11 November 2021 01:45 pm Views - 3751
None of those Muslim youth who underwent ISIS training in Syria participated in the Easter Sunday attacks as per the investigations carried out just after the attacks, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today.
Mr. Wickremesinghe made this remark in response to the allegation made by Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekera that the previous government neglected the Muslim youth who have undergone ISIS training in Syria would launch a terror attack in Sri Lanka, said none of these youth have participated in the attack.
Also he said he was never informed him about the prior warnings on the attack. “I was never informed about the impending attacks though the matter was discussed at the security council during that time,” he said.
Referring to the allegations made by the Minister on the Millenium city, he said the issue at that time was that the order given by former President Chandrika Kumaratunge not to locate safe houses within Colombo was neglected. “I ordered the relevant persons to ensure the safety of those intelligence officers,” he added.
Mr. Wickremesinghe and State Minister Nimal Lansa and a few other opposition MPs urged the government to table all volumes of the report of the Presidential Commission which probed the Easter Sunday attacks before the House.
Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kirlella said Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella have accepted that Zahran and few others were paid salaries for helping the intelligence units since 2010.(Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)