State Minister of Rural Road Development Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan today addressed in Parliament allegations of links to the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks.
British media, Channel 4 yesterday released a video claiming that its Dispatches have exclusive interviews with high-placed whistleblowers who allege that some Sri Lankan government officials were complicit in the bombings.
Among the whistleblowers is Azad Maulana, the former spokesman of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP), Pillayan’s political party.
Appearing in the Channel 4 video, Azad Maulana alleged that a meeting took place between Easter Sunday bomber Zahran Hashim and the head of the State Intelligence Service Suresh Sallay in the East, adding that he himself was present at the time of the meeting.
Commenting on the revelation, State Minister Pillayan denied any links to the Easter Sunday attacks or the bombers saying such allegations are baseless.
State Minister Pillayan further accused his former spokesman of telling lies in order to strengthen his claim for asylum overseas.
Speaking in Parliament today, the state minister said Azad Maulana had officially informed the TMVP and left Sri Lanka over a year ago along with his family over personal issues.
Stating that Channel 4 has caused grave harm to Sri Lanka via its videos in the past as well, State Minister Pillayan said he has nothing to fear over the recently released documentary.
The state minister further said that he has doubts that Azad Maulana was attempting to safeguard religious, political, and social forces that had links to the attackers.
He also pointed out that these allegations could be considered attempts by certain factions to destroy his party’s presence in the East.
State Minister Pillayan also called for international assistance to investigate not only the allegations revealed on the Channel 4 video, but also investigate Azad Maulana over his claims.
“Such videos and allegations can result in causing instability in Sri Lanka once again,” he warned. (NewsWire)
