By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Catholic Church wouldn’t endorse the candidature of any contestant at the Sept. 21 presidential election, top spokesperson Rev. Father Cyril Gamini said yesterday (25).

The Church spokesman said so when The Island sought an explanation regarding major candidates meeting Archbishop of Colombo Rt. Rev. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and Bishop Harold Anthony Perera and other members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Rev. Father Fernando said that their stand in respect of the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage is clear. Even six years after the heinous crime, justice hadn’t been served, the spokesperson said, adding that the Church expected whoever won the Presidential Poll to address their grievances.

Near simultaneous suicide attacks claimed the lives of over 270 people while nearly 500 received injuries.

Since the handing over of nominations on Aug. 15, Anura Kumara Dissanayake (JJB), Sajith Premadasa (SJB), Namal Rajapaksa (SLPP) and Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC (National Democratic Front) met the Archbishop of Colombo at the Bishop’s House whereas President Wickremesinghe called on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference over the weekend.

Responding to another query, Rev. Father Fernando asserted that the Catholic Church instead of meeting selected candidates, the Archbishop felt the need to provide an opportunity for those contestants interested in making representations depending on the availability of time.

Altogether, 39 contestants submitted nominations. The majority of them are contesting as independents.

Rev. Father Fernando emphasiSed that they didn’t have absolutely any intention of promoting the candidature of any particular contestant. “The unpalatable truth is that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa conveniently failed to implement the major recommendations of his own Commission pertaining to the Easter Sunday carnage.

His successor President Ranil Wickremesinghe, too, didn’t pay attention to their primary demand that the recommendations be implemented,” Rev. Father Fernando said.

Referring to the developing political-economic-social crisis, on behalf of the Church Rev. Father Fernando urged the electorate to be extremely cautious at to how they voted at the first post-Aragalaya national election at a time the country was at a crossroads.

In addition to the Easter Sunday issue, the Church raised several other issues with the presidential candidates, the priest said. The issues pertained to Catholic education at schools, protection of Muthurajawela wetland sanctuary, Express Pearl ship disaster, unbearable cost of living, unemployment, privatization of public assets and adherence to democratic principles had been taken up, the spokesperson said, declaring the Catholic Church remained vigilant and ever ready to intervene on behalf of the hapless people.

The Church spokesperson said that the way successive governments had addressed the Easter Sunday investigation forced them to believe the powers that be lacked the political will to punish those responsible for the attacks.

Asked to explain, Rev. Father stressed that those who deliberately or due to negligence on their part facilitated the Easter Sunday conspiracy had to be dealt with. Similarly, those who had planned and executed the terror project should be apprehended and brought to justice, Rev. Father. Fernando said.

Perhaps, the government should reveal the status of the investigations also taking into consideration the disclosure made by the UK’s Channel 4 network last September, Rev. Father Fernando said.

The spokesperson noted that the Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena, who had been Director of State Intelligence Service (SIS) at the time of Easter Sunday attacks, was only sent on compulsory leave last month pending the conclusion of a disciplinary inquiry. The Police Department owed the country an explanation as to why much required disciplinary investigation hadn’t been conducted so many years after the tragic incident, the priest said. In the absence of such an investigation, the officer who had been named by the Presidential Commission on Inquiry (P CoI) moved up the ladder to become the Department’s No 2 in charge of administration.

Rev. Father Fernando noted that the SJB had been part of the UNP at the time of the Easter attacks and father of two suicide bombers in the National List of the JVP at the 2015 parliamentary polls. The SLPP, too, hadn’t taken meaningful measures so far to prove its sincerity, the spokesperson said.