Any terrorist attack anywhere in the world - be it in churches and hotels in Colombo or in mosques in Christchurch in New Zealand is despicable. Any killing of innocent people is an attack on mankind.
A demented few or a lone demon have no religion or nationality and the perpetrators to have conducted the series of coordinated heinous bomb blasts on churches and tourist hotels on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka are devils incarnate in guise of humans. We unequivocally condemn such savagery in a place of worship and sanctuary for vacationing foreigners.
So far no group has officially and formally claimed responsibility for the attacks. Whether a group claims or not is inconsequential, the criminals behind the attacks should be identified and handed out exemplary punishments.
Apparently, the police pins doubt that seem the attacks were carried out by some Islamic fanatic groups responding to the mosque attacks at Christchurch in New Zealand. But counter - violence is never an answer to violence. The terrorists to have conducted the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka have caused unimaginable damage, far beyond just claiming 290 lives so far,
destroying property while injuring many more - they have , inflicted a heavy blow on communal harmony in Sri Lankan society and above all global solidarity. Moreover, this attack may well trigger and encourage further aggression globally. Preventing ethnic and religious reprisals throughout the world has now become a big challenge and a grave concern. Naturally the world leaders including Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reacted sharply condemning the Sri Lanka bomb attacks.
As much as we are shaken by the Sri Lanka terror attacks, we now come to learn of a mystery surrounding the onslaught. The Sri Lankan security enforcement authorities have been accused of failing to act on a warning received ten days before the atrocity that an Islamist group was preparing themselves for an attack. Their laxity caused the deaths of 290 innocent lives.
If the accusation is proved to be somehow correct, we expect our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to draw immediate and important lessons from the latest terror attacks in Sri Lanka. Do whatever is required to ensure safety of our citizens. Do whatever is needed to uproot terrorism from Bangladesh. With or without marking important dates and events - become vigilant round-the-clock, in order to thwart potential terror strikes. Most importantly, it's time to bring all the country's mosques, churches, pagodas, temples and religious institutions for that matter under constant security scanner.
Religious extremism has no place in Bangladesh and it has been made clearer by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government's zero tolerance to fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism. Given the government's commendable performance in combating militancy in the country, there is no room for complacency since terrorist elements can seep through the tiniest of cracks in vigilance.
As witnessed in recent times, densely populated countries to peaceful remote nation islands - all are fast becoming targets of terrorism and that's why international cooperation to jointly fight religious extremism has become the order of the day.
We call on all countries to practice restrain in the wake of intermittent terror strikes in different areas of the world. Previously some distinct European and Asian countries experienced repeated strikes, but given the wider reach of terrorist networks, any attack may take place anywhere in the world and at any time.
Particularly, the Sri Lanka Bombings is a perfect example of systematic and well coordinated strike which has been made possible through diligent planning with the help of international terrorist network. And such ominous international networks can be identified and cut up with joint international cooperation deals. Terrorism has now turned to be a global menace and the world must be united now to fight it.
Since the terrorists' network has widened, so it has become vital to exchange and share security and intelligence information between countries. Issuing security alert in a foreign country is not an effective strategy to fight and trounce terrorism, since a terrorist poses massive threat not to any individual or country but to the entire world. Security alerts are merely stopgap precautionary measures and not more.
Last of all, as much as we are aghast, we also share the pain and grief of the family members of the victims of Sri Lanka bombings irrespective of their nationalities. We stand in silence beside them and deeply mourn their losses.
