Extremists threats: Public Security Minister urges public to remain vigilant

By Saman Indrajith

Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (Retd.) Sarath Weerasekera yesterday called on the public to remain vigilant of any suspicious moves by possible local agents of ISIS in the coming days.

 Rear Admiral Weerasekera, during a brief interview with The Island, said that there were intelligence reports on certain activities of Islamic extremists in the country and law enforcing agencies were working round the clock to prevent any catastrophic incident, similar to the Easter Sunday carnage.

 “Despite all our efforts, we must keep in mind that we are fighting an ideology. ISIS is an ideology. It is not easy to separate the normal Islam believer from a fundamentalist. Our efforts will be easier if people watch out. It will help us act fast and neutralise threats.

“Our security forces have been given necessary instructions to protect the country and its citizens. We also have contingency plans in place to face any untoward incident. Yet, our success would be optimum if people too remain vigilant. We hope the public will realise the gravity of the situation and full co-operate with the law enforcement agencies to safeguard national security.”