Introducing legislation against extremism priority for govt: Sri Lankan PM

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe reportedly said on Monday that introducing legislation against extremism is a priority for the government and new laws will be introduced to eliminate jihadism from the country. The statement comes a week after Islamist militants carried out coordinated suicide bombings that killed 253 people. The Easter attacks were carried out by seven suicide bombers who blew themselves up targeting three churches and three luxury hotels. Two other suicide bombers died triggering blasts, one to avoid capture by the police and another at an inn where he was staying.

The deadly attacks could have been prevented if the new Counter-Terrorism Bill, which provides for territorial jurisdiction, was passed in Parliament without delay, he said on Sunday after joining the Sunday Mass in Colombo and the mass at the Saint Anthony's church in Kochchikade. "No anti-terrorism law in Sri Lanka provides for territorial jurisdiction under which a cadre belonging to an international terrorist organisation could be arrested in Sri Lanka if they are found. Not even the penal code provides that provision," the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.

"We have included this provision in the new Counter-Terrorism Bill. However, it is stuck in Parliament for months. The Easter Sunday attacks could have been prevented if this legislation was passed," he said. Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday, killing 253 people.

The Islamic State claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks. Sri Lanka on Saturday banned the NTJ and a splinter group linked to the ISIS. The government has also banned all kinds of face coverings that may conceal people's identities. The emergency law, which took effect Monday, prevents Muslim women from veiling their faces. The decision came after the Cabinet had proposed laws on face veils at a recent meeting. It had deferred the matter until talks with Islamic clerics could be held, on the advice of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

"There has been no breakdown in the intelligence services but the issue has been that the defence authorities had not acted upon the warnings," he added. Last week, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene accepted that there had been "major" lapses in the security arrangements. Sri Lankan and international media reported that India and the US provided specific warnings about terror attacks to Sri Lanka, ahead of the Easter Sunday bombings.