Fresh twist in Easter attack probe

• Gammanpila seeks ministerial meeting to hand over sensitive reports  

The debate over the alleged concealment of the reports on  the series of deadly blasts that rocked Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, 2019  took a new turn yesterday with Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader  Udaya Gammanpila seeking an appointment in writing with Public Security  Minister Vijitha Herath to hand over what he said ‘all defence  sensitive materials’ to him.  

Earlier, Mr. Gammanpila challenged the government to  publish these reports, sparking a debate why people are kept in the dark.  Later, the government gave Mr. Gammanpila a three–day ultimatum to  hand over the reports that he claims to possess.   

These reports, commissioned by former President Ranil  Wickremesinghe, deal with the role of the intelligence services during  the time of the attack and allegations raised in the Channel 4 documentary.   

They were prepared by committees led by I.M. Imam and A.N.J. de Alwis.  

 As many as eight blasts occurred in and around Colombo  on April 19, 2019, when people gathered at churches for Easter. Three  churches, St. Anthony’s Shrine, St. Sebastian’s Church and Zion Church  and three luxury hotels in Colombo, were targeted in a series of  coordinated terrorist suicide bombings. In the attack, a number of  foreign nationals from countries such as China, the United States  and the United Kingdom died. Key foreign intelligence organisations  such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States  assisted in investigations in nabbing the local network of terrorists.   

Mr. Gammanpila told Daily Mirror that he was not in a  position to publish security-sensitive details and therefore rang up  Minister Herath to discuss the next step. Afterwards, he said he sent a  text message to the minister but received no response on both  occasions.  

 “Therefore, I sent a letter by registered post asking for  an appointment to meet him and hand over the materials I have in a  responsible manner,” he said.