A horrific Easter that will never be forgotten – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE
Never in anyone’s wildest imagination would they expect a religious visit to Church to proclaim and rejoice in the Resurrection of the risen Lord would end in brutal mass murder, chaos and mayhem as Sri Lanka’s Christians experienced on Easter Sunday, a day never to be forgotten for all the wrong reasons.
Evil murderers blinded by what they have been brainwashed to believe is a religious ritual ripped apart three churches while wreaking similar death and destruction of hotels and other properties plunging the Island nation into panic and fear as the toll of dead and injured rose into several hundred in the wake of their atrocities.
Barbaric behavior in a country whose struggling economy is currently teetering on near bankruptcy could not have delivered more disastrous repercussions as the popular Island nation is once again plunged into fear, apprehension and panic a decade after ethnic differences with the Tamil population which lasted thirty years and accounted for hundreds of thousands of lives subsided.
Attacking Christians and innocent people enjoying breakfast in Hotels on the most important day of the Christian calendar has a definite message attached to it about its origins and a bigger hand pulling the trigger from outside of the country. There has been pre-planning and expert training on inflicting maximum death and destruction and such actions cannot be carried out by mere amateurs.
Sri Lanka has for some time known of foreign involvement with radical Muslims and its politicians who are also known to have associated with some of the currently identified suspects are in the firing line for the resultant mass murder. None would obviously admit to their knowledge or personal relationships for vested interests with these hate filled vermin.
What has been heartening though is the restrained response to the events by the Christian community which could otherwise have escalated another racial conflict similar to the war with the Tamil Tiger movement and although relations may be strained the quick response by the Muslim leaders condemning the act and rushing to offer support to the victims has allayed what could have catapulted the country into a bloodbath.
The blind timing of these cruel attacks could also have been calculated to cripple the country further as tourism is one of the biggest sources of its flagging economy.
Travel operators around the globe are bemoaning the spate of cancellations that are occurring as a result of the senseless mayhem and unless Sri Lanka’s security can quickly annihilate the movement behind the attacks and render the country safe, life for the a major part of the population will be one of instability and further suffering.
Western nations have responded quickly to offer support to the Sri Lankan government while condemning the perpetrators behind these acts. But it will take a fair amount of time before anyone will feel relatively safe to return to the country.
All around the globe Sri Lankan expatriates and well wishers have held vigils and religious ceremonies to pray for the victims, many still lying in hospitals recovering from the horror of an Easter Sunday they will never forget.
