has been arrested over the violent clashes that erupted in Kuliyapitiya and Minuwangoda.

Police spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunesekara said Weerasinghe was arrested by a special team in teh Theldeniya area today. 

A Muslim man, reportedly a carpenter by profession was killed by a mob on Monday, Police said, in a violent backlash against last month's bombings.

The 45-year-old died of injuries sustained when a crowd stormed his carpentry workshop in the Puttalam district and slashed him.

Director of the Anti-Corruption Movement Namal Kumara has been arrested today.

Police said that Kumara was arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) in connection to the tense situations that occurred during the past two days when he arrived to give a statement at the Warakapola Police station.

Dayasiri and Kumara spotted together

Furthermore, Namal Kumara was spotted with SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera outside the Hettipola Police station.

Kumara gained notoriety for exposing an alleged plot to kill President Maithripala Sirisena.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has also reportedly directed the Police to take action against the UPFA MP Jayasekera who had allegedly visited the Hettipola Police station to secure the release of several suspects arrested for instigating communal violence in Kurunegala.

President Maithripala Sirisena has issued an extraordinary gazette notification proscribing three organisations. Accordingly, National Thowheed Jama'ath (NTJ), Jama'athe Milla'athe Ibrahin (JMI) and Willayath As Seylani has been banned.

President Sirisena announced on April 27 that he would immediately proscribe the extremist organisations and after 17 days, the President has finally issued the gazette notification today (14). Sirisena is currently on a visit to China to attend the 'Conference on Asian Civilizations.'

Gazette notification: