Friday Oct 25, 2024
FT
Friday Oct 25, 2024
Friday, 25 October 2024 01:35 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called on all political parties and others to refrain from using the reports on the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks for political gain.
In a press release issued yesterday, Wickremesinghe responded to recent criticism from Colombo’s Archbishop, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, who had questioned the credibility of the reports compiled by the Judges A.N.J. De Alwis and Syed Ishrat Imam committees appointed by Wickremesinghe during his tenure
“All the statements made by the Cardinal regarding me are baseless,” Wickremesinghe said. According to Wickremesinghe it is the Catholic Bishops’ Conference that must make a statement on the Easter Sunday reports handed over to them and not the Archbishop. He emphasised that politicising the findings would be detrimental to justice and transparency. Addressing allegations that the reports were designed to target specific persons, Wickremesinghe clarified that the Alwis Committee Report was not intended to take revenge on former senior police officials, including former Senior DIG and current Public Security Ministry Secretary Ravi Seneviratne, and former CID Director Shani Abeysekera.
The report, according to Wickremesinghe, recommended legal action against several senior police officers, including former IGP Pujitha Jayasundara and current IGP Deshabandu Thennakoon, among others, for their role in the Easter Sunday incident. Disciplinary action was also suggested for certain officers, he noted. Wickremesinghe stressed that claims of the report being fabricated to target persons like Seneviratne and Abeysekera are baseless.
“I request all parties not to politicise the Easter reports,” Wickremesinghe concluded, calling for a focus on ensuring justice without political interference. Wickremesinghe’s response came after Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, recently held a press conference where he strongly rejected two reports on the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. The reports were prepared by committees chaired by retired Judges A.N.J. De Alwis and Syed Ishrat Imam, both appointed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Cardinal Ranjith criticised the reports, claiming they lacked a thorough analysis of the incident and were not conducted through a transparent investigation process. “The inquiry was rushed, just before the election, merely to create the appearance that an investigation had taken place,” the Cardinal stated.
He further suggested that the hasty completion of the reports prior to the election could be viewed as an attempt to mislead the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, with which Wickremesinghe had engaged before appointing the committees.
