Talk:2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings

Another bomb blast recorded in Dehiwala

In the Sri Lankan local news, it was reported that another bomb blast has been recorded in Dehiwala just outside Colombo. No proper sources yet? Take a look at this Dehiwala Abishe (talk) 08:43, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

explosion-near-dehiwala--AntanO 08:49, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The explosion occurred in a function hall near the Dehiwala zoo. That's the 7th attack today. 2 people are reportedly dead and several have injured. HiruRathnayaka (talk) 08:49, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The bomb blast at Dehiwala was not at the Tropical Inn on College street, but was near the Dehiwala Zoo, and is just a small inn - located hereL https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/OYO+107+Tropic+Inn/@6.856981,79.8718744,19.21z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x3ae25b19bc5bcac1:0x361d393ef949a6d3!8m2!3d6.8387648!4d79.8651874 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mcwobby (talk • contribs) 11:05, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Update

Social medias including Facebook are downed in SL.--AntanO 09:08, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

A blast in Dematagoda reported a short while ago

Another blast has occured in Dematagoda a short while ago. Further details are yet to be informed. HiruRathnayaka (talk) 09:15, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

True another explosion near Borella. Dematagoda Abishe (talk) 09:18, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The explosion has been occured near an apartment complex in Dematagoda. HiruRathnayaka (talk) 09:35, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Use of Tenses in article

Hi All,

I have noticed that there is a large use of the present tense in this article. This is not the common style of writing on Wikipedia. Would someone mind adding a message when opening the editor to remind people that unless specified (i.e. there is an ongoing investigation) the present tense should not be used, despite being a current event.

I am a relatively new user (55~ edits, 180~ days) so I am not sure how to do this,

Thanks, Muffington (talk) 09:16, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Reactions

Why are reactions to the event being deleted? They are valid additions and should stay until a spin off article can be created.--Blackknight12 (talk) 09:23, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Because it is repetitive, mundane rubbish and merely bloats the article. ("The Poobah of Foobah condemns the attack and sends his condolences.") WWGB (talk) 10:11, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

After any disaster, it is to be expected that prominent people everywhere will sympathise, express shock, etc. I agree that including these obligatory speeches is a waste of space. It would be relevant if anyone expressed a different opinion, or of someone who would be expected to commiserate maintains a pointed silence. Reactions which are actual actions, not waffly speech ("we will send aid ...") are a different matter. Best wishes, Pol098 (talk) 18:28, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Background

@Qasee1230:, please stop removing the background content. It is relevant information of a security threat prior to the attack, regardless if is was them or not. There is a section on Perpetrators stating clearly that it is not yet known who has done it.--Blackknight12 (talk) 09:27, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Thanks for your input, for the credibility of this article, I think it is better not to add any assumptions and let it be confirmed by Sri Lanka itself. Best regards. . (talk) 09:33, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

8th blast reported

https://twitter.com/JimMacKayOnAir/status/1119905173403590656 is this an accurate reference? IsraeliIdan (talk) 10:14, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Not reliable in any case; a nobody's twitter account? (there were 8 blasts, though) Kingsif (talk) 18:25, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

My two cents from Colombo (the warning letter)

This is also discussed below in the section #Daily Telegraph/AFP. pol098

Just before social media and messaging platforms were blocked, news disguised as "Indian Media" and some others, shared a scanned letter that was later identified as fake by the AG's office. It is also important to note that these excessively detailed posts and "scans" surfaced less than an hour after the bombs, and from multiple different networks, very rapidly. Unfortunately, due to the rapid spread, many smaller news agencies posted new articles based on that, which was also then used by news such as CNN and Telegraph. I don't have time to work on this article at this point, but this is important information that is otherwise not explained in the news articles that are now written by the second. Rehman 11:15, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I just saw someone added names of some militant information to the article. I am in the city with eyes on all live news, including verifiable government sources. These information is not accurate, and never mentioned on the news. It is the result of those fake news spreading earlier. I suggest NOT posting those information yet, until there is confirmation from the government sources. Adding them now, only helps spread it further. Wait, and add them only absolutely true and obvious. Rehman 11:27, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Hi. Good to see you again Rehman. I haven't been editing Wikipedia lately due to a heavy schedule... so I'm going to ask the WP community: Is it worth mentioning of the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama’ath)? NTJ, defined by Time, is a "local radical Muslim group" that was apparently made known to the Sri Lankan government as 4 members of the group were arrested in January for having in possession a "haul of explosives and detonators". Just a thought that this should be added, but we can wait for confirmed information. Thanks and very sad to see something like this happening... —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 17:34, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

