Sri Lanka Terror Attacks: A dysfunctional government puts an island in danger
For a country in the midst of a general election, it would be instructive to learn from the experience of a neighbour that is struggling with a dysfunctional government.
There was a time in India when there was total communication breakdown between President Giani Zail Singh and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, but that hadn't crippled the government of the day as Zail Singh's position was largely ceremonial. In present- day Sri Lanka, there is little trust and communication between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Unlike Zail Singh, Sirisena has a lot of clout since Lanka directly elects its President through adult franchise as against the system of electoral college in India.
Sirisena also holds the law and order portfolio, yet he inexplicably didn't get to see a specific terror alert from India sent to his secretariat first on April 8; the last one was sent on Easter Sunday hours before the serial blasts at churches and luxury hotels that killed at least 250, including foreigners. The alerts fell through the cracks as neither Ranil, too, was briefed nor was the battle-hardened military intelligence.
Then came the Ranil jaw-dropper: His country did not have a law to prosecute anyone who acquired terror training abroad, which left the world aghast. God forbid India getting a new government where the Big Two stop mutual communication and work at cross-purposes.
While the Lankan leadership has apologised to the global community for letting the Islamic State (IS) strike at will, it must be held accountable too. Remember, the Indian mission in Colombo, too, was on the IS hitlist. India cannot afford to have a terror hotbed on its southern border.
Now that the country has begun its crackdown, there are apprehensions it could stigmatise an entire community much like the Tamils were at the peak of the LTTE offensive. On a different note, the global community needs to realise that the imposition of a templated democratic model in Sri Lanka, which has just about recovered from the LTTE war, will lead to more problems than solutions.
Also See: Chilling CCTV footage of suspected bomber