The Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL) asked all parties including the Government to stop using the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019 for political gains and implement the recommendations contained in the reports that have already been released by the committees that investigated it.
Former Parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila recently vowed to release two unpublished reports on the Easter Sunday attacks if the Government fails to do so by today (21), and the Minister of Public Security Vijitha Herath challenged the former to submit them to the Government within three days, citing legal concerns.
Commenting on the exchange of challenges between Gammanpila and Herath to The Daily Morning yesterday (20), CBCSL Spokesperson Rev. Fr. Jude Chrishantha Fernando said that there are already enough reports on the terror attacks such as those compiled by the Committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Vijith K. Malalgoda, the Parliamentary Select Committee and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed in 2019, but what is lacking is action on their findings. “There are more than enough facts and reports based on which justice can be served to the victims of the terror attacks and their families. All that everyone should do is to ask the Government to implement the recommendations in those reports, and the Government should do it.”
Accusing both Gammanpila and Government of attempting to gain political advantages by misusing the matter, he said that the terror attacks should not be something to challenge each other on. “This is not something light. The people are still suffering due to this massacre. Don’t make it something to get political advantages of. If someone has something, they should submit it to the Government, and they (Government) should serve justice. This is not about becoming the first to disclose reports and so on. Everyone should get together and serve justice to the victims instead of challenging each other.”
However, earlier the Catholic Church has strongly campaigned for the expedient release of the two reports.
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.
Meanwhile, Gammanpila said yesterday that the deadline given for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to release the two unpublished reports regarding the terror attacks would end at 10 a.m. today. He said that the President has until this morning to release the reports and fulfil the constitutional responsibility. Failure to do so, he warned, could result in the risk of impeachment.
Attempts to contact Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath and Secretary to the Ministry, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Ravi Senevirathne proved futile.