President assures to reveal key suspects in Easter Sunday attacks before 21 April

President Anura Kumara Disanayake

President Anura Kumara Disanayake yesterday announced that the Government will disclose the names of a significant number of individuals responsible for the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks before 21 April. 

He made these remarks addressing a meeting held in Deiyandara, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to justice and accountability. President Disanayake emphasised that his Government is actively investigating various crimes, including fraud and corruption. 

He assured the public that indictments will be filed by the Attorney General’s Department based on ongoing investigations, after which the judiciary will determine the necessary legal actions. 

“There is significant hope among the people that those involved in fraud, corruption, and criminal activities will be punished,” the President stated.

On 15 March, Archbishop of Colombo Malcom Cardinal Ranjith gave President Disanayake a five-week deadline to fulfil the Government’s promise of investigating the Easter Sunday attacks.

Speaking at a public forum at the Archbishop’s House in Colombo, he warned that failure to deliver justice would leave them with no choice but to take to the streets in protest. 

“If we receive a fair and just response before the sixth anniversary of the Easter Sunday attacks, we will acknowledge it. If not, we will be forced to take to the streets once again,” he cautioned. 

The Cardinal recalled President Disanayake’s promise at the Katuwapitiya church, urging swift action.

He expressed deep disappointment over the lack of progress, stating that former leaders had pledged accountability for the attacks, but failed to act.

The Easter Sunday bombings claimed the lives of 269 people, including foreign nationals, and injured over 500 others. The tragedy left the nation in shock and raised serious questions about intelligence failures and political accountability.

Several reports, including those by Presidential Commissions of Inquiry (PCoI), have indicated negligence by security and political authorities in preventing the attack, despite multiple warnings from Indian intelligence agencies.

In 2021, the PCoI report recommended legal action against former President Maithripala Sirisena, former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, and several high-ranking officials for failing to prevent the attack. 

On 12 January 2023, the Supreme Court ordered former President Sirisena and five other parties to pay millions of rupees in compensation to victims of the Easter Sunday terror attack for failing to prevent the bloodshed which took place on 21 April 2019. 

In its verdict, the seven-member Bench of the Supreme Court, including former Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, delivered the landmark ruling and said that the respondents named in the 13 petitions filed had failed to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and had therefore violated the fundamental rights of the petitioners.

The Court stated the respondents had failed to prevent the terrorist attack despite receiving intelligence information and had also not acted on prior information received. The Court ordered the former President, other respondents, and the State to pay compensation totalling Rs. 311 million to victims of the bombings that resulted in the deaths of 269 people. 

Although the compensation was paid, progress on holding individuals accountable has been slow, leading to frustration among the victims’ families.