The Cardinal and his quest for justice

The Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, was at the Vatican this week to mark the anniversary of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. Pope Francis met with several victims of the attack and many thousands of Sri Lankan devotees. The Cardinal has now become the face of the movement seeking justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks which targeted three catholic churches, an evangelical church in Batticaloa and three five-star hotels in Colombo, killing over 260 civilians and injuring more than 500.

  Three years since the atrocity the Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities and the judiciary have failed to deliver justice to the victims. Recommendations issued by a Presidential Commission of Inquiry looking into the matter have also not been implemented and the Government has not addressed the serious allegation of a well-orchestrated cover up.

Speaking to Vatican Radio just before the Mass in the Vatican on 25 April, Cardinal Ranjith explained that “the country’s current rulers are accused of corruption and mismanagement that have brought about the spiralling crisis, and are facing serious accusations they not only have not sought justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings in which 269 people were killed and more than 500 were injured, but have sought to bury evidence the attacks may have been carried out for political aims to favour their own re-election.”

This is a damning indictment on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was elected on a national security and law and order ticket. After two and a half years in office President Rajapaksa has delivered neither. There are clearly two groups of culprits in this crime. Firstly there are those who perpetrated the crime and those who covered it up. Secondly there are those who were criminally negligent, the political leaders and officials who ought to have acted having received credible intelligence but failed to do so. Not a single one of these persons have been held accountable.

Further concerning is the increasing revelations that State actors were directly involved in the atrocity. Former Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director SSP (Rtd) Shani Abeysekera filed a petition in the Supreme Court in February, seeking to prevent his arrest in connection with a set of fresh charges that claim he failed to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks. In his fundamental rights petition to the Supreme Court, SSP Abeysekera makes chilling revelations that directly imply links between the Easter Sunday bombers and several state intelligence agencies. He also claims that there was serious interference by these agencies into the CID investigations into the terrorist group that orchestrated the crime in the lead up to the Easter attacks.

SSP Abeysekara is at risk of being prosecuted for the crime of perjury had he lied in his submission to the Supreme Court. The Government only has to prove his claims false to send him to prison. Yet, even though several months have passed since his submission there has not even been a denial of his allegations, let alone legal action. These raise serious concerns of the workings of the country’s intelligence apparatus which in the past has been accused of numerous crimes including the killing of journalists.

Speaking to Vatican radio Cardinal Ranjith appealed to the international community “to put pressure on our Government, not to make castles in the air without any reality and be out of touch with the common life of our people.” The Government, he said, should realise it has failed in its efforts to bring prosperity and happiness to our people. It has also failed to ensure justice to many communities that have been affected by all kinds of sad situations in the past.

It should by now be apparent that the cries for justice for the Easter Sunday victims are not going to go away or be silenced. The Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa should at least now deliver justice for these victims and answer the many outstanding questions still lingering in this most heinous crime.