• Detain and question him: Fr. Jude Chrishantha

The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has informed former President, Member of Parliament Maithripala Sirisena to make himself available to record a statement regarding the controversial statement the former president made regarding knowledge of perpetrators involved in the 2019 Easter Sunday Bombings in Sri Lanka.

According to the Inspector General of Police, the CID has begun an inquiry into the controversial statement made by Sirisena, and the former president is expected to provide a statement this morning (25). The Sunday Morning yesterday (24) reported that the CID was seeking the Attorney General’s (AG) advice on questioning the former President regarding his recent assertion of being “well aware” of the true perpetrators behind the Easter Sunday bombings.

Sirisena said last week that he knows the “real masterminds” of the terror attacks on 21 April 2019, which have to-date been attributed to a local extremist group who were influenced by the ‘Islamic State’ ISIS ideology. Sirisena stated that he was ready to reveal that information if summoned by the Judiciary.

The former President’s sudden awakening from slumber regarding the attack, deemed by many as a colossal security failure during the Yahapalanaya Government era, has dragged the spotlight back on the most devastating, high casualty, networked terrorist attack in Sri Lankan history, and the many controversies which surround it.

With this statement, a number of parties, including the Catholic Church representing the majority victims of the terror attacks, and various political parties have demanded that Sirisena be immediately arrested and interrogated. An opposition member of parliament has already lodged a complaint with the Police regarding it.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, the National Director of Communications of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka, Fr. Jude Chrishantha Fernando however said that instead of merely recording a statement, the relevant agencies including the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) should work to detain and question Sirisena, considering the seriousness of his statement.

"Sirisena stated before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) that investigated these terror attacks that he did not know any information about this. There are many judicial proceedings in relation to this incident and Sirisena was found guilty in relation to some of them. The court even ordered him to pay compensation to the victims. During any of those proceedings, he did not make any revelation. That is why the relevant agencies should immediately find out how he came to know this serious information all of a sudden." he said.

Following Sirisena’s controversial statement, the Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles had instructed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon to launch an immediate investigation into the matter. DIG Thalduwa yesterday told The Daily Morning that the IGP had accordingly directed the CID's DIG to look into the same. The Ministry announced that the CID would be recording a statement from Sirisena during the course of the day today (25).

“The suspects who are currently in remand custody in connection with the terror attacks are minor offenders. The real culprits are still at large. I am ready to reveal information about the perpetrators and make a special statement if I am summoned before the court. I have been keeping this information secret, the relevant authorities should protect its confidentiality. Making it public will pose a risk to my life, and even my family members." Sirisena had stated.

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. Sirisena, who was the President by April 2019, was on a foreign tour at the time of the bombings.