Justice Minister Ali Sabry PC, joining the debate on the Report on the Easter Sunday attacks in Parliament yesterday, said it is clear that the attacks could have been prevented, but the previous regime had failed to take the necessary measures.
He said the tragedy has led to disharmony between communities, adding that certain persons are also using minor incidents of disagreement and exaggerating them to incite racial tension among the public.
“To my best knowledge, the Muslim community have condemned the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. While we condemn the acts of these terrorists, I firmly believe that all those directly and indirectly involved in this heinous attack should be brought to book,” he said, expressing his sympathy to all those who were affected by the attack.
Sabry also condemned social media attacks labelling the Muslim community as extremists, adding that all Muslims are not extremists. He said that the Sainthamaruthu incident was a clear indication of that fact. Sabry said it was the Muslim residents of that area that had initially informed the authorities regarding the extremist activities taking place there.
Hence, he said that while it’s about 50 years overdue where all Sri Lankans should have cast aside all religious and racial differences and lived in harmony as citizens of one country, it is never too late to do so, even now.