MUMBAI, India – A deadly terrorist attack in Sri Lanka needs to not be exploited by a politician, according to the Archdiocese of Colombo.
Speaking to the media on Oct. 17, archdiocesan spokesman Father Cyril Gamini Fernando said the government investigation of the 2019 Easter attack that killed over 200 people needs to continue without interference after Member of Parliament Udaya Gammanpila threatened to publicize two committee reports on the tragedy.
On April 21, 2019, which was Easter Sunday, three churches and three luxury hotels were bombed in a series of coordinated attacks that left hundreds dead. ISIS spokespersons would later claim responsibility for the bombings, saying the targets had been Christians and citizens of countries involved in the anti-ISIS coalition.
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Hotels hit by explosions included the Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand hotels and one other, all in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. The three churches struck were the Catholic Shrine of St. Anthony in Kotahena, Colombo, the Catholic Church of St. Sebastian in Negombo and the Zion Church in Batticaloa. At least 45 foreign nationals were among the dead.
Though the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, with the lesser-known jihadist group National Thowheed Jamaath, it soon emerged that Sri Lankan intelligence services had been alerted that an attack was in the works, both by domestic sources and also tips from India’s intelligence service.
That information included the identity of the main perpetrator of the attacks and that both hotels and churches were likely to be targeted, yet no additional security measures were adopted.
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Fernando has demanded Gammanpila refrain from exploiting the 2019 Easter Sunday tragedy for political gain.
The Catholic priest urged Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila not to play politics with the Easter Sunday terrorist attack.
Sri Lanka is 70 percent Buddhist, with an Hindu population over just over 12 percent. Christians – most of whom are Catholic – make up just over 7 percent of the country, with Muslims making up nearly 10 percent.
According to Ft.lk, the Catholic Church’s response came after Gammanpila claimed he has access to two unpublished reports related to the attacks and threatened to release them publicly if the current Government fails to do so by this week.
The controversy escalated when Cabinet Minister Vijitha Herath responded by giving Gammanpila a three-day deadline to submit the reports to the government, questioning how he came into possession of such sensitive documents. Gammanpila responded by refusing to hand over the reports unless the government provided an assurance it would publish them.
Herath dismissed Gammanpila’s ultimatum, saying the Government would release the reports at “an appropriate time.”
The top spokesperson for the Catholic Church said that they had never asked the then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe to appoint committees to probe Easter Sunday issues, and the Church was not interested at all in the reports sought by ex-MP Gammanpila.
“We earnestly urge the PHU leader not to cause unnecessary trouble but to allow the Criminal Investigations Department to conduct inquiries,” said Fernando, according to The Island.
The Island was seeking the response of the Church to the continuing controversy over the delay in releasing reports submitted by retired Supreme Court Justice S.I. Imam and retired Judge A.N.J. De Alwis. Imam’s committee examined Channel 4 allegations primarily directed at the one-time head of Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), while Alwis probed specific aspects of intelligence services pertaining to Easter Sunday attacks.
However, Fernando implied former minister Gammanpila owed the public an explanation why he remained silent when the Church repeatedly asked the then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to implement the recommendations made by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry.
Referring to the ex-MP’s role in the six-member cabinet subcommittee that examined the PCoI report, Fernando said that former President Wickremesinghe – who served from 2022 to 2024 – also ignored their request to launch an independent investigation after having removed those officers named in the report.
“We have had plenty of reports over the years on Easter Sunday carnage. Let there be a Criminal Investigation Department (CID)-led impartial inquiry into the attacks. We are confident the CID can ascertain the truth,” the priest said.
“The Easter Sunday investigation had been undermined by relentless political interference,” Fernando said, questioning whether Gammanpila took up this issue seeking political advantage in the run-up to the forthcoming parliamentary election on Nov. 14.
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