It should also be noted that Minister Harin has released what appears to be so-called "leaked letter" or at least something similar and blames the Thawheed Jammath as well. I am not sure if the NTJ we are talking about is the same as the Indian NTJ and its branch SLTJ. http://www.colombopage.com/archive_19A/Apr21_1555866043CH.php. - UmdP|

Yeah the letter situation is weird. Earlier I found 2 sources it's fake. One seems to suggest the info came directly from the AG. But I only really found those 2 sources. And this info seems to have been ignored by other sources reporting the letter as genuine. I mean they aren't even saying something like "we've seen reports that it's fake but have independent confirmation it's genuine" or "although there have been reports the AG said it was fake, the AG's office denied they'd said that when we contacted them/couldn't be contacted" or something indicating they were challenging or uncertain about the reports of it being a fake, but instead just don't seem to have noticed such reports (which is troubling, because I'm not a journalist but I did thanks to Rehman's post) or find them so unreliable that they don't think it worth commenting on. Al Jazeera at least seem to have retracted some story [1]. The Week (Indian magazine) sounds like it shouldn't be a terrible source so not sure what gives. Further we also have the PM and possibly other politicans saying they weren't informed of the warnings. This is one of the reasons why trying to be too fast with late breaking news is a headache IMO. Nil Einne (talk) 19:00, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

References

Looking at the letter as reproduced in the New York Times, it looks suspicious. While I don't speak the language, why does it have a heading in English (convenient for the international press), then text in the local language (to look realistic)? People like to play with rubber stamps, but why use the same stamp twice, with different numbers? Nothing that I can prove is wrong, it just looks fishy to me even without understanding the language. A native speaker could maybe say more - maybe it is usual to out English capital-letter headings on police notices? Pol098 (talk) 19:51, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Add Hungary condemnation

I was not able to add this due to merge conflict, but here's the citation for anyone who can edit it without problem.

Hungary <ref>{{cite web |title=A külügyminisztérium elítéli a támadásokat [The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Condemns the Attacks]] |url=https://magyarnemzet.hu/belfold/a-kulugyminiszterium-eliteli-a-tamadasokat-6807635/ |website=[[Magyar Nemzet]] |publisher=Magyar Nemzet |accessdate=21 April 2019}}</ref>

Added HungaryManabimasu (talk) 16:39, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Article structure

The article's structure needs revamping. Currently the lede and reaction sections are larger than the main body. Editors need to add content to the main body rather than the lede. And editors should stop adding reactions by all and sundry.--Obi2canibe (talk) 11:33, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Yes very much needed. Thank you pointing it out.Sherenk1 (talk) 12:07, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I am pretty certain that while these wicked & terrorist attacks happened during Easter services in these 3 churches, that the Zion Church in Batticaloa wasn't by any chance having a "Mass" at the time. "Evangelical Protestants" despise the Mass, AFAIK. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2405:204:1A:EE8:0:0:18A1:20B1 (talk) 12:11, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Further to my above comment, someone please advise me when did #Noakhali secede from #Bangladesh? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2405:204:1A:EE8:0:0:18A1:20B1 (talk) 12:15, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The Tropical Inn Hotel is a hoax

The Tropic Inn Hotel is 3 km from the Zoo - please look at my update on Talk:The Tropical Inn Hotel. IvarT (talk) 13:11, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Perpetrators

CNN-News18 reported the identities of two of the suicide bombers: Zahran Hashim and Abu Mohammed.[2] This should probably be added to the article. Carl Kenner (talk) 13:22, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

This source, and something called "newshub" were the first to share doctored images along with ridiculously detailed articles, impossibly close to the moment of explosions (less than an hour). These two sources could very well be the cause of the social media blackout, imposed to curb fake news from spreading. 175.157.164.93 (talk) 13:26, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The blasts happened in the morning, CNN-News18 released the names and videos only i the afternoon. This act did not cause any fake news, just made them the first to break it and gather viewership. isoham (talk) 02:12, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Sri Lanka Easter bombings

Let's redirect the article to "2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings". A better and widely known name for the article. --- Haritha (talk) 13:51, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I agree on your point here since the attacks also happened during Easter Sunday. Plus if your going to say easter, then you might be reffering to the season and not the sunday itself. --- User:TheFilipinoEditor —Preceding undated comment added 15:54, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Who did it?

