- Seeks full, transparent, and truthful probe
Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has urged Anura Kumara Dissanayake to honour his October 2024 pledge to victims of the Easter Sunday attacks by ensuring a full, transparent investigation that reveals the truth behind the 2019 massacre.
Addressing the seventh anniversary commemoration at St. Anthony’s Church, he alleged that successive power holders—including former Presidents, Police chiefs, and officials of the Attorney General’s Department—had failed to pursue the truth, instead confusing the public, undermining investigations, and appointing questionable committees. He further claimed that elements within a “deep State” had obstructed progress.
He noted that recommendations by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to take legal and disciplinary action against political figures and security officials for criminal negligence remain largely unimplemented. Recent findings, including material highlighted in a Channel 4 programme suggesting possible involvement of senior security officials, must be thoroughly examined, he said, adding that political resistance to such probes may stem from fear of exposure.
The Archbishop stressed that no individual—whether in politics, security, or business—should be above the law. Holding officials accountable is not a betrayal of national service, he said, rejecting attempts to frame such scrutiny as unpatriotic. “Truth and justice must prevail over narrow interests,” he asserted.
The coordinated bomb attacks of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings killed 278 people, including 45 foreign nationals and 68 children, and injured over 500. Attacks targeted churches in Kochchikade, Katuwapitiya, and Batticaloa, as well as leading Colombo hotels.
He also highlighted post-attack violence in May 2019, including assaults on Muslim communities in areas such as Negombo and Minuwangoda. Alleging police inaction, he called for investigations into whether these incidents were linked to the main attacks and whether security officials failed or were prevented from intervening.
Ranjith criticised what he described as politically driven attempts to promote one-sided narratives while ignoring contradictory evidence. He warned that interference aimed at blocking investigators, discouraging scrutiny of key actors, or dismissing new leads must be condemned. A comprehensive inquiry, he said, must consider all evidence, contradictions, and emerging revelations.
Among specific concerns, he called for further investigation into the figure known as Abu Hind and the fate of Sarah Jasmine, believed to possess critical information. He also raised alarm over deleted data from devices handed to the Criminal Investigation Department by former State Intelligence Director Nilantha Jayawardena, questioning whether evidence had been deliberately erased.
He urged authorities to examine why prior intelligence warnings—reportedly from Indian agencies—were not acted upon, and to investigate alleged attempts by intelligence and military officials to obstruct inquiries, including blocking the questioning of key suspects and influencing narratives around the attacks.
Ranjith further pointed to allegations that certain intelligence-linked individuals sought to attribute responsibility to the Islamic State to obscure other actors, and questioned why such lines of inquiry were halted on grounds of national security.
He also called for a probe into a pre-attack incident involving a suspicious lorry allegedly allowed to pass through a highway checkpoint on police orders, asking who authorised the decision and what it may have been transporting.
“What we ask,” he said, “is a serious, impartial investigation that reveals who was truly behind these attacks.”