News

Gota denies Channel 4 allegations

Published

3 years ago

2023/09/8

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday ( 07) denied allegations made against him in a documentary on the Easter Sunday attacks by Britain’s Channel 4.Issuing a statement, he said that the documentary is an anti-Rajapaksa tirade and a bundle of lies

Full text of Rajapaksa’s statement:

“The central allegation made in the latest film on Sri Lanka broadcast by Channel 4 is that the Easter Sunday suicide bombings of 21 April 2019 carried out by Islamic extremists had been deliberately facilitated in order to create the conditions to get me elected to power in November 2019.

“This charge hinges on claims made by one Hanzeer Azad Maulana, an applicant for political asylum in Europe, that he had introduced Maj General Suresh Sallay (who is best known for his past role as the Director of Military Intelligence) to the principal suicide bomber Zaharan and his brother Zainee Moulavi in February 2018.

Maj Gen Sallay has been described as one of my loyalists. However, he is a career military officer who has served under many Presidents and all military officers are loyal to the State and not to private individuals. I too was a former army officer, and like him, I too served under different governments. After leaving the position of Defence Secretary in 2015 and until I was elected President, Maj Gen Sallay and I had no contact at all.

“Maj Gen Sallay had informed Chanel 4 that he had been removed from the position of Director of Military Intelligence and was serving in Malaysia as Minister-Counsellor from 2016 to December 2018 and that he had not been in Sri Lanka at the time this meeting is said to have taken place.

“Furthermore, from January to November 2019 he was in India following the National Defence College course and during this entire period from 2016 to 2019, he was not operative within the defence or security structure of Sri Lanka. After Maj. Gen. Sallay was removed from Military Intelligence in 2016, he never served in that organisation again. It was only after I became President that he rejoined the intelligence apparatus as the head of the State Intelligence Service from December 2019 onwards. Hence, this story about Maj Gen Sallay meeting the suicide bombers in February 2018 is clearly a fabrication.

“In order to bolster their claim that Military Intelligence was in league with the suicide bombers, the film alleges that when the police started investigating the Vavunativu incident of 30 November 2018 where two policemen were killed and their weapons stolen, and the discovery of explosives at the theWanathawilluwa safe house on 16 January 2019, the Military Intelligence had sabotaged the police investigations. All Sri Lankans are aware that the government of 2015-2019 persecuted the intelligence services personnel and particularly those in Military Intelligence and that that quite a few of its members spent months and years in remand and in police custody during that period. Hence any claim that the Military Intelligence could sabotage police work during the 2015 – 2019 government, is sheer nonsense.

“The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday bombings has stated quite clearly that signs of a Muslim extremist build-up were ignored by the government of 2015-2019. They stated that the revelation made by the then Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe on 18 November 2016 that 32 Sri Lankans had gone to Syria and joined the ISIS terrorist group and that foreign Islamic preachers were coming to Sri Lanka to propagate extremist teachings had been ignored. The Easter Sunday suicide bombers had held training camps from 23 to 25 March 2018 at a guest house in Lewella and more gatherings had been held in April and May 2018 at a guest house in Nuwara Eliya all of which had been reported to the police but had not been investigated.

R”ilwan, the brother of Zaharan Hashimwas seriously injured whilst experimenting with explosives in Kattankuddy in the early hours of 27 August 2018. Apart from the Vavunativu and Wanathavilluwa incidents referred to earlier, there had been the vandalising of Buddha statues in Mawanella in late December 2018 as well. As the Presidential Commission observed, the proper investigation of any one of these early incidents would have led to the early apprehension of the terrorists and the prevention of the suicide bombings.

It was the police and not Military Intelligence that was in charge of these investigations. Apart from the fact that I was not in power during this entire period, like many members of the intelligence services and armed forces, I too was going from one police unit to another and from one courthouse to another from 2015 till I became President in November 2019 as a result of relentless government persecution.

“One of the allegations made against me and my government in this latest film is that after becoming president, I ‘sabotaged’ the investigation by transferring officers carrying out the investigation. I assume that this is a reference to the former director of the CID Shani Abeysekera. Leaked telephone recordings had revealed that he had conspired with a politician to influence the outcome of an ongoing criminal case in the High Court, and he could not be kept in a position of responsibility in the CID under any circumstances by any government.

The police officers attached to the Presidential Commission to investigate the Easter Sunday attacks were not transferred after I came into power. In any case, there was a gap of nearly seven months between the Easter Sunday attacks and my coming into power, and investigations should have been carried out during that period. SSP Abeysekera was also one of those responsible for the negligence between 2016 and 2019 mentioned in the Presidential Commission’s report.

Channel 4 states that when the report of the Presidential Commission to investigate the Easter Sunday Attacks published its report, that I refused to make it public. That is an outright lie. Everyone in Sri Lanka knows that it has even been tabled in Parliament.