The way the article is currently written reeks of original research and speculation. 71.218.108.117 (talk) 16:08, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

We really don't have any clue yet so far, but sources are pointing to religious extremists. See Wickremesinghe's comments. --—Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 17:36, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

To add to the article: extremists from which religion? 173.88.241.33 (talk) 20:02, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Islam by the looks of it. —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 21:54, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

What are you basing that on? Your confirmation bias? Why do people immediately jump to racist conspiracy theories whenever mass killings occur? 71.218.108.117 (talk) 23:55, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Islam is not a race. Why do people make irrational comments on a portal for information sharing? isoham (talk) 02:14, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

@ISoham: National Tawheed Jamaah, a Sri Lankan based Muslim extremist group is alleged to have conducted this massacre. Later the Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility of this attack revealing that it was revenge of the Christchurch mosque shootings. Even it was revealed that ISIS has celebrated this massacre by posting an image and check it below in the second reference and it is in Tamil. Abishe (talk) 02:25, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6945501/Did-ISIS-help-plot-carnage-Sri-Lankan-bombings-bear-hallmarks-terror-group.html

https://news.lankasri.com/srilanka/03/202502

Protestant or Catholic?

We’re the victims Catholic or Protestant? It seems that only Catholics were targeted in the attacks and not Protestants. 71.218.108.117 (talk) 16:14, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

There was an attack in Batticaloa in a church that is not Catholic.Manabimasu (talk) 16:26, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

It was Christians, something like 80% of Sri Lankan Christians are Catholic, but of the three churches one was Protestant, so it's just *all*. Kingsif (talk) 18:24, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

References

Racist and islamophobic edits and comments

Can we all just agree to not be racist or islamophobic for once? Why is waiting for the facts so difficult for some people? 71.218.108.117 (talk) 16:39, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Daily Telegraph/AFP

Having watched the edit war over the Daily Telegraph/AFP claim, if I put aside that several edits seem to have well exceeded WP:3RR I've noticed 2 things. First for a lot of that edit war, the edit was effectively unsourced yet no one seems to have noticed. The edit added a bunch of numbers as refs, but the numbers of the references for most of these edits don't correlate to anything supporting the claims [3]. Second, that problem aside, again no one seems to have considered the sourcing issues itself. While it's true that the original ref which I found here [4] the Daily Telegraph [5] does make the claim, it's complicated by the fact that according to other reports, the AG has said there is a fake letter going around [6]. Are these reports on the AG's denial wrong? Is the AG wrong? Has the AFP seen other content or has evaluated the AG's claims and still believe the letter is authentic? I don't think we have sufficient sourcing to really answer any of these questions. In these sort of late breaking news situations, we have to be very careful as even normal RS are prone to jump the gun so for contentious claims, it's often better to wait for a number of sources to report it and deal with such issues. Nil Einne (talk) 17:03, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

This is also discussed above in the section #My two cents from Colombo (the warning letter). Pol098 (talk) 22:11, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

This article needs to discuss more about Muslims

The conflict between the Sinhalese and Muslims eclipses anything found between Tamils and Sinhalese, and this is not forgetting that the Tamils themselves have long standing conflicts with the Muslim community too. It is very unlikely to be by Tamils due to the Christians in the leadership, and Sinhalese have not known hatred of Christians too.

Furthermore, the AFP have reported that it is likely to have been a Muslim group. I know one of the other editors tried to add a text about this which I will later copy onto here, and I think such similar text should be added to this article. I do not think the views of a Muslim who is not even from Sri Lanka should dictate what goes on this page. The text is not Islamophobic at all.

