In Sri Lanka, Easter invokes memories of horrific bombings two years ago

On Sunday (April 5), the world celebrated Easter, a festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But for many in Colombo, the festivities were marked with grief. It's been two years since the Easter bombings.

On 21st April, 2019, Sri Lankans woke up to the news of a terror attack. A little before 10 am, a blast ripped through St Anthony's Church in Colombo. Worshippers attending easter mass were targeted. Minutes later another place of worship about 30 kilometers away was hit.

A blast took place at St Sebastian Church in Negombo. And then, it was the Zeon Church in Baticaloa. Terror also struck three luxury hotels in Colombo. The Shangri La, The Cinnamon Grand, and the Kingsbury Hotel.

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At least 35 foreigners were killed in the attacks on these hotels. Hours later, came the seventh explosion.

A hotel near the national zoo in the Dehiwala area, a Colombo suburb was attacked. And an eighth blast hit the suburb of Orugodawatta in the North of Colombo.

Eight attacks in just over 6 hours. As the Sri Lankan govt sprung to action, our team travelled to Colombo to find out what had happened.

But little did we know that the crisis was far from over.

Another bomb went off at St Anthony's Church as our correspondent Siddhant Sibal was reporting just a few blocks away.

With the security apparatus clearly having failed, the Sri Lankan police launched a crackdown to control the damage. Raids were carried out, suspects were detained.

The initial probe found the attacks to be the work of religious extremists. All associated with the National Thowheed Jamath.

But the arrests did little to allay the fears. Sri Lanka remained in a state of emergency. On the streets of Colombo, the fear of another attack persisted for days.

Adding to these fears, was the ongoing war of words between the politicians.

The Sri Lankan government was split. The prime minister blamed the president for the security failure. The president said he had no clue.

As politics took precedence over national security, WION sought some answers from Ranil Wickremesinghe within days of the blasts.

2019 Easter massacre exposed the faultlines -- in Sri Lanka's politics. The intelligence was there, the information was there but the disaster could not be averted.

Even today politics seems to be stalling the judicial process. Last month, a presidential commission report was released. It blames the former president & the former prime minister for failing to act despite intel inputs.

The exercise has become more about settling political scores as the 200 people who have been arrested in the case wait for their turn to face justice...

2 years & zero prosecutions. Only a lot of political blame game.