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Public Security Minister: Terrorists still at large pose threat to Sri Lanka

Published

4 years ago

2021/09/24

By Saman Indrajith

Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (Retd) Sarath Weerasekera told Parliament on Wednesday (22) that Sri Lanka would be under threat as long as the IS ideology promising 72 virgins in paradise for those who sacrificed their lives in the name of Jihad existed.

“Anyone who believes in that ideology could carry out an attack any time. It is not easy to identify them,” the minister said, responding to a question by SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahman.

Minister Weerasekera said that Ven Gnansara during a recent TV talk show highlighted the same threat and Muslim MPs instead of trying to find faults with the messenger should support the government to get rid of terror ideologies from society.

MP Rahman said: “Ven. Gnanasara has recently made a statement during a live telecast on Hiru TV that there would be another terror attack. He said he had informed the President of the threat. He also said that he had all information including the details of the explosives and where the attack would take place. What action has the government?”

Minister Weerasekera said that inquiries had been made from Ven Gnanasara Thera regarding his statements. “When Ven Gnanasara was questioned by investigators, the he said that he made those statements based on the Al Quran. Ven Gnanasara Thera said that there is a Sinhala translation of Al Quran by Abdul Razeek of Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamaath. That translation contains some sections which may motivate the Muslims to engage in clandestine activities in the name of their religion. He also said so in the TV talk show.

“Ven Gnanasara thera said that no responsible Muslim leader or Islamic religious leader has rejected those sections that advocate terror attacks,” the minister said.

Weerasekera said that Wahabism’s aim was the creation of a theocratic state ruled by an Islamic leader with the title of Caliph. “This ideology is espoused by ISIS. It is not easy to detect persons believe in Wahabism. This is why its hard to make arrests. For example, the Lankan born Islamic terrorist who launched a recent attack in New Zealand had been under surveillance since 2016. Later, he was released by court. He erased pro-ISIS documents and videos from his computer but he did not erase the ideology from his mind.”

The terrorist had knifed innocents believing that he would go to paradise and live with beautiful virgins, the minister said, adding that there were many such people in Sri Lanka.

“There cannot be different laws for different religions. These laws nurture extremist ideologies. Ven Gnanasara’s is right when he says extremists can carry out terror attacks any time. We have strengthened our intelligence network on account of this threat. We need the support of the Muslim people and their organisations to arrest persons who can become a threat. It is wrong to make allegations of racism whenever security forces arrest such extremists. In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks we have detained some people who held and propagated the IS ideology, funded such teachings and associated closely with those who carried out the terror attacks,” he said.

The Minister added that there are Muslim MPs who speak on behalf of those detainees. The terrorists who carried out the suicide terror attacks at the Shangri-La were two sons of a business tycoon.

“They were educated and wealthy. If such educated persons fall prey for the promise of 72 virgins in heaven, what about the youth who have no such education and money? It is not a task difficult to recruit an average Muslim youth with this ideology. They are exposed to teachings that justify terror and killing innocents in the name of religion. They lobbied and exerted pressure on the authorities to release the terror suspect who thereafter carried out a knife attack in New Zealand. Now you see the results.”

Weerasekara said that a leader of the student organisation of the Jamaat e Islami had been involved in damaging Buddha statues in Mawanella. For 25 years the leader of Jamaat-e- Islami had been Rasheed Hajjul Akbar. The man wrote a book which states that Jihad should be launched to protect Islam and that lives had to be sacrificed to achieve that goal.

” Akbar was arrested by the Yahapalana government and MP Mujibur Rahman pressed for his release. This is an MP that spoke highly of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Later, Akbar was released without conditions. The Presidential Commission of Inquiry on page 270 of its report has identified Akbar as one who propagated the creation of an Islamic State in Sri Lanka. The Attorney General should take action to prosecute him for promoting this ideology. The two sons of Akbar’s brother were involved in destroying Buddha statues in Mawanella. They and suicide bomb attacker at Dehiwala were members of the student wing of this organisation. Jamaat-e-Islami literature justifies suicide attacks and it was Akbar who channelled funds for sending Lankan Muslims abroad for training in the 1990s. Muslim MPs got him released. It was our government that took him into custody again. There are such terrorists at large. They are the ones Ven. Gnanasara Thera has warned of. This is much more complicated than the LTTE. We will arrest those who should be arrested and rehabilitate those who should be rehabilitated. We need your support to keep the country safe.”

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Maldives Coast Guard Ship Huravee departs island

Published

4 hours ago

2026/03/6

Priyan

The Maldives Coast Guard Ship Huravee which arrived in Sri Lanka for replenishment purposes, departed the island on 04 Mar 26.

