Sri Lankan activists demand truth about Easter attack

President Ranil Wickremesinghe should reveal whatever he knows since he was the prime minister then, they say

Sri Lankan activists have urged President Ranil Wickremesinghe to reveal the truth about the 2019 Easter Sunday attack after the nation’s top court removed the latter’s name as a respondent from the fundamental rights petitions filed in the matter.

According to article 35(1) of the Constitution, a case cannot be maintained against the president who is entitled to legal immunity.

Activists blame the lack of communication and coordination between former President Maithripala Sirisena and Wickremesinghe, who was then the prime minister, for the failure to prevent the Easter bombings despite intelligence inputs.

Oblate priest Father Rohan Silva who is one of the petitioners said President Wickremesinghe should reveal whatever he knows since he was the prime minister then and failed to prevent the attack.

“He has no moral right to remain in the position as a president. We shall all work together to find the truth behind the Easter tragedy,” the priest added.

President Wickremasinghe had announced a plan to seek assistance from the Scotland Yard Police in the Easter attack investigations.

Meanwhile, the court has ordered ex-president Sirisena to appear in the court on Oct. 14 following a complaint filed by Father Cyril Gamini and Jesuraj Ganeshan who lost one leg in the Easter Sunday bombings.

It was argued in the court that Sirisena was also the minister in charge of law and order, defense and head of the armed forces but failed to take effective action despite prior warnings.

Pradeepa Fernando, coordinator of Janavaboday Center in Negombo said the activists will not stop until justice is served to the victims of the suicide bombings, which are suspected to be the handiwork of those affiliated with the local Islamist group, National Thowheed Jamath.

Herman Fernando, convener of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement said that the Easter attack victims feel that President Wickremesinghe wants to hide the real masterminds behind the attack.

“If the government takes more time for the investigations, it means they want to erase the memories from people’s minds,” he said.

National Peace Council (NPC), an independent and nonpartisan organization working for a political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, said that the country is presently defending its position on human rights and governance before the 51st regular session of the UN Human Rights Council that began in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sept. 12.

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