The Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Sri Lanka has expressed that it does not have confidence or trust in the government investigations conducted into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, Opposition Leader MP Sajith Premadasa said.
Addressing the Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 17), MP Premadasa said that in a letter sent to the President, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has refuted the government’s claims that 99% of the investigations into the Easter attacks have been completed.
Stating that they are suspicious about some of the incidents and facts contained in the investigation report related to the incident, he said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has stressed that a formal investigation is needed.
The Opposition Leader further said that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has also emphasized that it has no confidence in the credibility of the parliamentary committee in this regard.
“Presenting a three-point proposal in this regard, they have called for investigations to be conducted under the supervision of an international independent investigation team, CID officers who had been earlier transferred to different areas to be appointed to the local investigation team, and to suspend the service of the higher officials under investigation related to the incident until the completion of the investigation,” MP Premadasa revealed.
The Opposition Leader also noted that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has refuted the President’s statement during a recent interview with German media of a conflict between the institution and the Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith.
MP Premadasa pointed out that in order for the Parliamentary Select Committee on the investigation to be successful, the opposition should be allowed to nominate its chairman and the composition of the 9-11 Commission should be equal in that the government and the opposition are represented.
Warning that the opposition will not participate if it is otherwise, MP Premadasa said that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will take further decisions based on the decisions of the Archbishop and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference. (NewsWire)
