‘Extremism cannot be defeated with violence’

Islamic extremism began to emerge in Sri Lanka during the Rajapaksa regime and they ignored intelligence that was provided regarding the issue, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Vijitha Herath said.

The parliamentarian also said that extremism cannot be defeated with violence.

He was speaking at a special conference organised by the JVP, yesterday, at the Simon Peiris Memorial Conference Hall in Badulla.

He added that the Easter Sunday terror attacks were not instant, but a result of a process initiated seven to eight years ago.

"The Rajapaksas say that the attacks took place due to the weakness of the country's security, but it is untrue," MP Herath said.

He said that an intelligence report submitted in 2009 after the 30-year war ended said that there were four imminent dangers before the country, which were; the resurgence of the LTTE, emergence of Islamic extremism, as well as drug and human trafficking.

He added that the previous government ignored those reports, adding that it was the reason for the rise in drug-related offences, as well as the recent terror attacks. MP Herath said the nation should be governed by one law alone, and that Muslim politicians had a big responsibility to change their laws in accordance with the ones already existing in the country.

The parliamentarian added that the country's law forbids the marriage of anyone under 18, and that schoolgirls being given in marriage was a breach of that law.