Wikipedia is about reporting the facts, not about creating the facts. Athiestsupporter (talk) 17:07, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, local police have arrested seven people residing in the Dematagoda suburb in connection to the attacks, further at least The Guardian (UK) reported that the Defense Minister stated the culprits were religious extremists[30][31][32][33][34][35]

The Telegraph (UK) reported that Agence France Press, the major French news agency, had obtained leaked documents from the office of the Sri Lankan police chief, warning about a terrorist attack on churches by National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ), based on information shared by foreign security agencies.[36] NTJ is a racial Islamist group which rose to fame in recent years due to acts of violence against Buddhists in Sri Lanka.[37]

The above text was involved in an edit war and I personally support its inclusion. Athiestsupporter (talk) 17:09, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

"NTJ is a racial Islamist group" Islam is not a race; perhaps you meant to say, it's a radical islamic group.isoham (talk) 02:18, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I've already commented above on the problems with this material. Nil Einne (talk) 17:27, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

It would be really great if all the anti-Muslim bigotry and conspiracy theories would just stop. 71.218.108.117 (talk) 17:15, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

In response to the removal of the content, that fact that this has been reported by reputable outlets, several outlets, means that the content should stay as being "reported by". Athiestsupporter (talk) 17:38, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

What "outlets"? You're only providing a single one. Nil Einne (talk)

(edit conflict) I can already tell this article is going to be a host of edit wars. It hasn't even been a few days and we are already observing this. Anyways, your comment of "Sinhalese have not known hatred of Christians too" can be tested against by "Local Christian groups have said they faced increasing intimidation from some extremist Buddhist monks in recent years" from Reuters. Also, we need to wait until it is confirmed who the perpetrators are. Why are you in such a rush? We have time... Wikipedia is not the place for speculation, it's stating confirmed, well-sourced information. Please don't make comments that do not hold any water. —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 17:41, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I'd like to remind editors per WP:BURDEN, it's their responsibility to find sources supporting any claims they are adding to the article. It's not the responsibility of others to "Google it". Nil Einne (talk) 18:02, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Also per Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Perennial sources, RT is enerally unreliable for controversial topics. Nil Einne (talk) 18:07, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Thank you for that. —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 18:26, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I just noticed Athiestsupporter was blocked as a sock. Nil Einne (talk) 18:19, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

now confirmed Muslim group committed this attack --Mr Debater (talk) 18:04, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Please provide good sourcing then it can be added to the article. Or simply add it yourself with the multiple reliable sources needed reporting this confirmation. Nil Einne (talk) 18:07, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Mr Debater seems to be another sockpuppet of "Argumentdebate". No point in me participating in this thread. —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 18:26, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Added about the narrow escape of Raadhika Sarathkumar

Raadhika Sarathkumar narrowly escaped from a bomb explosion which happened at Cinnamon Grand Hotel where she was present after wrapping up shooting for a film.

Not needed, part of the string of "OMG I was close to tragedy, cry for me" that's appearing; a British politician also narrowly missed being at the hotel at the time, but we're not going to mention that, either. Kingsif (talk) 18:21, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

References

Why cant we admit that Islamic terrorists committed this attack

there is massive proof but people keep trying to hide the fact the Islamic terrorists committed this attack --Mr Debater (talk) 17:58, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

What proof? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.15.35.178 (talk) 18:08, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

(EC) It's likely in a few days things will be a lot clearer. In the mean time, we need to be careful in not mentioning poorly supported information, remembering our goal is to be an encyclopaedia and not a news source. Nil Einne (talk) 18:09, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Tropic Inn Hotel or Tropical Inn Hotel?

Different sources give different spellings for the hotel which was bombed in Dehiwala this afternoon. This source depicts it is Tropic Inn Hotel and this reference states that it is Tropical Inn Hotel. A user redirected the article from Tropical Inn to Tropic Inn Hotel. Abishe (talk) 18:12, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

https://www.zomato.com/colombo/tropic-inn-restaurant-mount-lavinia-colombo

https://www.latestly.com/world/two-more-blasts-in-sri-lanka-explosions-in-dehiwala-and-dematagoda-over-190-dead-in-8-bomb-blasts-in-one-day-in-country-782948.html

