Sri Lanka pledges to probe Channel 4 documentary on Easter Sunday attacks

by admin
Oct 30, 2024

The Sri Lankan government will probe into a Channel 4 documentary that highlighted state involvement in the deadly 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, after Sinhala nationalist leader Udaya Gammanpila called for an investigation to identify a government source.

Udaya Gammanpila, the leader of Sinhala nationalist Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU), urged the government to investigate a person who claimed to be a senior government official in the Channel 4 documentary aired in September of last year.

The Channel 4 documentary alleged that senior Sri Lankan government and military figures played a role in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings which killed over 250 people. High placed whistle blowers exposed high Sri Lankan government officials, including the Rajapaksa family, as being the masterminds behind the Easter Sunday bombings.

During a media briefing last week, Gammanpila challenged the current administration headed by newly elected president Anura Kumara Dissanayake to form a committee to identify the individual who made those claims in the video.

“If the individual accusing the intelligence agencies and military personnel is indeed a high-ranking government official now, then the government should take action against him for treason,” he said.

Speaking at a press conference this week Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath said the government would “open a comprehensive investigation of the Easter Sunday attacks including the claims made by Channel 4”. 

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