Sri Lanka’s new president vows fresh probe into Easter Attacks amid controversial appointment

by admin
Sep 24, 2024

Newly elected President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has assured the Archbishop of Colombo that he will do his utmost to uncover the truth behind the Easter Sunday attacks of 2019, pledging to launch a fresh investigation.

Dissanayake met Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and made this pledge shortly after being sworn in as the 9th Executive President of Sri Lanka. 

This pledge comes just a day after he appointed Ravi Seneviratne, a former senior security chief who headed the notorious Criminal Investigation Department (CID), as the Secretary of the Public Security Ministry.

Seneviratne joined the ranks of the National People’s Power, to head the party’s retired police collective.  At the time, he said his decision to join the NPP was driven by a desire to restore the rule of law in the country, which he believes has deteriorated significantly in recent times.

Seneviratne previously claimed that Gotabaya Rajapaksa’ s government “prevented the investigation” into the Easter Sunday attacks and that a travel ban was imposed on more than 700 CID officers in a bid to intimidate investigators.

The former CID chief is himself embroiled in a court case related to the incident, with investigations ongoing into allegations that Seneviratne, along with Shani Abeysekara, had disregarded warnings about the attacks during their tenure at the CID. To avoid arrest, he filed a petition with the Supreme Court (SC FR 242/2024) on September 20, 2024. The next hearing for the case has been scheduled for January 27, 2025. Seneviratne’s appointment to a position that will give him direct oversight of police and the security apparatus has drawn flack over a clear conflict of interest, as his authority over the Ministry of Public Security could potentially interfere with the ongoing investigation.

In 2023, Seneviratne was arrested for drunk driving and crashing into three other vehicles on Marine Drive in Wellawatta, Colombo. 

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