Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, the spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Colombo, was summoned to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), just days before Sri Lanka marked the 5th anniversary of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings last week.
The bombings, which occurred on April 21, 2019, claimed the lives of 268 people and injured more than 500 others.
Speaking outside the CID headquarters in Colombo Fernando said that he had already made the same statement before and had no hope justice would be meted out for the attacks.
“We have shared what we know plenty of times,” he said. “As far as I know, there is enough information to investigate and to find out the truth and who was behind this, based on information already revealed. But that is not happening.”
His remarks came as the Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith speaking at the main commemoration event held at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade levelled allegations at both Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe for failing to investigate the attacks.
“Rajapaksa, in the eyes of the Catholic community, became someone who reneged on his promises,” Ranjith told the memorial service.
“He delayed the submission of the first volume of the report and withheld others. Moreover, as President, he showed no interest in delivering justice despite being tasked with the responsibility. Instead, he opted to appoint a committee of six ministers to implement only selected recommendations.”
“One key investigator was imprisoned, while others were transferred to distant areas. It’s regrettable that only officials sympathetic to him were appointed to disrupt the investigations.”
Ranjith went on to highlight that on 23 October 2023, a letter was sent to Ranil Wickremesinghe however there was no response which indicated a reluctance to address the attacks.
Ranjith noted that despite recommendations to the Attorney General to take legal action against certain officials from the Government and security forces for failing to take action to prevent the attack, the Attorney General has remained silent.
Regarding the Church’s decision to seek redress from the international community, the Cardinal explained that this step was taken because all local options were closed to them. He emphasised that it was due to the inability to uncover the truth behind the incident that they turned to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
He pointed out that while an extremist Islamic group was involved in the attack, there was evidence of another group backing them. The lack of investigation and attempts to cover up the evidence can only lead to the conclusion that the current Government wants to sweep it under the carpet.
Regarding the Church’s decision to seek redress from the international community, the Cardinal explained that this step was taken because all local options were closed to them. He emphasised that it was due to the inability to uncover the truth behind the incident that they turned to the UNHRC. He clarified that this decision was not made out of a lack of love for the country but because all local avenues were unavailable. He questioned the Government on its failure to investigate the conspiracy behind the attack.
Since the Easter Sunday attacks Ranjith, a former Rajapaksa ally, has been campaigning for an international investigation into the bombings. This is a marked shift in his position, given his previous staunch opposiiton to any international investigation into the war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan state against Eelam Tamils.
