When a series of suicide bombs tore apart churches and hotels across Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, most of the country — and the rest of the world — was taken completely by surprise. But in the capital, Colombo, it was not a shock to everyone.
But none made any difference.
When suicide bombers walked into three churches around Sri Lanka, and three upscale hotels in Colombo, none faced enhanced security. As worshipers closed their eyes in prayer, as hotel guests lined up for breakfast, the attackers detonated their devices — and the effects were devastating.
It was unclear on Monday why the red flags went unheeded. But Sri Lanka has been wracked by political divisions since a constitutional crisis last year, when President Maithripala Sirisena attempted to replace the incumbent Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, with a favored candidate. Wickremesinghe was reinstated in December after the intervention of the Supreme Court, but the government remains deeply divided.
Now, there are fears that the political feuding could have provided a window for a catastrophic security lapse that could reverberate across the region.
Series of warnings
The origins of what appears to be a spectacular security failure go back more than two weeks. On April 4, according to government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne, foreign international intelligence agencies told Sri Lankan officials of a potential plot to launch suicide attacks against Christian churches and tourist spots.
Five days later, on April 9, the country’s Defense Ministry informed the Inspector General of Police of this alleged plot, and named a group believed to be behind the plan, the Nations Thawahid Jaman (NTJ). Unusually, the memo also included a list of suspects.
On April 11, another memo, signed by Priyalal Dissanayake, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, was circulated widely to a range of security services and some government ministries, according to Senaratne and a police source. That memo, a copy of which has been seen by CNN, laid out the threat and again contained a list of suspects.
Foreign security services repeated their warnings in the days and hours before the attack, Senaratne said.