In accordance with naval tradition, the Sri Lanka Navy extended a customary farewell to the departing ship at the Port of Colombo

News

‘IRIS Dena was Indian Navy guest, hit without warning’, Iran warns US of bitter regret

Published

15 hours ago

2026/03/6

Thilina Walpola

A day after a US submarine sunk an Iranian Navy warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, the Foreign Minister of Iran, Sayed Abbas Araghchi, has warned that the US would “pay bitterly” for targeting a ship in international waters, The Tribune has reported.

Araghchi posted on social media platform X on Thursday saying, “The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores.”

The frigate IRIS Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning, said the Iran Foreign Minister, adding, “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set.”

US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, on Wednesday confirmed that a US submarine fired a torpedo and sank the Iranian Navy vessel IRIS Dena west of Sri Lanka.

In a way, the Iran and US-Israel conflict has reached close to the Indian coast. The strike today at sea was almost 4,000 kms away from Iran, significantly expanding the radius of war. Already, fearing Iranian missile strikes, several US warships have moved eastward towards India.

These ships are in international waters. India has denied that any US Navy assets were using Indian ports. The Iranian ship, hit on Wednesday, was returning after participating in the international fleet review and exercise Milan hosted by India at Visakhapatnam.

The Iranian ship went down with almost 130 sailors on board missing. The Sri Lankan Navy, acting on a distress call, rescued 32 of the Iranian sailors. Hegseth confirmed the act by the US forces, saying the ship was hit in the Indian Ocean, stating, “an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. .. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo”.

Hegseth did not name the Iranian ship that was attacked. But earlier, the Sri Lankan Navy reported the distress call from IRIS Dena when it was some 40 kms west of Galle, located on the south-western part of the island country. On February 16, the Iranian ship had sailed into the port of Visakhapatnam, where seventy-four nations participated.

Warships from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and dozens of others were anchored alongside the now-sunk Iranian vessel. Iran’s Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, held talks with India’s Chief of Naval Staff on strengthening maritime security cooperation.

The theme was “United through Oceans.” Notably, the US Navy was supposed to send the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney to the exercise Milan; however, the ship was diverted to Singapore on February 15. The US did not field its warship in Milan, which had ships from Russia and Iran.

The exercise ended on February 25. Three days later, on February 28, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury. The IRIS Dena was transiting home. This morning at 5:08 a.m. local time, the IRIS Dena issued a distress call. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Vijitha Herath, informed parliament that two navy vessels and an aircraft were deployed. Thirty crew members were rescued and admitted to Karapitiya Hospital in Galle.

The Straits Times reported 32 critically wounded survivors. Reuters reported 101 missing and 78 wounded. The Sri Lankan Navy spokesman said the operation was conducted in line with the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue.

News

Risk of power cuts due to use of low-quality coal,PUCSL warns

Published

15 hours ago

2026/03/6

Thilina Walpola

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has warned of a possible risk of power cuts due to the use of inferior quality coal affecting generation capacity at the Lakvijaya Power Plant, according to a recent commission report.

The commission said the risk to the continuous electricity supply was assessed based on the peak demand forecast submitted by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for 2026.

According to the report, the analysis assumed that hydropower plants could contribute up to 1,300 MW to meet the night peak demand, while the Lakvijaya Power Plant (LVPS) would be able to contribute only up to 690 MW due to a capacity shortfall, assuming a 40 MW generation capacity reduction from each unit.

The PUCSL said the assessment was carried out taking into account the planned maintenance schedule submitted by the CEB. Under the schedule, Unit 1 of the Lakvijaya plant is due to undergo maintenance checks and repairs in June for a period of 25 days, while Unit 2 is scheduled for maintenance in July for another 25 days.

The report also noted that the 270 MW West Coast Power Plant is scheduled to undergo maintenance in April for 10 days, while the 150 MW Kelanitissa Combined Cycle Power Plant (KCCP 2) is expected to undergo maintenance during May, June and July.

Under normal conditions, the report said, there is a potential risk of a generation capacity shortage if electricity demand reaches 3,030 MW in April, 3,070 MW in June and 3,000 MW in July.

The highest recorded night peak demand so far in 2026 was 2,949 MW on February 25.

The PUCSL further warned that if one coal unit or any major power plant becomes unavailable from the existing generation mix, there would be a significant risk of a generation capacity shortage to meet the night peak demand, particularly during April, June and July.

Energy sector analysts said the use of substandard coal could further aggravate operational challenges at the Norochcholai plant, potentially affecting generation efficiency and reliability if corrective measures are not taken promptly.

By Ifham Nizam