• Most English-language RS are just referring to it as "a guest house", possibly because they don't have a good source for the name. We could probably do the same. Kingsif (talk) 18:23, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

If someone from Sri Lanka Can confirm name and location as well as photograph, please add it. Tropic Inn Hotel or Tropical Inn Hotel is supposedly a new hotel in the area so this can be the wrong name and location.Manabimasu (talk) 23:21, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Motive cannot be known regardless of source.

the motive for these attacks cannot be stated with any accuracy until there is more investigation. I strenuously object to the removal of the word "suspected" from the infobox ... and ascribing a motive to the attacks within 24 hours. I intend to replace the word. I'll leave a reasonable amount of time for discussion, but I am going to do it today. User:Pedant (talk) 18:27, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

• I already commented that out, completely agree. Kingsif (talk) 18:34, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Exactly my reason for putting suspected. Glad to see the motive has been removed now. 130.15.35.178 (talk) 18:50, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Islamic Leadership subsection

Why does one specific religion get a subsection? I get why Christian leaders have a subsection, but no other non-christian faith has one except islam. This may imply to readers there is a relationship between this attack and islam (something that has not been verified).

Also why is the reaction of Hamas listed? Given they are defacto in charge of Gaza, they should be covered by the worldwide condolences from countries and their leaders. Hezbollah may be religious but hardly counts as "islamic leadership". They are military/political force. 130.15.35.178 (talk) 19:30, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

There was a brief Jewish section that got removed; if you think the reactions are no more notable than other world leaders, then the section can be dissolved and the reactions moved. Though I think in general, it shows religious solidarity, faiths supporting each other through attacks blatantly against only one (there is a sentence mentioning that, too). Kingsif (talk) 19:41, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Great. Unfortunately I can't do that myself. 130.15.35.178 (talk) 19:42, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I agree about solidarity, which is why the comments by Yousef al-Othaimeen should be placed in the "international reaction" subsection. I think the Gaza reaction should go with the other world leaders and the hezbollah response should be removed or put under international reaction as well.130.15.35.178 (talk) 19:45, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The "brief Jewish section" derives from an error by me; I included an Israeli (not religious Jewish) offer of aid, but accidentally put it in the "Christian" section instead of just "International". Someone sensibly changed this, but "Jewish" was not the right heading, so I moved it to where I'd intended. Pol098 (talk) 19:46, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Excellent work Kingsif 130.15.35.178 (talk) 19:54, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Just trying to keep the article clean Kingsif (talk) 19:56, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

Target: Foreigners or hotel guests?

Can someone add if it was hotel guests or foreigners who were attacked in the hotel bombings? Please show link of target being foreigners. Hotel guests is a better description because people in hotels can be natives as well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Manabimasu (talk • contribs) 23:25, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

The hotels are luxurious 5-star beach hotels, at least one part of a well-known international chain. These are hotels for rich foreigners. But that's OR; how about you check out the sources that say "foreign tourists" were the target. Kingsif (talk) 23:30, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

I think hotels are a miscommunication. Hotels in Indian subcontinent is the equivalent of a restaurant to eat. According to CBS, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci8dK4_d-QE&t=120 the tourists were not intended but the Christians eating at the hotels. Hotels is necessarily not just a place to stay and lodge but to exclusively eat. Also would like to see sources.Manabimasu (talk) 23:55, 21 April 2019 (UTC)

That alternative definition of hotels is also OR, but these are not Indian hotels, anyway, they are international-chain-brand luxury hotels that you can't just go to the restaurant of. Sources do refer to breakfast time, but possibly because the restaurants at big hotels are massive and will be where the most people are during mealtime—only in one hotel, the others were in the lobby, not where people eat. Also, why would anyone assume that "oh, this hotel's restaurant probably has more Christians than any other religion in it"? That's bizarre; but a common way terrorists try to attract attention is by killing tourists, as it gets lots of countries directly involved. Will you accept the New York Times as a source? [7] "Minutes later a second suicide blast shattered the Sunday brunch tranquillity at the Shangri-La Hotel's Table One Restaurant, a favorite of foreign tourists." Kingsif (talk) 00:10, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Motive for hotel attack is unknown but could be to gain international attention. That is a possibility. Attack on Churches is surely persecution but until a group claims responsibility or the investigation on part by police is complete the motive for hotel attack is up for debate.Manabimasu (talk) 00:17, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Yes, and out of the two assumptions, your "unidentifiable local Christians might have paid a lot of money to be amongst the hundreds of foreign tourists eating breakfast there instead of being at Easter Sunday mass that's also happening right now" and "history shows that bombing rich foreigners gets us global attention", we're probably better sticking with the latter, which actually makes a semblance of sense. Attack on Churches on Easter Sunday is definitely religiously motivated, but it's hard to see that in the hotel bombings unless the terrorists associate Western capitalism with Christianity. Kingsif (talk) 00:21, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 April 2019

