Unofficial translation from Russian language of Ambassador Jayatilleka's interview published on the news agency website
The Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Russian Federation hopes that the explosions will not affect the country's tourism industry
https://ria.ru/20190421/1552897336.html
21.04.2019, 13:08
MOSCOW, April 21 - RIA Novosti. Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Dayan Jayatilleka hopes that the series of explosions that took place in the country on Sunday will not affect the tourism industry, as the main target of the terrorists were not tourists, but Catholics, who are going to the churches.
"This attack took place on Easter, with the main target being the churches and believers, those who were celebrating. The Christian community was a target, mainly Catholics, as they make up the majority of the community. The aim was not tourists, if they were tourists, the explosions would have occurred on the beaches where most of the vacationers are located. So I hope that tourism in the country will not be affected in any way," the diplomat said in a conversation with RIA Novosti.
"What happened on Sunday was terrible, it happened on Easter Sunday, and Sri Lanka is a multicultural state where people of different faiths, including Christians live... It is obvious that the goal was to kill people, there are so many victims, and the explosions continue. This is a terrorist act. We have faced this before. We thought it was in the past, after we put an end to terrorism exactly ten years ago, in May; but it's coming back. It's terrorism, and we're facing it again," he said.
Eight explosions took place during Easter celebrations in Catholic churches and hotels in Colombo and other parts of the country. According to the local television channel News 1, the number of deaths reached 185, almost 500 people were injured.