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Easter Sunday PCoI report to Cabinet 

14 Feb 2021

The final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Easter Sunday terror attacks will be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers this week, The Sunday Morning learnt. It is also learnt that the contents of the report will be discussed at length by the Cabinet, after which it would be submitted to Parliament. As confirmed by a senior Cabinet Minister, the contents of the report have not yet been revealed to anybody within the Government, and are known only to the President. He further added that nothing with regard to the report was discussed at last week’s Cabinet meeting. When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Co-Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Ramesh Pathirana also confirmed the possibility of the PCoI report being presented to the Cabinet this week.  The report was handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa by PCoI Chairman Supreme Court Judge Justice Janak de Silva at the Presidential Secretariat on 1 February. It comprises 472 pages, 215 annexures, and six volumes. The first and second interim reports were handed over to the President on 20 December 2019, and on 2 March 2020, respectively.  Former President Maithripala Sirisena appointed the PCoI on 22 September 2019 to investigate and report on the series of bombings on Easter Sunday of 2019, and to recommend necessary action based on the findings.  The PCoI recorded evidence from 457 persons over a period of 214 days. Among them were political authorities and members of the security services, as well as those affected by the carnage and related activities. Eight suicide terrorists carried out deadly attacks on 21 April 2019, targeting hotels and Christian churches. They exploded bombs at the St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade, the St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, the Zion Church in Batticaloa, and three hotels in Colombo; namely Shangri-La, the Kingsbury, and Cinnamon Grand, while two terrorists carried out suicide bomb attacks in Dematagoda and Dehiwala. The series of attacks cost 270 lives and injured around 500.  The Opposition last week urged the Government to table the report of the PCoI in Parliament. Leader of the House and Foreign Affairs Minister Dinesh Gunawardena noted that the report could be tabled in Parliament, and that the Government would not interfere with the process. However, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena informed Parliament that the report would be tabled in Parliament after it is received from the Presidential Secretariat.  Meanwhile, urging the Government to publicise the final report of the PCoI, Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith stressed he was ready to seek international assistance if the law is not properly enforced against those responsible for the attacks. Furthermore, as exclusively reported by The Morning last week, the final report of the PCoI had recommended that criminal charges be filed against the outspoken Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera. However, despite media reports to the contrary, it was learnt that the PCoI had not recommended that any charges be filed against then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.


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