Reports say that policemen who failed in their duty at Mawanella will be transferred, but offenders with political patronage are unlikely to be brought to book. Since the Mawanella incident, tension has spread to other parts of the island. A hartal was observed in Muslim-dominated areas in the eastern province on 6 May. As President Chandrika ordered reconstruction of mosques and Buddha statues damaged in Mawanella, eight shops belonging to Muslims and Sinhalese were set alight in Muthur, Trincomalee.
Sri Lankan journal Pravada says the government’s inaction to bring to justice perpetrators of communal violence has been one of the most distressing political tendencies in Sri Lanka. If the state fails in its duty to protect the minorities, militant majoritarian groups are likely to use violence, terror and intimidation against minority communities. In early May, Livestock Development minister Arumugan Thondaman urged the President to provide protection to Tamil workers on Cecilton estate in Balangoda, following threat of violence after a Sinhalese man was found dead on the estate.