Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has vowed to take action against the perpetrators of the deadly Easter attacks in 2019 that claimed 270 lives, as the minority Christian community members celebrated Easter Sunday across the island nation amid tight security.
Nine suicide bombers, belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS, carried out coordinated blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on the Easter Sunday in 2019, killing 270 people, including 11 Indians.
“The sorrowful memory of pain and loss caused by this tragic incident had not faded away from the broken hearts of the suffering people even today,” the President said in his Easter Sunday message.
President Rajapaksa vowed to take action against the perpetrators of the attacks. He said the government is determined to ensure national security in order to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.
He called on the people to unite to overcome various conflicts and calamities in today’s world. Security at churches across Sri Lanka was beefed in view of the Easter Sunday. Over 12,000 security personnel were deployed for the security of churches. The security personnel include 9,350 police officials and 2,542 troops from the tri forces (Army, Nay and Air Force).
Meanwhile, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the head of the local Catholic church, said on Sunday that action should be taken against former President Maithirpala Sirisena without delay as he has been held responsible for the Easter attacks in 2019.
“I asked the President (Rajapaksa) to implement the recommendations of the presidential commission,” Cardinal Ranjith said while addressing the Easter Sunday gathering here.