Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said battle against the brand of terrorism driven by religious extremism required intelligence operations.

Addressing the graduation ceremony of the defence services command and staff college, Rajapaksa said the government had to take serious note of the fact that all those who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks were Sri Lankans.

He said, "We have to take serious note of the fact that while there were no Indians among the 2008 Mumbai attackers, all the Easter Sunday suicide bombers were Sri Lankans. This is a threat that will have to be contained not only for Sri Lanka’s sake but for the well-being of all other nations in the region. This year, India went on alert on at least two occasions due to information that Islamic terrorists from Sri Lanka were trying to enter India by boat.

If we don’t get on top of the situation, all neighbouring countries including India, the Maldives, Bangladesh, and even countries further off like Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia will be under threat. So this new terrorist threat will have to be contained by whatever means necessary. Countries in our immediate neighbourhood and beyond are well aware of the danger and we can expect their fullest cooperation in this regard.

Unlike the war against the LTTE which required ground, sea and air operations, this new threat at this stage requires mainly intelligence operations. Unfortunately over the past five years, the intelligence services were rendered completely inoperative. Members of the intelligence services were persecuted, harassed, and jailed by the previous government on false charges. It was not just the intelligence services that had to face this situation. The entire high command of the armed forces during the war against the LTTE was brought before the police with a great deal of media publicity to answer to all kinds of allegations.

The war time defence secretary, two chiefs of defence staff, two army commanders, four commanders of the navy, two air force commanders, the Chief of National Intelligence and very senior officers of the army, police, STF and navy were among those who were humiliated in this manner. Some were even taken to courts and remanded for periods ranging from a few weeks to over one year. The idea was to create the impression in the minds of Sri Lankans and the international community that our armed forces were not war heroes but thieves and murderers.

No government of any country in the world has humiliated its own armed forces in this manner. The armed forces are the protectors of the nation. The change of government of January 2015 was almost as if a hostile foreign force had invaded and taken over Sri Lanka. A comprehensive programme was launched to harass and demoralize the armed forces, to intimidate the Maha Sangha and to cow the majority community into submission and to obtain through dirty politics what could not be obtained through nearly four decades of civil war.

All of you are aware of the manner in which the previous government went to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and co-sponsored a resolution against Sri Lanka, pledging among other things to institute war crimes trials against members of the armed forces with the participation of foreign judges and prosecutors. That was done by a Sri Lankan government elected by the people. Today, the people of this country have elected a President with an overwhelming mandate, to rectify the injustices of the past five years."