New Govt. focuses on Easter bombings 2019 investigation

There is renewed expectation that the new Government will approach an investigation into the Easter bombings with a real commitment towards unearthing the truth 

Easter 2025 will mark the sixth anniversary of the Easter tragedy. A new President, a new Parliament with the enviable record of being the only single party to ever gain a two-thirds majority in Parliament have all the necessary implements to ensure that a full and impartial investigation is carried out. All members of this new administration also have the distinction of not having been involved in any shape or form in the events that led to this tragedy. This tragedy has left a permanent black mark on Sri Lanka’s ability to sustain meaningful compliance of international treaties and honour in full the UN charter on the right to life

On 20 November former LTTE member and former parliamentarian, ‘Pillayen’ was summoned to the CID and left after a mammoth five-hour questioning session. He was questioned in relation to the allegations made in the Channel 4 film, ‘Easter Bombings of Sri Lanka.’

Easter Sunday 2019 in Sri Lanka marked one of the worst ever co-ordinated terror attacks in the island nation. For a country that had gotten used to a 30-year civil war, the bombings that targeted churches and luxury hotels in Colombo, was a new high in terms of callousness and the death of 275 civilians. For a nation relying on inbound tourism, it was even more appalling as 43 visitors also lost their lives. The bombings had apparently caught the Sri Lankan intelligence apparatus and the Police off-guard and almost too conveniently blamed initially on Islamic extremism.

Now, with the election of a new President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake “AKD” and the unprecedented majority in Parliament for his NPP party, there is renewed expectation that the new Government will approach an investigation into the Easter bombings with a real commitment towards unearthing the truth.

Malcom Cardinal Ranjith is unequivocal in his call: the people he says have a right to know and in his capacity as the Head of the Roman Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, “we have a right to know because so many of our people died (and were maimed).”

It appears that Sri Lanka’s new President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD as he is popularly known) shares that view. A few days after his election victory, in a poignant visit to the Katuwapitiya Church – near the tourist resort area of Negombo – where as many as 126 people died, he solemnly promised for a full and impartial enquiry. A week or so later, there was an announcement that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was investigating the Easter tragedy and the claims made in a documentary for Britain’s Channel 4.

There are not many in Sri Lanka who doubt the new President. He has no political gain from an investigation and a robust investigation revealing the truth means he will be able to fulfil one of his election promises.

Law and order situation under challenge

Soon after the attacks the blame on Islamic extremism caused a number of internecine attacks aimed at the Muslim community in several areas and the law and order situation appeared to be under challenge. In stepped an unlikely hero in the form the Colombo’s Archbishop, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. The Cardinal appealed for peace and made it clear that the wider Muslim population must not be blamed. Many in Sri Lanka credit the Cardinal for having ensured that these riots did not spread – especially that the 30+ civil war had come to an end in 2009 and the country had enjoyed a relatively peaceful decade since.

The investigation appeared to be going the way of Islamic extremism – especially when some weeks before there was an attack on a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Not many in Sri Lanka quite believed it was as simple as the Government made it out to be: within weeks of the attacks, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former Defence Secretary in brother Mahinda’s presidency, announced his candidature for the presidency and won the ensuing Presidential election with a significant majority. His primary theme was that it was his party that understood ‘maintaining of the peace’ best. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith led the way in suggesting there was a different explanation – he was joined by Members of Parliament, Civil Society activists and sections of the media – although all only alluded to this ‘other’ possibility driven by legalities and the near omnipresent sections of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The call for the identification of the mastermind grew literally daily.

One of the first acts President Gotabaya put into play even before the appointment of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers, was said to have been the disbanding of the team in charge of investigation the Easter tragedy which was then led by SSP Shani Abeysekera of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). In fact SSP Abeysekera, a highly respected officer was in effect demoted along with his transfer out of office. Incensed by the treatment meted out to him, he petitioned the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka alleging that his fundamental rights under Sri Lanka’s Constitution had been violated.

His application to the Supreme Court makes for interesting reading – and it became a public document. Not many it appears would have read the contents with the exception perhaps of an international, award-winning, documentary maker who was commissioned by Channel 4. The film which was aired on Channel 4 and Danish Television raises three questions:

Did Intelligence officials meet covertly with Islamic extremists before they committed the biggest terrorist attack in Sri Lanka’s history?

Did Military Intelligence mislead the Police in their attempts to apprehend the terrorist group?

Did Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Government sabotage investigations into the bombings?

Gotabaya Rajapaksa who had remained largely silent ever since he literally abandoned his presidential palace and embarked on a mini tour of South Asia, that included the Maldive Islands, Thailand and Singapore, broke his silence soon after the Channel 4 film (Easter Bombings of Sri Lanka 2019) and described the film as a ‘tissue of lies … absurd’ – he has also denied having disbanded the CID team investigating the Easter bombings. The former strongman-turned President who was rejected by the people two years into his term, maintains that SSP Abeysekera was removed due to an unconnected incident. Others familiar with the timelines, maintain that Abeysekera and 30 others were removed from the investigation. A fresh investigation is likely to unearth the truth in this instance too.

Principal whistleblower

The principal whistleblower, a one-time, long-serving aide to ‘Pillayan’, Azad Mowlana has been accused of concocting his claim to pursue an application for a visa to settle in a European country. 

