Another probe on Easter Sunday carnage

The Catholic Church has rejected the latest committee as well, claiming that it would be a futile exercise

The Presidential Committee of Inquiry appointed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on June 12 to look into the intelligence failures that led to the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in 2019 is the fourth such investigative mechanism in relation to those attacks put in place by the present and past Presidents. 

Two of them – a committee and a Presidential commission were appointed by former President Maithripala Sirisena during whose tenure the macabre crime took place. Wickremesinghe who was the Prime Minister at the time of the incident has appointed the other two – both are committees. 

Latest Committee 

The latest Committee is to investigate the actions of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), the Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) and other authorities concerning prior intelligence received about those terrorist attacks. The Committee is chaired by A.N.J. De Alwis, Retired High Court Judge. Other members of the committee include SLAS special grade officer K.N.K. Somaratne and Senior Lawyer W.M.A.N. Nishane. 

The committee’s mandate includes examining whether adequate actions and measures were taken by the SIS, CNI, and other authorities based on the prior intelligence and evaluating the sufficiency of these measures. The report of the Committee is due by September 15. Additionally, the committee will investigate the circumstances surrounding the Directorate of Military Intelligence’s (DMI) initial claim that the killing of two police officers at Vavunathivu on November 30, 2018, was connected to the LTTE.

As they did in response to the committee appointed by President Wickremesinghe in September last year to investigate the serious allegations levelled by Britain’s Channel 4 in a documentary on a purported mastermind of these bomb attacks, the Catholic Church has rejected the latest committee as well, claiming that it would be a futile exercise. They have requested the President to implement the recommendations of the commission of inquiry appointed by former President Maithripala Sirisena on the terrorist attacks, instead.  

Apart from these four Presidential investigations, two more local investigations – by a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) and by the Supreme Court through a fundamental rights case – have been carried out on the same attacks. 

Accordingly, the investigations initiated by Presidents and other entities are as follows: First, the committee appointed by President Sirisena on April 22, 2019, under the chairmanship of Supreme Court judge Vijith Malalgoda. Former IGP N.K. Ilangakoon and Former Law and Order Ministry Secretary Padmasiri Jayamanne were the other two members of the Committee. The Committee submitted its report to President Sirisena on June 10, 2019, over a month after it was scheduled to. 

Intelligence reports 

Second, just over a month after the tragedy, on May 22, 2019, the Parliament, through a resolution, appointed a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to look into the attacks, with Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri being the chairman. The PSC was mandated with among others whether law enforcement authorities had received intelligence reports relating to such attacks, prior thereto and whether the relevant authorities took adequate measures to prevent and/or mitigate such attacks.

Third, President Sirisena on September 20, 2019, through an extraordinary gazette, appointed a Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) to probe the same. This Commission had Supreme Court Judge Janak de Silva as its Chairman. The final report of the Commission was handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa by the Chairman of the Commission on February 1, 2021.  

Fourth, 12 fundamental rights petitions were filed against authorities including President Sirisena who were responsible for the security of the people in 2019. Court on January 12 ordered former President Sirisena to pay Rs. 100 million, former Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara and Former State Intelligence Services (SIS) Chief Nilantha Jayawardene to pay Rs. 75 million each, former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando to pay Rs. 50 million and former National Intelligence Service Chief Sisira Mendis to pay Rs. 10 million as compensation to the 
victims of the tragedy. 

Fifth, Britain’s Channel 4 broadcast a video that suggested through what it said a whistleblower that the SIS was behind the Easter Sunday carnage. President Wickremesinghe, in response to the uproar that followed appointed a three-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge S.I.Imam to look into the allegation levelled by the Channel 4. The committee had been instructed to submit its report before October 31 last year, but the term of the committee seems to have been extended since the report is yet to be presented. 

Sixth investigative initiative was the committee appointed by President this month to look into the intelligence aspects. 

These apart, out of the thousands of people who were arrested subsequent to the terrorist attacks on April 21, 2019 (Easter Sunday) that killed around 270 people and injured over 500 people, 25 men who were said to be associates and relatives of the suicide bombers involved in the crime were indicted. The case is still pending. 

Two more investigations 

President Wickremesinghe had proposed two more investigations. On the eve of the Presidential election held in Parliament on July 20, 2022, Wickremesinghe, the then Acting President stated that he plans to obtain the assistance of the Scotland Yard police of the UK to complete the investigation. However, the Catholic Church rejected the call accusing that Wickremesinghe, who is contesting the Presidential election was using the terror attacks to achieve his political goal.

However, on September 11, 2022, President Ranil Wickremesinghe during a meeting with USAID Administrator Samantha Power said that Scotland Yard has been requested to review the reports and reach a final conclusion on claims that there was a hidden hand behind the bombings. Yet, after more than a year, on October 2 last year, the Daily Mirror quoting British diplomatic sources said no such request had been made.  

The President’s Media Division while announcing the Imam Committee claimed in the same statement that President Wickremesinghe was taking steps to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee over a statement made by Dappula de Livera, the Attorney General at the time of the terrorist attacks that there had been a grand conspiracy behind the crime. However, it has not materialised. 

Amid all these local investigations President Wickremesinghe told Martin Gak of the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) during an interview in Berlin on October 2 that investigators of investigative arms of six foreign countries, namely “Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the UK police and other authoritative bodies in Australia, India, China and Pakistan have issued reports on the attack.” 

In this process, heads of SIS and CNI, the two intelligence arms of the state have been ordered to pay compensation by the Supreme Court, for intelligence failures, the prime concern of the latest committee. Besides, the PSC appointed in 2019 was also mandated to look into those issues. 

No more analyses or arguments are needed, this history of investigations alone speaks volumes. After all, all these commissions and committees were expected to mete out justice to the victims of a macabre crime.