Yahapalana regime lowered guard to consolidate power leaving nation open to Easter carnage  – GL

By Saman Indrajith

The yahapalana government’s preoccupation with the consolidation of power had made it possible for the Easter Sunday terror attacks to be carried out, Education Minister Prof GL Peiris told Parliament yesterday (27).

 “The yahapalana regime deliberately dismantled security measures and mechanisms in response to requests of minority groups to get their support to consolidate power. There had been a mechanism operated by intelligence and immigration and emigration officers to prevent unwanted persons from entering the country. It was dismantled on the request of extremist groups to allow preachers to come here to spread hate, and huge sums of funds were allowed to come and the External Resources Department of the Central Bank was kept in the dark.”

Prof Peiris said so in response to a question raised by Gampaha District SJB MP Dr Kavinda Jayawardana.

Dr Jayawardana said that 355 persons had died and over 500 become disabled owing to the terror attack on Easter Sunday, last year, and the incumbent government had pledged to take action against those responsible but nothing of the sort happened yet.

“You promised to put an end to the Sharia universities, to arrest Dr Shafi Shihabdeen for sterilizing mothers without their consent, you promised to put an end to teaching Sharia law in this country. Yesterday we saw on TV former governor M. L. A. M. Hizbullah, the person who founded the Sharia University, arriving at the Presidential Commission with guards from the Ministerial Security Division. Even the Presidential Commission Chairman observed that the inquiries conducted as regards Hizbullah were not satisfactory. Can you tell us whether the Sharia University would be closed or taken over by the government?

 Minister Prof Peiris: We have increased the student intake from 30,000 to 40,500 to universities. So, we are planning to make use of the resources of that institute to facilitate the student intake.

Prof Peiris said that Batticaloa Campus Private Limited had been registered on Feb 29, 2016 and 90 percent of ownership was with Hira Foundation while 10 percent was with Ahmed Hiraz Hisbullah.

Asked whether there was a course on Sharia law, the Minister said that a Bachelor of Arts in Sharia law under Islamic Studies had been intended to introduce. “We rejected recognition of the institute and it is no longer an education institute,” the Minister said.

 MP Jayawardana demanded to know from the Minister when action would be taken against those responsible for the Easter Sunday terror attacks.

 Minister Prof Peiris: This is a problem we inherited from you. You spent five years without taking action to stop it, now within one year we have conducted investigations. After following due procedures, actions will be taken in due time. Billions of rupees have been pumped into this country without being monitored by the Central Bank’s External Resources Department. How did that happen? We see nothing wrong in funds coming into this country but we should know the sources? Many preachers were allowed to come and some of them were given on-arrival visas. Where else in the world would preachers be allowed to come and preach without checking their past records? The Yahapalana government, with the intention of securing the support of those small groups, lifted the bars that had been there for the protection. The end result was leaving the nation in danger and the Easter Sunday terror carnage was one of the consequences of those actions.”