His claims that a senior Military Intelligence official met with the terrorist group ahead of the Easter bombings; Mowlana also claims that his former boss, Pillayan was told by Gotabaya Rajapaksa to get rid of the Sunday Leader newspaper Editor, Lasantha Wickrematunge. Wickrematunge was killed in broad daylight not far from a high-security zone in January 2009. The passage of 15 years has not resulted in a legal resolution to his unlawful killing.

There is a report that Azad Mowlana had been interviewed by international agencies who are treating his claim as credible and that Mowlana had been interviewed by European intelligence agencies. 

Along with the fact that immigration rules have been tightened across mainland Europe, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom not many are convinced by claims that Mowlana has been able to ‘hood-wink’ his way towards obtaining a residential visa and or the right to live and work in Europe. One person I spoke to said that perhaps it was this that was ‘a tissue of lies and absurd’. 

Azad Mowlana is alleged to also possess thus far undisclosed digital evidence which may assist Sri Lanka’s investigators in their quest towards the truth behind the Easter bombings of Sri Lanka.

As a result of the Channel 4 film, Sri Lanka’s Government announced that a parliamentary committee would investigate the claims made in the film. Sri Lanka’s President appointed by Parliament after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country, Ranil Wickremesinghe, did appoint a Presidential Committee although that committee was not formulated under the Presidential Commissions Act, depriving it of any form of quasi legality. The Committee did write to Channel 4 asking if they would assist in their enquiries – only to be told that Channel 4 had said what they did in the film and had nothing further to add. The terms of reference of that Committee has not been publicly published in any of Sri Lanka’s mainstream media outlets. An email addressed to that committee went unanswered – where the Terms of Reference was requested.

Sri Lanka’s top spy

Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka – Sri Lanka’s war time Army Commander – and a former Member of Parliament alluded to the ease with which intelligence officials could obtain a travel document, saying ‘this is a matter that can be done over the telephone’. He said this during a Sri Lankan parliamentary debate on the claims made by the Channel 4 film. Major General Suresh Sallay denied Azad Mowlana’s claims stating that he was in Malaysia at the time he is alleged to have met members of the terrorist group. Described as Sri Lanka’s top spy, Salley maintains he was in India on the day of the Easter bombings. There was no claim made in the film to suggest Salley was in Sri Lanka or not on the day of the Easter bombings. Salley also maintains that he was not part of the intelligence apparatus in the period January 2018 to April 2019. 

Following the broadcast of the film, Suresh Salley lodged a complaint with Britain’s media regulator. The regulator reported back to Salley stating that the broadcaster had not broken any of the rules he had complained of. OFCOM said in part, “Having viewed the program in its entirety alongside considering the individual elements of the complaint, we considered that, even if some of the statements complained about were inaccurate the allegations made by the whistle-blowers regarding the extent of the complainant’s involvement in the Easter bombings were not dealt with in a way that was unfair to him in the program.”

International concern has been constant ever since the Easter bombings of Sri Lanka. In 2022, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith visited the Vatican. Pope Francis issued a statement asking for the truth to be told ‘for the love of your people, for the love of justice’. An UN agency also called for an investigation into the attacks. 

In 2023, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told DW TV that Sri Lanka will not have any inquiry involving foreigners. Although he did not say as much, the fact is that for Sri Lanka to facilitate foreign investigators on their soil, Sri Lanka’s Parliament has not ratified international agreements that would make such an independent international investigation possible. 

Such anomalies are exactly what international agencies are likely to be raising with Sri Lanka’s new administration. President Dissanayake and his team have not openly refused to honour international obligations yet some of the mechanisms do not always lend themselves to full co-operation. Left alone, these anomalies can only sow greater dissatisfaction about Sri Lanka’s compliance.

Easter 2025 will mark the sixth anniversary of the Easter tragedy. A new President, a new Parliament with the enviable record of being the only single party to ever gain a two-thirds majority in Parliament have all the necessary implements to ensure that a full and impartial investigation is carried out. All members of this new administration also have the distinction of not having been involved in any shape or form in the events that led to this tragedy. This tragedy has left a permanent black mark on Sri Lanka’s ability to sustain meaningful compliance of international treaties and honour in full the UN charter on the right to life.

Various politicians in Sri Lanka did however join the blame game: ‘Channel 4 was against Sri Lanka’: No one pointed out any reason leaving many to dismiss this as rhetoric and one more excuse in not getting at the truth. No one in Sri Lanka’s establishment has ever sought to explain the several images and videos to emerge alleging violations of human rights; the mothers of the missing have conducted what could well be the longest ever continuous protest to no avail, there has been no move towards a sustainable resolution by at least issuing an unqualified apology followed by appropriate reparations. Perhaps after all, President AKD may well have his work cut out for him.

An important question unanswered:

The film raised three important questions: however, a fourth equally important question remains: why was the general public, the church administration and the hotels associations not forewarned about the impending attacks? Afterall, the Indian intelligence agency RAW had provided credible intelligence of the attack at least a fortnight previously. Who was responsible for this inaction? Was it really a coincidence that then President Sirisena and his family almost conveniently left the island to India and then onwards to a south Asian nation and avoided being in Sri Lanka on that fateful Easter Sunday? 

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith must have the last word on the Easter tragedy: “We will continue with this struggle – until we know the truth”

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