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Black Sunday not against report: Cardinal

03 Mar 2021

  • Warns of Black flag protest from April 21 2021

By Pamodi Waravita and Nilantha Madurawala   The Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said yesterday (2) that the planned “Black Sunday” protest on Sunday (7), where devotees have been asked to come in black to the sermons, is not against the report by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Easter Sunday attacks. “We thank the commission members who investigated various aspects of these attacks over a one and a half year period. The Archdiocese of Colombo cannot comment yet on the report, despite many views being expressed on it from various quarters. A separate statement on the report would be made after a thorough study of it,” Cardinal Ranjith said. A copy of the final report was handed over to the Cardinal by the Director General Legal Affairs of the Presidential Secretariat Hariguptha Rohanadheera on Monday (1) after he had demanded a copy of it for nearly a month. However, the Cardinal did comment on the recommendations allegedly made by the report calling for the ban of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) organisation. “Such recommendations are diverting the path to finding the true masterminds behind the attacks,” said Cardinal Ranjith. Previously on 1 March, Siam Sect Asgiriya Chapter Supreme Sangha Council Secretary Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Thero expressed similar sentiments to The Morning, saying that focusing on the recommendations in the report is a distraction to providing true justice to the victims. The report was tabled in Parliament last week, following which copies were given to the Mahanayakes (Chief Prelates) of the Malwatta/Malwatte and Asgiri Chapters of the Siam Sect and the Archdiocese of Colombo on 1 March. It was also revealed that if there is no transparent process to deliver true justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks by the second anniversary of the Easter Sunday bombings on 21 April, the Archdiocese of Colombo would be initiating a “black flag” protest. As such, the Archdiocese of Colombo has requested Catholic households to prominently display a black flag in their houses and homes from 21 April onwards if there are no such positive developments. In a statement issued to the press today, Cardinal Ranjith said that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), and the State Intelligence Service (SIS) have neglected their duties in the investigations into the terrorists behind the Easter Sunday attacks. “We are suspicious about the gravity of the investigations conducted by these law enforcement agencies. We also want to be clear that we do not see any explicit action being taken by these law enforcement institutions to arrest the masterminds behind the attacks,” said Cardinal Ranjith. As such, since there is no clear evidence on justice being meted out to the victims of the terror attacks, the churches in the Archdiocese of Colombo would be engaging in protests in the coming weeks, seeking true justice, beginning with Black Sunday. Moreover, Cardinal Ranjith has also stated that he would be seeking international intervention into the matter in the future if a more transparent process is not carried out. 


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