Ex-President Sirisena, top defense ministry, and intelligence officials directed to pay from personal funds
SriLanka’s former president, MaithripalaSirisena, seen here in a photograph taken on June 6, 2019, along with top defense ministry and intelligence officials has been ordered by the Supreme Court to pay compensation to victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. (Photo: AFP)
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ordered former president, Maithripala Sirisena, as well as top defense ministry and intelligence officials, to pay compensation totaling 310 million rupees (US$ 885,670) to victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
The Jan. 12 order from the top court pointed to a “reckless” intelligence failure, reported The Hindu. “A Victim Fund must be established at the Office for Reparation, which must formulate a scheme to award the sums ordered as compensation in a fair and equitable manner to the victims and families,” the order noted.
Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara, former Ministry of Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, former head of State Intelligence Service Nilantha Jayawardene, and former National Intelligence Chief Sisira Mendis are among those ordered to pay.
Sirisena was ordered to pay 100 million rupees ($273,300) while the other officials were to pay a total of 210 million rupees ($574,000). The compensation has to be paid from their personal funds.
“The mastermind behind the attack has not yet been traced”
The Supreme Court has also ordered the federal government to pay one million rupees as compensation to each of the victims.
Father Sarath Iddamalgoda, one of a dozen petitioners in the case, said political leaders think they can do anything illegal but the judgment was a reminder that nobody is above the law.
The priest told UCA news that he couldn’t have wished for a better gift on his 78th birthday on Jan. 12.
“As a priest, I tried to seek justice for the victims. But the mastermind behind the attack has not yet been traced. We are waiting for him to be caught,” Father Iddamalgoda said.
Brito Fernando, a human rights activist, called the court decision “a huge victory” for the Easter Sunday victims and those like him who are fighting for their rights.
Father Jude Chrisantha, archdiocesan director of mass communications in Colombo, hoped the judgment will ensure that political leaders and government officials will not shun responsibility.
Sri Lanka witnessed serial blasts across churches and luxury hotels in the capital Colombo, nearby Negombo, and the eastern city of Batticaloa on April 21, 2019. A total of 279 people died and some 500 were injured in the incident that shook the island on Easter Sunday.
The Supreme Court order is significant for the survivors and families of those who died in the blast while the investigations are still ongoing.
The Catholic Church has been highly critical of the lack of proper progress in the probe. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo has repeatedly raised the issue inside the nation and also at global forums, including the Vatican and the United Nations Human Rights Council, alleging that the incident was “not purely a work of extremists, but a grand political plot.”
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