Next Tuesday, 21 April, marks a grim milestone in Sri Lanka’s contemporary history, when the country marks the first anniversary of the deadly Easter Sunday bombings. The gruesome attacks that targeted three packed churches on Christianity’s most holy morning and three luxury hotels at around the same time, killed over 250 innocent souls and injured or maimed hundreds more. The attacks carried out by a group of radicalised Islamist terrorists stunned the country, which exactly 10 years ago, to almost the day, had thought it had fired the last bullet in its war against terror. The attacks not only destroyed life and property but ripped apart the nation’s fragile economy which depended on tourism for sustenance. Ever since the Easter attacks, the question of “why” has eluded most academic forums. One cannot still comprehend why a seemingly well-to-do group of Muslim youth should decide to blow themselves up and wreck the country of their birth for no other purpose than to enjoy the company of 72 virgins. To date, that primary question remains valid and unanswered while their alleged links to the global terror outfit ISIS and the purported larger scheme of things remain unsubstantiated. Although many commissions have been appointed to probe the security lapses that led to the attacks, no commission has been appointed either by the previous or the present regime to find out the actual reason for the attacks and its beneficiaries. It is pertinent to recall that about a year earlier, in 2018, the same outfit that carried out the Easter attacks were linked to several incidents in the Kandy District where Buddhist shrines were systematically vandalised. The purpose of these incidents at the time seemed to be to inflame Sinhala-Muslim relations in the Hill Country, especially in areas with a Muslim majority, and cause a riot. They almost succeeded as Sinhala gangs began attacking Muslims in the district. It was the timely intervention of the military that prevented a blood bath. It can be surmised that having failed in the first attempt, the group resorted to more deadly means to try and create another rift, this time between the Christians and Muslims on Easter Sunday. That was also not to be, as the leader of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith acted swiftly to guide his flock away from seeking retaliation by pacifying the community even as body parts of victims were being collected from around him at Kochchikade. It is to the credit of the security forces that they were able to capture most of the key figures involved in the bombings within a matter of hours which further helped ease the mounting tensions and prevent yet another blood bath. The many commissions that were subsequently appointed found serious lapses in the state security apparatus that enabled the attacks to be carried out, but what is causing consternation among the people is that no politician has yet been charged on any count of negligence of duty, even though that fact has been firmly established by the commissions. It must be kept in mind that it was President Maithripala Sirisena who precipitated a security crisis back in October 2018 by triggering a constitutional coup that led to the ouster of the sitting Prime Minister and Cabinet of Ministers. It was at this time that President Sirisena seized control of all defence-related subjects including the Police and the Ministry of Law and Order. It was this status quo that prevailed up to the time the attacks took place and to add fuel to the fire, the Minister in Charge was away from the country visiting Singapore on a private visit when the attacks took place. Even though he was immediately informed of the attacks, Sirisena decided to return only the next day. No doubt the presidential commission probing the attacks has its work cut out and one can only hope that it will leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of it all and punish those responsible, whoever they may be from whichever party. The arrest of a key suspect in Mount Lavinia last week seems to be an indication that the investigation is headed in the right direction. It is also important that those currently in custody are prosecuted in court without delay. With an election round the corner, it is inevitable that the Easter Sunday attacks will once again become a key issue on political platforms. Our bankrupt politicians who have displayed greater skills in digging bones in graveyards than presenting constructive proposals for the development of the country, should at least this time around consider respecting those who perished and the walking dead who have lost limbs and loved ones and desist from the temptation to indulge in graveyard politics. Meanwhile, one can only hope that answers to the unanswered questions will materialise at least by next April, which will be the only consolation for all the victims who continue to suffer in silence. With Covid-19 wreaking havoc on an already economically devastated country, politicians of all hues, if they truly have the interests of the country at heart, should have their hands full in coming up with strategies to lift the country out of the doldrums. For that to happen, parties have to nominate qualified, experienced professionals as their candidates and it is up to the people thereafter to send the best possible team to represent them in Parliament. What progress can a country achieve when one of its more educated former MPs, now clamouring for re-election, claims that Covid-19 should not be a barrier to reopen the country since only seven people have died from it as opposed to 106 from dengue last year? This also raises the question as to what purpose the multitude of representatives and ministers serve in other layers of the bureaucracy such as the provincial councils when all of them have remained dissolved and proven their uselessness at a time the country has faced its greatest challenge in recent times. They have had no role to play and no one missed their services either. Therefore, this may be a good time to take this matter up on election platforms and consider the viability of this white elephant which was thrust upon the country by neighbour India through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Our next set of rulers owe it to the country to do the right thing for the first time in their lives, for it is nothing but their commissions and omissions that have brought this country to its knees. Easter Sunday was an example of the abject failure of our politicians to look beyond their petty noses. Let’s ensure no room is left for another ever again by this time next year.