Sri Lankan government defeats no-confidence motion
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's government on Thursday defeated a no-confidence motion in Parliament that accused it of failing to prevent Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed more than 250 people. The motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's government was defeated by a vote of 119 lawmakers against to 92 in favor. The motion, submitted by the opposition Peoples' Liberation Party, said the government should not remain in office because it failed to respond to intelligence reports ahead of the attacks by Islamic extremists on three churches and three luxury hotels. Wickremesinghe's defeat of the motion is expected to strengthen his hand in his rivalry with the country's president, Maithripala Sirisena, ahead of elections slated for this year — including a presidential election which both Sirisena and Wickremesinghe are expected to contest. The motion was debated on Wednesday and Thursday. During the debate, opposition lawmakers blamed Wickremesinghe and the government for failing to prevent the April 21 attack, despite the fact that "proper information" was available regarding the attackers. Government supporters argued it was unfair to blame the government and prime minister when the security establishment, including police, was under the control of Sirisena, who is also the country's defense minister. The attack by seven suicide bombers from a local Muslim group, National Thowheed Jammath, was the worst violence by Islamic State group-linked militants in South Asia. Sri Lankan leaders and the security establishment came under fire for not acting on near-specific intelligence information on possible attacks on churches. The government has acknowledged that some intelligence units were aware of possible attacks weeks before the bombings. . ..
