Sri Lankan churches and hotels bombed on Easter Sunday

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

The breaking news has six explosions, and at least 50 deaths (a total that looks certain to rise). It's very unlikely that this is the work of a small cell, for there to be so many targets on the same day this must have been a well-planned and organised large group of like-minded murderers. Hope no-one on here had friends or relatives caught up in it, Sri Lanka had become a very popular tourist destination again in recent years.

[ad hoc]

Yes this is fucking awful news. Most Sri Lankans aren't Christian but apparently Christianity /Catholicism is one of the few areas of life that crosses over the Singhalese/Tamil divide.

Really appalling crime

[Paul S]

Dreadful news and on the most holiest of days as well.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Absolutely awful and, given the country and the targets, very odd too.

[delicatemoth]

Here's a bit of background from a Sri Lankan scholar - https://twitter.com/AmarAmarasingam/...36614149558272

One of my best friends is Anglo-SL Tamil, I am dreading her hearing this. I don't think her relatives are Christians, at least.

Twitter is such a double-edged tool here. I use it in many circumstances to try and find information and perspective from all different places, and it is good for this, but to do this one has to wade through so much shit that's malicious or pointlessly banal.

[ursus arctos]

That's a very good thread with essential context.

[Satchmo Distel]

Agreed, but I'd need more dot-joining on how persecution of Muslims by a Buddhist majority connects to a massacre of Christians.

[Antepli Ejderha]

http://srilankabrief.org/tag/isis/

I thought I'd heard of Sri Lankan Daesh members.

[Sits]

I don't have the words to contribute helpfully to this thread. I did though want to mention a really lovely open letter of condolence/support/solidarity yesterday from the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka. Can't find the link now I'm afraid.

[Satchmo Distel]

[Sits]

Thanks

[G-Man]

290 dead now.

That was an incredibly efficiently executed attack, with all bombs going off at the same time in different cities and different types of places. The level of planning, discipline and coordination suggests that Sri Lanka is facing a formidable enemy.

[ursus arctos]

An interesting piece that helps explain why all "official" accounts should be viewed with some skepticism

Much of the focus is also now on the failure of the Sri Lankan security agencies. A key factor here is the degree to which different branches and factions within the police, intelligence and military are aligned with various politicians and political parties.

The telecommunications minister, Harin Fernando, gave an unwitting example of how politicised the vision of decision-makers can be. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday, Fernando, who on Sunday night tweeted images of the memo from the Sri Lankan intelligence services dated 11 April, which laid out details of a possible planned attack, said the government also had not ruled out an attempted coup.

“There are so many ways we could look at this, but right now our biggest priority would be to find what really led these eight or 10 or 12 men to carry out this attack,” he said. “But we are not ruling out a coup as well"

[MsD]

Denmark's richest man lost 3 of his 4 children in the blast. Terrible loss for anyone and he seems to be a decent man, concerned to give back to the community and to the environment.

[Satchmo Distel]

"Defence minister says bombings were in response to mass shooting of Muslims in Christchurch"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ay-of-mourning

But, to echo Ursus above, we need to skeptical of such statements, especially given how much planning this required.

[tee rex]

They casually killed a number of Muslims in response to killing of Muslims. Fuck that.

[Patrick Thistle]

They casually killed a number of Muslims in response to killing of Muslims. Fuck that.

By targeting churches and hotels full of Westerners?

[Satchmo Distel]

Sixty of the 9/11 victims were Muslims

[tee rex]

We don't yet have all the details of the victims, but it's known that Sri Lankan Muslims were among the dead, and people from other countries who probably were too.

Obviously the point is that they simply don't care, as previously in London, NY etc.

[Patrick Thistle]

The main targets were Christian worshippers and foreign tourists. Muslim casualties are collateral damage. The jihadists have long ago compartmentalised away any guilt. If a Muslim dies in one of their attacks then it's in the will of Allah. And probably - by being in those places anyway - those Muslims are considered the "wrong type of Muslim" anyway and so de facto are targets.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Apparently the Sri Lankan secret services have known about this threat for months.

Now is this massive incompetence or something more sinister?

[ursus arctos]

I'm rather suspicious of all of these leaks and am very afraid that the deaths of more than 300 innocents are being used to settle political scores.