"I opposed to searching women in Hijab' - Ranil reveals events on Easter Sunday

COLOMBO (News 1st); Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesighe states that he objected to searching Muslim women who were wearing hijabs at the time which followed the Easter Sunday bombings. 

Speaking at the Parliament during the debate on the second reading of the Prevention of Terrorism Act today (22), the UNP MP stated that in countries such as UK, they did not search women wearing hijabs at all, while in France, when conditions were placed on women wearing hijabs, many exhibited acts of aggression. 

However, the former Prime Minister said that if the Government went onto harass Muslim women, the truth of what happened on that day would not have come forth from a Muslim woman. 

Although the intelligence services were incapable of analyzing the facts and presenting them, it was out of MP Kabir Hashim's Secretary's tip off that they were able to fall to the correct track, he stated. 

Therefore, the former Prime Minister emphasized that the lack of ability for analysis within the intelligence sector poses serious problems, in addition to the lack of professionalism which is contrasted greatly with foreign intelligence services. 

"This house should do an investigation as to why member of the house Rishad Bathiudeen was being kept,. It breached his privileges, but can the intelligence answer why? This itself shows their capacity," the UNP MP added.