Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith

• Says decision is important for victims as well as Sri Lankans who value fairness and justice
• Calls judgement a stepping stone to finding the entire truth of the attack and those responsible for the conspiracy 
• Stresses the church will continue to fight for justice till the masterminds of the attack are revealed
• Accuses various political forces and officials of attempting to block investigations into the attack

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo has hailed the Supreme Court decision on the Easter Sunday attacks calling it a historical judgement. 

Ranjith said the decision is both important and historical not only to the victims of the attack but also to Sri Lankans who value fairness and justice. 

The Archbishop made these comments at a press conference held in Colombo yesterday, where he expressed his views on the Supreme Court judgement ordering former President Maithripala 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 attack which took place on 21 April 2019. 

The Archbishop said the judgement proves that a President with Executive power or higher officials cannot escape responsibility for any illegal acts committed. “The current and future rulers must make note of this,” he said. 

“What is important to us here is not the punishment. It is the fact that the names of those responsible and their dereliction of duty while being paid for by public monies was proven through this judgement,” he said. 

The Archbishop said the church and the country’s people believe the attack was part of a conspiracy. “This is an important step in the search for those responsible for carrying out the attack,” he noted. 

Ranjith said the church will continue in its fight for justice till the masterminds behind the conspiracy that carried out the attack are revealed and brought before justice. 

He said the facts revealed at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the Easter Sunday bombings has not been investigated thoroughly yet, noting that consecutive presidents merely gave false promises to deliver justice to those affected. 

He said various political forces continuously attempted to hamper the investigations being carried out and for decades the law enforcement has been politicised for decades in Sri Lanka. 

“The attack will only receive justice when the entire truth is revealed,” he said, adding that while investigators have been transferred or removed, senior officers involved have received promotions and some have even been attempting to block investigations by carrying out various acts of sabotage such as the stealing of relevant documents. He called on the police to not be part of this corrupt system and to change the system. 

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