Easter Sunday attack probe: Sirisena, Ranil statements expose hostile vibes
Former President Maithripala Sirisena and f o r mer Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe testified this week before the Commission of Inquiry probing the 2018 Easter Sunday terror attacks. Their statements further exposed how conflicts that arose between the two leaders of the Yahapalana Government eventually led to a complete breakdown in communication. This breakdown also affected various branches of the Government, including defence and intelligence agencies, with disastrous consequences.
The statements also showed how differences between the two continued to persist even in the immediate aftermath of the terror attacks. Following are highlights from the testimony given by Mr Sirisena and Mr Wickremesinghe:
Former President Maithripala Sirisena
There is no rule that the Premier has to take part in the National Security Council (NSC) meetings. Accordingly, I decided not to include Prime Minister Wickremesinghe for these meetings. Even on the occasions he did attend NSC meetings, he never commented on anything and left after a short while.
A bipartisan Government was in power from 2015, but conflicts arose due to power being shared under the 19th Amendment. There were many reasons for this. Back then, things were done according to the needs of NGOs. I opposed this interference by NGOs.
Though this was supposed to be a bipartisan Government, some did not heed my instructions. Premier Wickremesinghe had told Government ministers not to act on any instructions issued by me. Once he was reappointed as the PM after the verdict of the Supreme Court, ministers did not do anything I asked. That was what really happened. The National Economic Council (NEC) operated under me. PM Wickremesinghe instructed both the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank not to carry out any instructions issued by the NEC. It was this corrupt political system that created all these issues.
Look at what happened with the Central Bank Treasury Bond scandal. I got myself into this mess by agreeing to an unsuitable marriage with a political demon. This led to a rise in extremism.