Bomb Blast at Colombo Fort (Photos) - කවුද මේවට වග කියන්නේ?

Of course, dismal scenes like this was not seen anywhere during the two year UNP rule under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe.  That was the time of pece and prosperity. Anybody could have walked in the Colombo city during that period without the fear of becoming a victim of a bomb blast. That is the difference between two regimes. The UNP regime was symbolical for the peace and democracy it brought in. The other brought only misery, inflation, violence, racism more and more deaths and sufferings.

If the centre of Colombo is insecure what about the rest of the country? Is the security system so weak? Can a weak government that cannot prevent bomb blasts happening in the very centre of Colombo just few meters from the President’s office protect the nation?

Overall, these photographs are largely symbolic of the pathetic mess the current government has pushed the country into. We have a feeble government which no longer can provide the protection to its citizens and has no idea what to do. They have fallen to a stage where they cannot even win a provincial election without the use of violence and intimidation. What had happened to the country? When we will ever be governed by a competent leader who could prevent such mishaps? How long do we have to suffer in silence?

My heartfelt condolences to the families of all victims, who paid the price for having the wrong set of rulers.

Eight killed in Sri Lanka blast (near Finance Minisrty and Sambodhi Viharaya at Fort Area)

At least eight policemen have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, the army says.

More than 70 people were hurt when a man on a motorcycle rammed into a bus carrying policemen near a five-star hotel in the central business district.

The army has blamed Tamil Tiger rebels for the attack.

Fighting between the Tamil Tigers, who are seeking an independent state, and the army has worsened this year after the government pulled out of a truce.

The blast happened near the Hilton Hotel and a twin-tower commercial building.

Ekanjith Rawwalage, head of customer services at the hotel, told BBC News that the blast happened around 1230 local time (0700 GMT) near a police checkpoint outside the hotel.

“It was a loud explosion. It felt like an earthquake,” said Mr Rawwalage.

He said some window panes of the hotel had been damaged by the explosion. He said all the guests were safe and the hotel gates had been shut.

Mr Rawwalage said he had seen ambulances rushing the injured to the hospital.

The area is also the site of the official residence of Sri Lanka’s president and has been targeted in the past by Tamil Tiger rebels.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7404147.stm