Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremsinghe has reiterated his opposition to any international inquiry into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, just weeks after a fiery interview in which he denounced any attempts at international involvement.
The Presidential Media Division issued a statement questioning an editorial published in the Gnanarthaya Pradeepaya newspaper which called for an international investigation into the bombings.
“We cannot endorse the idea of international investigations into Sri Lanka’s internal matters,” said the PMD in response to the editorial. “The Constitution of Sri Lanka and all other existing laws do not provide for conducting international investigations,” it claimed. “Consequently, carrying out such investigations would be in violation of the law.”
Controversy around state involvement in the attacks came into prominence once more after a documentary released by Channel 4 in which witnesses testified that state intelligence officials actively conspired with the National Thowheed Jamath to conduct blasts, to create a security climate that would be conducive to the subsequent election of Gotabaya Rajapakse.
Wickremesinghe’s latest statement comes as The Catholic Bishops Conference in Sri Lanka highlighted his interview with Deutsche Welle, where the president claimed several international police agencies including the FBI and British Police had already reported on the attack.
“This fact has been brought to the attention of the general public as well as the Bishops’ Conference for the first time,” said a letter to the president. “In these circumstances it would be appreciated if Your Excellency could share with us copies of the said reports as well.”
President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Harold Anthony Perera said he was “surprised by the controversy over the calls for an international inquiry as President Wickremesinghe himself declared his intention to seek the assistance of Scotland Yard over a year ago”, according to a report in The Island.
“The Bishop said that the government couldn’t, under any circumstances, absolve itself of the responsibility for implementing recommendations made by its own inquiring authority,” the Island continued.
The media release by the PMD can be read here and Island article here.
