Attempt to trivialise Easter attacks and downplay lack of progress in probe

Parliament discussed this week the issue of the investigations into the East Sunday terror attacks of April 21, 2019. Mapping the views expressed in Parliament last week by various speakers and the statements made outside Parliament clearly demonstrates that the gravity of the suicide bombings is not realised by many.

The fact that even after five years, the full narrative behind the attacks that resulted in the loss of nearly 260 lives and injuries to over 500 has not been unravelled despite having had excellent investigators in charge of the investigations is in itself an indication that there is more to the attacks than meets the eye.

The overall institutional decay that has left many killings, like those of Lasantha Wickremetunga and Wasim Thajudeen, as well as the disappearance of Pradeep Ekneligoda and others, unresolved naturally gives rise to suspicions in the public mind as to why the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks have not revealed answers to the questions as to who carried out the dastardly attack and why.

Cardinal criticised

There is also an attempt to trivialise the Easter Sunday attacks, with some questioning why the matter is being repeatedly raised. Some SLPP Parliamentarians question why Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was raising the issue continuously and calling for a rigorous investigation when the Buddhist clergy had not made similar calls when attacks had been made by the LTTE in Aranthalawa, Sri Mahabodhi, and the Dalada Maligawa. They ignore the fact that while those attacks were equally horrific, they were committed during the armed conflict, and that it was evident that such attacks had been perpetrated by the LTTE in pursuit of its agenda.

The Easter Sunday attacks, on the other hand, were committed during “peacetime” and targeted places of religious worship and tourist hotels for no apparent reason. It is no wonder then that the Catholic Church and the victims, in their quest for justice, would demand that a proper investigation be carried out.

During the debate, many government parliamentarians even went to the extent of saying that the time of the Legislature was being wasted by discussing the matter for the 14th time without anything being achieved. They did not seem to realise that raising such matters in Parliament is a time honoured tradition to spotlight national issues and articulate citizens' grievances. Also, there would have been no reason for Parliament to discuss the matter so many times if the investigations had been conducted satisfactorily.

Government speakers also accused the Opposition of politicising the issue by bringing it up in Parliament. This is the same argument that the Justice Minister in the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government, Ali Sabry, used when he repeatedly attempted to prevent Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa from raising the issue of the forcible cremation of Muslim COVID victims in Parliament.

Government Parliamentarians did not stop at accusing the Opposition of attempting to take political advantage of the issue. They referred to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith in disparaging terms and even accused him of keeping the issue of the Easter Sunday attacks alive to obtain an extension of service as Cardinal from the Vatican.

It is not uncommon for politicians to judge others by their own standards, and it is therefore not surprising that such an accusation came from one of them.

Opposition speakers also pointed out that the sidelining of Ravi Seneviratne and Shani Abeysekera from the investigations after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed office was a further indication of the government’s reluctance to pursue the investigations diligently. This evoked a typical response from a government parliamentarian who claimed that the duo were planning to enter Parliament in the future.

During the debate, many government parliamentarians even went to the extent of saying that the time of the Legislature was being wasted by discussing the matter for the 14th time without anything being achieved.

NPP's explanation

The general tenor of the government speakers was to play down the lack of progress in the investigations. They repeatedly accused the Opposition of trying to exploit the issue to win elections. Even National People's Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s explanation with regard to having businessman Ibrahim, the father of two of the Easter Sunday suicide bomber’s, on the JVP's national list was ignored.

The response of Public Security Minister Tiran Alles to the accusations and concerns raised by the Opposition was to call for a joint effort to get to the truth. However, collective efforts to address governance and political issues are completely different from investigations into incidents like the East Sunday attacks. What is required instead is a credible and independent investigation by those entrusted by law that inspires confidence in the victims and society at large.

The speech of Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakse, who spoke on the first day of the debate, was also rather significant. He confined himself to the actions of the Attorney General’s Department and the Judiciary in bringing the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday attack to book.

He also pointed out that the Attorney General and the Judiciary could only act on the material placed before them by the investigators. He refrained from making any comments on the investigations and left the matter to be dealt with by the Minister of Public Security.

Reading between the lines, one was left wondering whether the Justice Minister not commenting on the investigations was an indication that he himself was not satisfied with their progress.