Refer to this article: https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/sri-lanka-bomb-blasts-187-dead-in-serial-blasts-on-easter-sunday-curfew-declared-latest-updates-1506830-2019-04-21 The number of Indians killed is 4, the current article states 3. Please correct this. Thanks! Wikicop33 (talk) 23:44, 21 April 2019 (UTC) Any other sources? Manabimasu (talk) 00:11, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Would need a RS, preferably one that also has the correct number of total dead. Currently a no from me. Kingsif (talk) 00:12, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: Article has since been updated with more recent reports. Kingsif (talk) 02:10, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

national tawheed Jamaah condamned false reporting on their facebook page

The Tawheed Jamaah has condemned the attacked and said this

We urge media outlets to show restraint from reckless reporting, and we would like to remind broadcasters that careless reporting has led to many negative consequences including communal disharmony and thus request journalists to uphold ethical journalism and prevent sensational reporting.

this is their official website http://www.tntj.net/ and from there I got their facebook page but I dont know how to use facebook I couldnt provide the link to the specific post but its 10 hours ago. Can we use their official facebook page as a source to cite their condemnation? --SharabSalam (talk) 00:25, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

To be fair, most reliable news outlets aren't mentioning them, since nothing in anyway official has been said. They're being quite good. We might be able to use the Facebook page if 1. no better sources appear AND 2. it's deemed relevant enough to be included. Kingsif (talk) 00:28, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I'd say that anything which speculates as to who did this attack should be purged from this page until actual facts can be established. It seems that conspiracy theorists want muslims to have committed these attacks so badly they can't see straight. What are people so allergic to empiricism these days? 71.218.108.117 (talk) 00:43, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Eiffel Tower turns off its lights to pay tribute for Sri Lanka massacre

Eiffel Tower turned its lights off as of 12.00 am midnight according to French local time inorder to pay condolescences to the victims of the church bomb explosions. Is it applicable to be added to the content of the article? Abishe (talk) 01:04, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=54517

Bizzle26 (talk) 01:33, 22 April 2019 (UTC)/u/Bizzle26: Hey there, I think with time, as is custom with other attacks of this scale and nature, it would be appropriate to create a separate page along the lines of "international responses/reactions to the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings." This page could take the form of a table/chart with each country/nationality and then a descriptive column of what that state's foreign ministry, political leadership, and/or local institutions/monuments did to honour the victims of the attack.

For the time being I think given the enormity of int'l responses we could group them into categories like lights turned off or displaying the colours of the sri lankan flag on buildings, foreign ministries heigtening the risk level of their travel advisories, and lastly, condolence-based remarks honouring victims persecuted because of their religion.

Prime Minister joining several reliable sources saying advance warning was authentic

• https://www.thisisinsider.com/sri-lankan-police-issued-alert-10-days-before-suicide-bomber-attack-2019-4
• http://www.colombopage.com/archive_19A/Apr21_1555866043CH.php [note that this includes the letter that had been called a forgery on social media]
• https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/sri-lanka-gov-alerted-attacks-bombings-190421165822214.html
• https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/21/sri-lanka-explosions-casualties-churches-hotels-targeted-easter/
• https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka-police-chief-had-warned-of-suicide-attack-threat-before-blasts
• https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sri-lanka-blasts-sri-lanka-top-cop-had-warned-of-bombers-targeting-churches-10-days-ago-2026290

A preponderance of reliable sources, including the government Intelligence Telecommunications Minister and Police Chief, have thus implicated the National Thowheeth Jama'ath. EllenCT (talk) 01:46, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Perpetrators? gradually it points to NTJ

