Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has requested all parties not to politicize the recent reports unveiled on the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks.
“This report, which has caused a lot of controversy, came into my hands during the last presidential election, but due to my reluctance to connect the Easter Sunday attack to politics, I did not make those reports public,” Ranil Wickremesinghe said issuing a special statement.
The former President said his aim was to obtain the response of the Bishops’ Conference and appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the collapse of the intelligence services during the Easter attacks.
“A collapse of the National Intelligence Service poses a great threat to the country’s national security,” he pointed out.
The former President further said that he had also intended to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee and then submit its report to a three-member committee of senior officers and experts to propose a complete reorganization of the intelligence agencies.
Ranil Wickremesinghe further said that all the statements made by the Cardinal regarding him are baseless and called on the bishops’ conference to make an official statement regarding the Easter reports.
His comments come in connection to the two unpublished reports on the Easter attacks that were investigated during his tenure and recently revealed to the media by former MP Udaya Gammanpila.
While disclosing details to the media, Gammanpila said the reports recommend legal action against Senior Police officials Ravi Seneviratne and Shani Abeysekera who hold high-ranking designations in the current Anura Kumara Dissanayake government.
The full statement of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe;
After I became the eighth Executive President of Sri Lanka, I handed over the Easter Sunday Attack Commission reports to the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Harold Anthony Fernando, at his request.
After that, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference had a number of clarifications, and those that were presented to me were forwarded to the Attorney General. They were also instructed to discuss all related matters with the Bishops’ Conference.
Requests had also been made to look into the revelations that were aired on Channel 4. In order to uncover the truth about it, I asked the retired Supreme Court judge S. Imam to head this commission.
- The three-member committee comprising retired Supreme Court Judge S. Imam, former Air Force Commander Chief Air Marshal Jayalath Weerakkodi and President’s Council Harsha Soza were appointed.
In addition, A. M. J. De Alvis, W. M. A. N. Nishan and K. N. K. Somaratne were appointed to another three-member committee.
None of the people appointed to these committees are people I know personally. Arrangements were also made to provide support to these committees from the Attorney General’s Department.
One of the objectives of appointing the above Committees was to look into the steps that were taken when the Indian Intelligence Service informed our intelligence services about a potential terrorist attack. Another responsibility assigned to this committee was to inquire into whether the measures taken in relation were sufficient.
The State Intelligence Division and the Criminal Investigation Department, during their investigations, announced that the two police officers killed in Vavunativu were killed by the L.T.T.E.
Why was it the official stance for four months that these killings were done by the LTTE? This committee also inquired about the steps taken in that regard during that time.
The Alwis Committee Report is not a report prepared to take revenge on the then Senior DIG and current Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security, Ravi Seneviratne, nor the former Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Shani Abeysekera.
The report further recommended that all officers including former Inspector General of Police Pujitha Jayasundara, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Nilantha Jayawardena, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Nandana Munasinghe, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Lalith Patinayake, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Abdul Latif, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Ravi Seneviratne should have legal action taken against them regarding the Easter Sunday incident.
In addition to this, the report has recommended that former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police and current Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Thennakoon also face disciplinary action. Therefore, it is very clear that the definition of this as a fabricated report against Ravi Seneviratne and Shani Abeysekera is baseless.
The observations related to the killing of the two police officers in the Vavunativu area mentioned in the report are also very important. In relation to that incident, it was first announced that remnants of the LTTE organization carried out the killings. As a result, Thambirasa Kumar and Rasanayagam Sarvanandan were arrested.
When the annexes of the report are examined, many contradictory facts are revealed. In one of the reports of the intelligence agencies, it is mentioned that Sivaneshthurai Chandrakanth alias Pillayan, who was in jail at that time, was behind this incident. Another related intelligence agency report also stated that the husband of a woman who allegedly had an affair with a police officer named Ganesh who died in Vavunativu was killed.
The Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) has stated that the reason why it took four months for the intelligence agencies to trace the activities of the National Tauhid Jamaat (NTJ) was because the national intelligence agencies did not have a formal network for obtaining information.
“Regarding the gap of four months until discovery of the NTJ, the DMI’s explanation was that it was attributable to the lack of network they had at the time to elicit the intelligence.” –
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO INTELLIGENCE COORDINATION AND INVESTIGATIVE PROCESSES RELATED TO THE EASTER SUNDAY BOMBINGS OF 21ST APRIL 2019 (Page No 12)
Although the Indian intelligence, which has a foreign intelligence service, had a strong information network in this area, a severe collapse can be seen in the operation of Sri Lankan intelligence in this regard.
It is unfortunate that we do not have a strong intelligence network. This is a big threat to the security of the country. My attention was drawn to this matter.
My aim was to obtain the response of the Bishops’ Conference and appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the collapse of the intelligence services during the Easter Sunday attacks. A collapse of the National Intelligence Service poses a great threat to the country’s national security.
I had also intended to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee and then submit its report to a three-member committee of senior officers and experts to propose a complete reorganization of the intelligence agencies. I would also like to recall that the Easter Sunday Commission report made no mention of the severe collapse of the National Intelligence Service.
This report, which has caused a lot of controversy, came into my hands during the last presidential election, but due to my reluctance to connect the Easter Sunday attack to politics, I did not make those reports public. I also mention that I followed the above practice as there was a need to call for a report in this regard.
All the statements made by the Cardinal regarding me are baseless. The bishops’ conference should make an official statement regarding the Easter reports.
Taking all the above into consideration, I request all parties not to politicize the Easter reports. (Newswire)