Last year, when some people started linking me to the Easter Sunday bombings, I instructed Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe in Washington to explore the possibility of obtaining FBI/CIA assistance in investigations into the Easter Sunday bombings. On 7 April 2022, Christopher A. Landberg of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State wrote to Ambassador Samarasinghe stating the following:

“Thank you for raising with us Sri Lanka’s request for an independent investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks… In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, and continuing to the present day, the U.S. government provided assistance in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible – to the point that the Department of Justice filed a criminal complaint in January 2021 against those deemed responsible for the deaths of U.S. citizens. In light of that, even as we stand ready to continue providing support to your government, it would not make sense for the United States to conduct an additional investigation into the attacks…

In terms of our cooperation on this case, I would like to highlight that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has worked closely with Sri Lankan law enforcement, and in the week after the attack, deployed approximately 33 personnel to Colombo to assist Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department with all aspects of their investigation. These efforts included evidence collection, witness and victim interviews, and exploitation of digital devices…”

“In this letter, Landberg also stated that if any additional requests were made by the Sri Lankan Attorney General they would be able to provide support from the two U.S. prosecutors, who were on the ground in Colombo at that time in April 2022. Earlier on 8 January 2021, the US Department of Justice had issued a media release stating among other things, that:

“…three Sri Lankan citizens have been charged with terrorism offenses including conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (ISIS)… The men were part of a group of ISIS supporters which called itself ‘ISIS in Sri Lanka’. That group is responsible for the 2019 Easter attacks in the South Asian nation of Sri Lanka, which killed 268 people including five U.S.

citizens, and injured over 500 others… Two days after the attacks. ISIS claimed credit for the terrorist acts, attributing the murders to “Islamic State fighters.”… The criminal case filed on Dec. 11, 2020, in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles is the result of a nearly two-year investigation by the FBI, which assisted Sri Lankan authorities in the wake of the suicide bombings that targeted Christian churches and luxury hotels frequented by Westerners.”

This latest film by Chanel 4 is mostly an anti-Rajapaksa tirade aimed at blackening the Rajapaksa name from 2005 onwards and is a tissue of lies just like the previous films broadcast by the same Channel. To claim that a group of Islamic extremists launched suicide attacks in order to make me President, is absurd. Despite the politically motivated accusations being made against me by certain individuals, I have personally done everything possible to help the Roman Catholic community when I held government office.

After the war ended, I helped in the restoration and reconstruction of the Madhu Church and the Church in Mullikulam. I also helped facilitate the arrangements to invite His Holiness the Pope to Sri Lanka and I headed the committee formed by the then government to organize the visit. I also played a key role in the construction of the Benedict XVI Catholic Institution of Higher Education in Bolawalana. I worked very closely with His Eminence the Cardinal during that period.”

All News Advertisement

Related Topics:Channel 4 Featured Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Up Next

Alleged secret meeting with NTJ: Maj. Gen. Sallay says he was not in Sri Lanka for whole of 2018

Don't Miss

CBK: Ranil fears electoral defeat

Click to comment

News

CTU: Teacher shortage casts doubt on govt.’s education reforms

Published

12 hours ago

2026/10/19

Thilina Walpola

Prime Minister

By Chaminda Silva

The government’s ambitious plans to overhaul Sri Lanka’s school education system and introduce new curricula could face serious implementation difficulties, with teacher unions warning that a longstanding and severe shortage of teachers remains unresolved.

The warning came as Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya announced yesterday that new curricula would be introduced for Grades 2 and 6 next year, while also stating that the government planned to recruit around 30,000 new teachers across the education system by February.

However, the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) questioned whether the government would be able to provide the teachers required to implement the proposed reforms, claiming that the recruitment process itself had become mired in problems.

CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin accused the government of making misleading claims about teacher recruitment and said the shortage that had affected schools for more than a year would continue into next year.

“There is currently a severe teacher shortage in the school system,” Stalin told a press conference in Colombo yesterday.

He said the government had previously acknowledged that there were about 46,000 teacher vacancies in the school system, but the figure was later revised to around 36,000.

“Those vacancies have remained unfilled for more than a year and a half. The school system has continued to operate with a severe teacher shortage throughout this period,” he said.

Stalin questioned how the government intended to introduce new curricula while thousands of existing teaching vacancies remained unfilled.

He said the Government had initially announced plans to recruit 23,000 teachers, despite the number of vacancies being significantly higher.

Although a gazette notification, relating to the recruitment had been issued, only around 17,000 applicants had been summoned for the initial round of interviews, he added.

Stalin said interviews were expected to begin in November and that appointments would, therefore, be made only from January onwards.

“If there are more than 36,000 teacher vacancies, the Government has decided to recruit only 23,000 teachers, and only around 17,000 have been called for interviews.

Who will take responsibility for the remaining vacancies?” he asked.

He said the problem was not merely one of numbers but also involved the Government’s recruitment procedure.

According to Stalin, shortcomings and ambiguities in the gazette notification issued for the recruitment examination had contributed to the present crisis.

“We primarily believe that the lack of proper procedures in the gazette notification issued for the recruitment examinations has contributed to this crisis. The ambiguities in the notification itself have led to the recruitment process becoming a major issue,” he said.

The shortage was also affecting the transfer system, Stalin mentioned.

A large number of teachers had been unable to obtain transfers because replacements were not available, with some teachers remaining at the same school for 12 or 13 years, he claimed.