• Harin tweets intelligence memo warning of a planned attack
• harin

--AntanO 02:04, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Added Dailymirror.lk source. EllenCT (talk) 02:14, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Many sources point to particular religious extremist

eg: ISIS supporters celebrate Sri Lanka bomb attacks as payback for New Zealand mosque massacre and Syria strikes--AntanO 02:22, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

That's the sort of thing we should wait on further analysis and secondary reporting to include. As a general rule of thumb, any reports of celebration of misfortune aren't encyclopedic in nature unless they are the subject of the kind of analysis you usually find in peer reviewed sociology or at the very least, statecraft foreign policy reporting. The last thing you want to do is have the appearance of Wikipedia's voice used for deliberate amplification of tensions. EllenCT (talk) 02:36, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

The Sun is a sensationalist islamophobic tabloid that should not be used on Wikipedia. Kingsif (talk) 02:37, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 22 April 2019

I would like to edit, as I have noticed false information regarding the death toll and injuries. Gamingboy6422 (talk) 01:53, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

What edits would you like to made, and please provide sources. Kingsif (talk) 02:06, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: No request, no response. 03:08, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Donald Trump counts it wrong on the Sri Lankan massacre

OMG, US President Donald Trump has tweeted about the incident in Sri Lanka which happened on 21 April 2019 on the eve of Easter Sunday, stating that 138 million people have died instead of 138 but mentioned more than 600 injured. It is an hoax and Sri Lanka just have a population around 20-21 million not more than that. Donald Trump has made a mess with a wrong tweet. He should have been more concerned before tweeting. Abishe (talk) 02:13, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sri-lanka-blasts-sri-lanka-bomb-blasts-donald-trump-tweets-wrong-figure-for-number-of-dead-2026339

...good to know? Kingsif (talk) 02:17, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

There are bulk of news related to this incident and do not bring all here. --AntanO 02:23, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Is there any reason to put the paragraph on international responses in the footnotes?

Manual of Style recommends against single-sentence paragraphs at MOS:PARA, and most of our current events articles don't put the list of reacting countries in footnotes; e.g. Lahore church bombings#International reaction and 2019 Pulwama attack#International community. Is there any reason to put them in the footnote? EllenCT (talk) 02:28, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Because it is a long list and the standard is to put it in a footnote? Like, all other articles with very long lists of national condolences do it. If they're short and/or not receiving lots of edits like the ones you mention, sure. But not with this many. It's a worse MOS sin that a single-sentence paragraph, of which there are many examples across Wikipedia. Kingsif (talk) 02:34, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

This is the first time I've ever seen it done. I gave some examples with longer lists. I wonder if you have any examples of such use of footnotes? EllenCT (talk) 02:38, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Without checking, I can assure you that the Notre-Dame de Paris fire does it. Because it's the standard. Kingsif (talk) 02:42, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

In your examples, one has six reactions that are actually organised into a bulleted list with expansion and detail; the other has 15 countries arranged into a prose paragraph. Both are different and better style than simply forming a paragraph out of a couple dozen country names in a list with nothing else. Kingsif (talk) 02:44, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

A van used by attackers seized, a noticeable evidence

In Wellawatte, a region located in Colombo-06 there was an evidence claimed regarding the transportation mode used by bombers. Police officials have claimed a van which is believed to be used by the attackers was seized and further a temporary shelter in Panadura where the attackers resided has also been identified but the details are yet to be clarified. About 7 people have been arrested including few women suspects and this info can be included in the article with proper sources. Abishe (talk) 02:43, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

https://www.newsfirst.lk/2019/04/21/van-used-to-transport-attackers-arrested/

RS? (not that link) Kingsif (talk) 02:45, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

It is not ethnocentric to know that "church" is a simple and widely-understood term

It has equivalences in hundreds of languages, many of which reflect the English. If we're not going to define "bomb", we needn't define "church". All Christians know what a mosque, a synagogue, a gurdwara are, let's not pretend other religions are stupid. Kingsif (talk) 02:56, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

@Majesty of the Commons: Seriously, it's ridiculous over-PC to try to claim church is an "ethnocentric" word. Kingsif (talk) 02:59, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I wanted to use "religocentric", but it doesn't look to be a word often used in the sense I wanted.

