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Catholic church to compel CID to quiz ex-AG Dappula 

13 Feb 2022

 
  • Claim about ‘grand conspiracy’ behind Easter attacks the focal point
  • No written request submitted by church yet
  By Buddhika Samaraweera The Catholic church is considering taking certain actions to compel the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and other relevant law enforcement authorities to question former Attorney General (AG) President’s Counsel (PC) Dappula de Livera regarding the controversial statement he made last year that there was a “grand conspiracy” behind the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019, The Morning learnt. A representative of the Catholic church told The Morning yesterday (13) that “the church would consider instituting some action that would be of help in getting the authorities to question de Livera PC”. However, the representative added that they have not yet made a written request to the CID or other relevant authorities that de Livera PC be questioned with regard to his statement. Speaking to the media in May 2021, shortly before his retirement, de Livera PC said that there was clear evidence of a grand conspiracy linked to the said terror attacks.  Following the statement, several parties including the Catholic church, have been insisting that De Livera PC be summoned to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and questioned regarding the matter. De Livera PC was not reachable for comment despite multiple attempts by The Morning to contact him. When contacted by The Morning in June 2021, National Catholic Centre for Social Communications Director Rev. Cyril Gamini Fernando said that de Livera PC must have made that statement after studying all the volumes of the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the terror attacks on Easter Sunday.  “Colombo Archbishop His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith was given only one volume of the said PCoI report, but there are several volumes. All those volumes were handed over to the then AG; that is to de Livera PC. The then AG, de Livera PC made that statement regarding a grand conspiracy, both as the AG and after studying all that material,” he added. On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three churches (St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, and Zion Church in Batticaloa) and three luxury hotels in Colombo (Cinnamon Grand Colombo, The Kingsbury Colombo, and Shangri-La Colombo) were targeted in a series of co-ordinated suicide bombings. Later that day, another two bomb explosions took place at a house in Dematagoda and the Tropical Inn Lodge in Dehiwala. A total of 269 people excluding the bombers were killed in the bombings, including about 45 foreign nationals, while at least 500 were injured. All eight of the suicide bombers in the attacks were Sri Lankan citizens associated with the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) organisation founded by one of the suicide bombers at Shangri-La Colombo, Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran alias Zahran Hashim.   


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