Former Attorney General (AG), President’s Counsel Dappula de Livera’s explosive claim that he is of the opinion that there was a massive conspiracy surrounding the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks has resulted in him being called for questioning in the investigations conducted by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID). The former AG being summoned to the TID, came in the backdrop of  the Catholic community and others preparing to hold a silent protest in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the Easter Sunday attacks which falls today (21).

The former AG’s statement, according to him, was based on the information that had been gathered through investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks, regarding which the public have limited knowledge. Since the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, only certain information about the incident and investigations into the same were revealed to the public, and even certain portions of the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks also remain a mystery to the public. In such a backdrop, the former AG’s statement regarding a conspiracy behind the incident, which resonates with a considerable segment of the citizenry that is questioning the success and transparency of the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks, renewing the public’s doubts is unavoidable.

Therefore, it is crucial to understand that there is a direct connection between the manner in which the public responds to legal actions and investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks and the extent to which the public is apprised of the findings of these investigations. The longer the public remains unclear and uninformed of the findings of the investigations, the more space there is for conspiracy theories and resultant doubts and fears in the general society. Now that a considerable period of time has passed since the Easter Sunday attacks, perhaps it is time to reconsider how much of those findings should be kept hidden from the public. The failure to do so would allow groundless rumours, biassed media reports and incomplete pieces of information to worry the public further.

While it is understandable that many aspects of the Easter Sunday attacks, including the investigations into the same, are sensitive and complex, the authorities have stated that Police investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks have been concluded, and that some of the court cases have also been concluded. Therefore, without leaving room for the public to panic and be misled, the authorities should reveal what they can without jeopardising any such investigations, officers involved in those, or national security with regard to the said investigations and their findings. The relevant Ministers including the Public Security Minister Tiran Alles should provide an overview of the concluded investigations, whether they have been referred to the AG or other relevant parties, and what steps would be taken regarding those. At the same time, other pertinent information such as what is being done to collect the compensation that was ordered to be paid by several parties including former President and incumbent Opposition Parliamentarian Maithripala Sirisena and what happened to the former Government’s determined plan to combat radicalisation based on religion and ethnicity, should be revealed, allowing the public to have an open discourse based on facts instead of rumours.

One of the main parties that deserves to know this information is the Catholic community, who was severely affected by the Easter Sunday attacks and is still seeking justice for the victims of the same. The Catholic community has stated that they have not been formally invited by Alles to come together with the Police to study the relevant investigation reports of the Easter Sunday attacks which have been compiled thus far. In a context where the many in the Catholic community have lost faith in every administration that ruled since the incident, dispelling the rumours that exist among them by shedding some light on the matters that concern them should be a priority of the Government. 

Providing clarity for victims should be considered seriously, and it is not something that should be delivered through complex statements given at lengthy press releases, but should be communicated to the victims through cordial and informed discussions.