There are billions of people unfamiliar with the Christian religion who either wouldn't immediately connect the word "church" to an anti-Christian attack, or are not familiar with the variety of buildings that can be a church, and would be interested to read further. I know I would be interested to read, and easily browse to, an article about mosques after a mosque attack. I think the link is both useful and harmless and should stay.

Majesty of the Commons (talk) 03:14, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

1/3 of the world are Christians. Most of the rest have heard about it. Linking is for unfamiliar terms and not for "read some more" - that's what google is for, feel free to try it! Note that I also "wouldn't immediately connect the word "church" to an anti-Christian attack", because that's not a context they're usually found in, but it doesn't take a genius to work that one out from this article literally saying that people deliberately went to detonate bombs in churches to attack Christians. People may not be smart, but they are nowhere near as ignorant as you seem to believe. Ethnocentric would be assuming everyone knew about Canterbury Cathedral - one of the most important Protestant churches, but a specific building in one country nonetheless - and hence it is linked in the article. Come off it. Kingsif (talk) 03:21, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I follow links for terms with which I am familiar to "read some more" all the time. Yes, linking every second word would be distracting overkill, but I see many Christians and non-Christians wanting to follow a "Church (Building)" link, so a slight blue colour is worth it. Majesty of the Commons (talk) 03:35, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Not to mention the fact that "church" is used in different senses in the article - the type of building (of which there is a lovely picture right at the top! in case anyone didn't know! not like they're in every city in the world!), and as a communion, and as a religious unity (i.e. the church). So to link one of the meanings at the top without writing a long distinguishing paragraph would surely confuse people who genuinely don't know what a church is (perhaps one of the few remote tribes that missionaries haven't tried to convert yet?) I'm finding this quite funny but also relatively annoying. Kingsif (talk) 03:29, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Linking to the "Church (Building)" article

Kingsif destroyed my edit linking "church" to the "Church (Building)" article, disagreeing with my reason that it was ethocentric to assume that readers knew that "church" meant a Christian place of worship, providing information that it was an anti-Christian attack. I invite Kingsif or others to make their case that the link is not worthwhile. Majesty of the Commons (talk) 03:00, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I'm guessing you missed where I pinged you? And also the memo that saying someone "destroyed" your edit when they just removed it for a legitimate reason is a bit WP:UNCIVIL? Kingsif (talk) 03:03, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

@Majesty of the Commons: See above where I opened discussion and pinged you already Kingsif (talk) 03:07, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Destruction of correct information should be done with good cause, and usually due process. On an encyclopedia of unlimited size, the only good reason is clarity. I've had too many of my carefully-prepared edits thoughtlessly removed by people who seem to delight in destruction. I apologise for my frustration. Majesty of the Commons (talk) 03:28, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Eh, it's alright, I'm a bit frustrated too, based on the fact it is, honestly, completely unnecessary and (if I may be bold) actually insulting to non-Christians that you think it's necessary. Kingsif (talk) 03:31, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Another politician's relative died during the bombings

It was earlier reported that a relative of UK politician Tulip Siddiq died during the explosions. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-sri-lanka-bombings-labour-14444019 But the information which was added by someone in the article was later removed because of its less importance. Another politician's relative also reported to have died today in an hospital and it was the grandson of Bangladeshi politician Sheikh Selim. I think this is also not that important to be included under the section of header Victims but I don't know whether this casualty is included or not in the number of deaths. (so far recorded as 215) Abishe (talk) 03:08, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2019/04/21/sheikh-selim-s-son-in-law-grandson-injured-in-sri-lanka-bomb-blast

That will be the same person, all are part of the very powerful Sheikh–Wazed family, a Bangladeshi political dynasty. But no, apparently not important. He will be included in the number of deaths, especially if the family knew hours ago. Kingsif (talk) 03:12, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

I think he should be included, he could well be a politician - but also, like, American politicians' relatives would be included if caught up in this, why not a Bangladeshi one? Kingsif (talk) 03:24, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

See WP:NOTINHERITED, relatives of ANY politician have no particular notability. WWGB (talk) 03:34, 22 April 2019 (UTC)