Sri Lanka govt slammed over Easter attacks probe
COLOMBO: The head of Sri Lanka’s Roman Catholic Church yesterday accused the government of stalling investigations into Easter Sunday bombings two years ago that killed 279 people.
Nearly 200 people were arrested within days of the suicide attacks on hotels and churches by Islamist extremists, but no one has yet been charged.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, who led commemorations on the second anniversary Wednesday, said he was “deeply saddened” by the lack of progress in the investigation.
“We have to stress that what is happening at the moment is an attitude of ‘no care’ where all factors are not properly investigated,” the cardinal said at a commemorative service in Colombo.
He renewed his call for swift action against the perpetrators and said “political posturing and the need to safeguard alliances” was hindering the probe.
The cardinal has previously called for former president Maithripala Sirisena to be prosecuted for failing to prevent the attacks despite advance warnings.
An investigation ordered by Sirisena soon after the bombings found that he and his intelligence officials had precise information from India about the attack 17 days earlier, but failed to act.
Sirisena, who did not offer himself for re-election in November 2019 polls, is currently a legislator with the party of his successor Gotabaya Rajapaksa.