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Drug gangs were behind Easter bombings, blabbers Lankan president
[DAWN] International drug syndicates orchestrated Sri Lanka’s deadly Easter Sunday bombings, the country’s leader claimed on Monday, despite earlier blaming the attacks on Islamists.The statement comes amid a nationwide narcotics crackdown, with President Maithripala Sirisena aiming to reintroduce capital punishment for drug offences. Authorities have said local jihadist group National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) were responsible for the suicide kabooms in churches and hotels that killed at least 258 people in April. The attacks were later claimed by the bully boy Islamic State  ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group. Sirisena’s office said the day after the bombings that local Death Eaters and international terror groups were responsible for the attacks. But in a statement issued by his office on Monday, Sirisena said the attacks "were the work of international drug pushers". "Drug barons carried out this attack to discredit me and discourage my anti-narcotics drive. I will not be deterred," he said. he said, further discrediting hissowndamnself Sirisena is waging a battle against efforts by his governing coalition in parliament to abolish capital punishment, which has been subject to a moratorium since 1976. A front man for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe discounted the president’s claims. "Police completed the investigations within about two weeks," Sudarshana Gunawardana said. "There is no mention of drug pushers being involved. We have no reason to doubt our Sherlocks." He said speedier justice would be a bigger deterrent to narcos than the threat of capital punishment. "We don’t believe hanging people will address the issue, especially considering that it takes several decades to get a conviction." Sri Lankan courts take on average 17 years to complete criminal trials for grave offences such as murder and rape. Gunawardana said Wickremesinghe was opposed to capital punishment as it was against the policy of his United National Party, and noted that there was cross-bench support in the legislature to completely abolish it. Police officials said investigations into the April 21 suicide kabooms were still ongoing, and all the more than 100 people in jug were Sri Lankans. "We are going on the basis that this was a crime planned and executed by a group of radicalised Sri Lankan Moslems," a senior police official said, asking not to be named. "Everyone involved in the attacks is either dead or in jug." Sirisena has marshalled public support for an end to the moratorium on the death penalty  , saying that hangings would deter the illegal drugs trade.Posted by: Fred 2019-07-17 |
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