What does a government do when every trick in the political playbook fails to distract from the very issues that catapulted it to power? When failures, unfulfilled promises, and fresh scandals begin to coalesce into a maelstrom of discontent, diversionary tactics lose their efficacy. This is the sobering reality facing the National People’s Power (NPP) Government as it nears its first anniversary in office – a moment that should have marked consolidation, but now looms as a mountain that needs to be conquered.
Whatever the pundits may say about the so-called mainstream parties’ inability to seize the moment last September, the reality is that the NPP’s rise to power was not accidental. It was propelled by a groundswell of public frustration: years of corruption, opacity, and abuse of power had bred an appetite for change. The promise of a comprehensive investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks of 2019, a national trauma that remains shrouded in mystery, was an added incentive. The public demanded answers and accountability. They voted for a government that promised both. But today, those same expectations have boomeranged on the NPP’s credibility.
For the most part, the NPP created its own narrative of events. Now, the party appears to be a victim of those same narratives. Rather than addressing the deeply-embedded issues head-on, the regime appears to have bet on short-term tactics. Plan A: ride the anti-corruption wave while downplaying uncomfortable promises like investigating the Easter Sunday attacks. When that didn’t suffice, Plan B emerged: attempt to fracture the already divided Opposition and shift focus from the persistent issues. Ironically, this strategy seems to have backfired spectacularly, with fractures now appearing within its own ranks.
Last week, no fewer than four prominent party figures were placed in the public spotlight for different reasons. Two ministers and a newly-appointed mayor are facing allegations of fraud. The Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court on Friday (25) directed the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau to record statements from Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe, and Kaduwela Mayor Ranjan Jayalal over the allegedly fraudulent leasing of a property owned by the National Workers’ Institute.
Separately, another scandal is brewing: former Army officer turned Deputy Minister Aruna Jayasekara is facing serious allegations about his role as Eastern Commander during the period leading up to the Easter Sunday terror attacks. These allegations strike not just at the heart of the NPP’s integrity, but at the very promise on which it was elected: to ensure transparency, accountability, and justice.
The Easter Sunday terror attacks are a wound that refuses to heal short of exposing those responsible for it. Call it divine intervention or whatever, the reality is that in a nation that forgets anything and everything in two weeks, this matter has remained current since 21 April 2019. Six years on, the masterminds remain unidentified and the public, particularly the Christian community, remains in anguish. But the issue is no longer just emotional; it’s profoundly political and economic.
The Government promised to publicly identify the masterminds behind the attacks on 21 April this year – three months ago. Since then, it’s been silence. The implications of this silence go far beyond justice for the victims. Consider the economic cost of the attacks. By 2018, Sri Lanka was on the verge of economic takeoff. Key indicators – growth, foreign investment, and tourism – were trending upwards. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)-led fiscal correction had begun to bear fruit. Then, the Easter Sunday attacks happened, and everything changed in an instant.
Tourism collapsed. Investor confidence plummeted. By the time the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the economy was already in hospital; the fallout from the terror attacks and tax cuts of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime put it in intensive care. Therefore, it is disingenuous to pin Sri Lanka’s economic collapse on the seemingly fashionable ‘76-year curse.’ In hindsight, the Easter Sunday attacks were the spark that lit the fuse to economic collapse.
To date, 2018 remains the benchmark year for most domestic economic comparisons – a year that still holds the record for tourist arrivals despite being marred by an internal political coup in October that year which ruined the peak winter season. It is only now, in 2025, that tourist arrivals have reached those same levels. Imagine where tourism would be today had the attacks not taken place.
It is for these reasons that the issue refuses to die. Just last week a raft of new revelations cast serious aspersions on the very people tasked with finding out the truth, suggesting a deep cover-up that is still being enacted. In a parliamentary speech that can only be described as explosive, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP and President’s Counsel Nizam Kariapper made serious allegations implicating none other than the current Deputy Minister of Defence.
According to Kariapper, Deputy Minister Jayasekara, in his former capacity as Eastern Commander, allegedly played a role in suppressing evidence tied to the 2019 bombings. He pointed to CID investigations that allegedly uncovered a direct link between weapons used in the Easter attacks and the 2018 killing of two Police officers in Vavunathivu. The same CID reports, Kariapper claimed, also documented that military Intelligence was aware of Zahran Hashim and his group’s radical activities as early as 2015, yet no action was taken. The only person prosecuted was a Tamil sergeant while military officers named in the report remain untouched.
The MP raised alarming questions about the role played by the military officers and the reason as to why they have not been questioned or prosecuted to date. He also referred to a “Big Boss” who he claimed was someone powerful enough to continue to orchestrate a cover-up and even suppress judicial action.
Jayasekara’s appointment as Eastern Commander came just weeks after then President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Government in late 2018. That was followed shortly by the Vavunathivu killings. Kariapper questioned whether this was a mere coincidence or something more troubling. The MP’s revelations come in the backdrop of a recent comment made by the President that in order to get to the bottom of the investigation, the regime may even have to investigate itself.
Meanwhile, the curious case of ex-top cop Nilantha Jayawardena has raised the spectre of scapegoats and manipulation. Up until Kariapper’s statement in Parliament last week, the main scapegoat for the Easter failures was Senior DIG Jayawardena, the former Head of the State Intelligence Service, who was recently dismissed after a disciplinary inquiry by the National Police Commission. To make matters worse, the Communications Director of the local Catholic Church made headlines by publicly calling for his execution – an unprecedented intervention.
But now, the narrative appears to be shifting. Opposition MPs argue that Jayawardena had, in fact, played his part and informed key officials, among them the current Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security and the current CID Chief, about the threat weeks in advance. If that is in fact the case, then it is pertinent to question as to why only Jayawardena has been put in the dock and not his peers who failed to act on the intel. The irony is that these peers are today in charge of the investigation.
Following the developments last week, the investigations thus far reek of a whitewash. What is troubling is that this whitewashing is yet ongoing, with allegations of obstruction of justice, institutional betrayal, and a campaign to ensure that the truth never sees the light of day. In this backdrop, even though the public may be divided in ideology, it is united in frustration. From unresolved investigations to institutional corruption, there is a growing perception that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
The NPP must now contend with a credibility crisis that it cannot afford. Its honeymoon is over. The Local Government Elections have already sent a message: support is eroding. Unless it acts decisively and transparently, that support will continue to decline. There is still a path to redemption, but it requires astute leadership. A credible, external, and independent investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks is essential. Nothing less will do considering the fact that the current probe is compromised beyond repair.
With looming international trade renegotiations, including the fast-approaching Trump tariff review, and a fragile economy that survives on IMF support, the Government has far more urgent issues than managing internal drama or engaging in political theatre.
The NPP would do well to go easy on sideshows and focus instead on course correction. It must rein in errant members whose scandals threaten to permanently stain the Government’s image. Accountability must start at home. Public confidence cannot be won back through speeches or symbolic gestures; it can only be earned through credible action.