As replacements had not been recruited, such teachers would have to remain at their present schools for another year, he said.

“This is a serious crisis. However, the situation is even more critical for students who are left without teachers,” Stalin said.

He also questioned the Government’s plans to close schools with fewer than 50 students.

“We suspect that this move is to take the teachers from these schools and redeploy them to other schools to fill vacancies there.”

The union’s concerns come at a time when the Government is pushing ahead with a major overhaul of the education system.

Addressing the Badulla District Women’s Conference yesterday, Prime Minister Amarasuriya said the Government would introduce new curricula for Grades 2 and 6 next year as part of its wider education reforms.

She said a new curriculum had already been introduced for Grade 1 this year, while new curricula for Grades 2 and 6 would be introduced over the next two years.

The Prime Minister said the Government was developing a new education system aimed at securing the future of all children, with the emphasis shifting away from producing students, focused solely on examinations.

The Government’s objective was to nurture a generation capable of facing future challenges successfully and confidently, she said.

The Prime Minister also announced that interviews for the recruitment of 17,000 teachers would commence on November 20.

She said approval had also been granted to recruit 2,000 academic staff members for the university system, with that recruitment process already under way.

The Government plans to recruit approximately 30,000 new teachers across the education system by February next year, she said.

A special programme would also be implemented to improve infrastructure facilities in schools, the Prime Minister added.

The contrasting positions highlight a potentially significant gap between the Government’s education reform timetable and the capacity of the existing school system to deliver it.

While the Government has set out a timetable for introducing new curricula and recruiting tens of thousands of teachers, the CTU argues that the existing shortage, delays in recruitment and unresolved transfer problems could leave schools struggling to provide adequate teaching staff when the reforms take effect.

With the Government planning to introduce another round of curriculum changes next year, the ability to fill vacancies in time could, therefore, become a crucial test of whether its broader education reform programme can be implemented as planned.

News

Norochcholai to remain offline for several days after blackout

Published

12 hours ago

2026/10/19

Thilina Walpola

The Norochcholai coal power plant will remain disconnected from the national grid for several days following Saturday’s countrywide power failure, as authorities continue to follow safety procedures after the incident.

The National System Operator (NSO) said the 810-megawatt plant had been shut down as a precaution after the sudden power outage on October 17 and would not be reconnected to the grid until the necessary safety measures were completed.

The temporary loss of 810 MW of generating capacity would be managed through careful electricity supply arrangements to minimise the impact on consumers over the coming days, the NSO said.

It said the prevailing rainy weather was expected to help sustain hydropower generation at high levels, while a projected decline in electricity demand would further ease pressure on the system.

The countrywide blackout occurred at around 11.43 a.m. on October 17 after a generating unit disconnected from the national grid, creating an imbalance that caused the entire power system to collapse within less than 30 seconds.

Restoration efforts began shortly afterwards. By 12.11 p.m., major hydropower generating units had been brought back online and the power system was restarted simultaneously in four separate sections.

The restoration process was complicated by small-scale power generation facilities that were not under the direct control of the system control centre. However, electricity supplies were progressively restored through the activation of distribution feeders from 12.37 p.m.

By around 3 p.m., power had been restored to essential services, including major hospitals, water treatment plants and the airport.

Grid substations across the country had been reconnected by around 5 p.m., restoring electricity to the majority of consumers, the NSO said.

The operator stressed that the sudden disconnection of a generating unit as a safety measure was a normal occurrence at power plants. However, such a disconnection resulting in a complete collapse of the national power system was not considered normal.

An internal investigation has, therefore, been launched to establish the sequence of events that led to the islandwide outage and determine its underlying causes, the NSO said.

News

President links businessman held with arms to politicians

Published

12 hours ago

2026/10/19

Thilina Walpola

By Norman Palihawadane

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday said a businessman, arrested with a caches of firearms, ammunition and hand grenades, had links to a politician, as authorities continued investigations into the seizure.

Addressing a public gathering in Badulla, the President said the suspect was among those being investigated in connection with operations targeting organised crime and that authorities were aware of his political connections.

He also referred to a video footage allegedly showing the suspect firing at people in the Weliweriya area, describing it as an example of the dangerous activities associated with individuals possessing illegal firearms.

The 38-year-old businessman, who is reportedly the owner of a cinema, and a relative of a politician, was arrested following a search conducted by officers of the Colombo District Crime Division at the cinema on Hanwella Road, in the Kirindiwela Police Division, on October 17.

Police said the search had been carried out based on information received by investigators.

The weapons and ammunition seized included two foreign-made pistols, a revolver, a foreign-made repeater firearm and a foreign-made 12-bore firearm.

Police also recovered hundreds of rounds of ammunition, including 398 rounds of 12-bore ammunition, 278 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 49 rounds of .32-calibre ammunition and 3,083 rounds of .22-calibre ammunition, along with two live hand grenades.

The suspect, a resident of the Millathe area, is being questioned as investigations continue.

The Police Media Division said police would seek a detention order to facilitate further questioning of the suspect and advance the investigation.

The Colombo District Crime Division is conducting further investigations into the cache of weapons and the suspect’s alleged activities and connections.