Ahead of his election as president, Ranil Wickremesinghe has offered to invite UK sleuths to conduct an impartial inquiry
Sri Lankan demonstrators seen at a protest site in Negombo. (Photo: Quintus Colombage)
The Sri Lankan Church officials have dismissed a proposal from the acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe to invite the UK police to conduct an impartial investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday attack.
“We vehemently reject the statement of Acting President Wickremesinghe. He is trying to come to power by talking about Easter Sunday victims,” said Father Cyril Gamini in Colombo on July 19.
Father Gamini, who is a member of Colombo Archdiocese’s proclamation committee on the search for the truth on the Easter Sunday attack, accused the acting president of attempting to “misuse” the tragedy ahead of a vote in parliament to elect a new president.
Meanwhile, the parliament announced on July 20 that Wickremesinghe had been re-elected as the president of Sri Lanka. He polled 134 votes while his rivals, Dallas Alahaperuma and Anurakumara Dissanayake got 82 and 3 votes respectively.
Wickremesinghe, who had been elected the eighth president is expected to serve until the completion of his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term in November 2024.
Father Gamini sought to remind that Wickremesinghe was the prime minister of the country at the time of the Easter attack, which killed 269 people and injured more than 500.
“Seeking justice from Wickremesinghe is more foolish than picking apples from cactus trees”
“Wickremesinghe had plenty of opportunities to get support from international police to investigate the case before the change of government in 2019,” Father Gamini said. “This latest proposal is a trick to deceive people.”
Ahead of the election, in a video statement, Wickremesinghe said he would re-investigate the Easter attack with the support of investigators from Britain.
Father Gamini urged Wickremesinghe to stop trying to deceive the people, saying people can no longer be fooled by politicians.
“No matter which president or government is elected, we will not stop the struggle to demand justice for the Easter attacks,” the priest said.
Saman Kapila Wijesuriya, a prominent journalist and editor of Vatican Winds said that Christians or non-Christians are no longer stupid to believe in Wickremesinghe, who rushed to protect the masterminds of the Easter Sunday attack.
“Seeking justice from Wickremesinghe is more foolish than expecting apples from cactus trees,” said Wijesuriya. “The purpose of the Easter attack was to spread the flames of racial hate throughout the country.”
“The government and the opposition are now talking about national unity on the surface, but continue to create conflicts underneath,” said Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, who was one of the three candidates in the presidential contest.
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