By Shamindra Ferdinando

Former Cabinet Minister and Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila has urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to take hold of two reports that dealt with the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

Attorney-at-Law Gammanpila has said that President Dissanayake should get in touch with Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe in case he couldn’t obtain the same from Saman Ekanayake, Secretary to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The former Colombo District MP was referring to investigations called by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe in June and September last year to examine the conduct of the intelligence community with the focus on the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI).

Addressing the media on behalf of Sarvajana Balaya at Pita Kotte, ex-MP Gammanpila questioned why President Dissanayake didn’t disclose the contents of the reports during his much publicized visit to St. Sebastian’s Church, at Katuwapitiya, on Sunday (06).

Multiple blasts claimed the lives of over 270 people. The dead included over 40 foreigners. Over 400 suffered injuries.

“We are aware former President Wickremesinghe received both reports in the run-up to the Sept. 21 presidential election. President Dissanayake’s Office should act now,” Gammanpila said.

In June last year, Wickremesinghe established a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the actions and responses of the intelligence and security authorities.

Retired judge Ms. A.N.J. De Alwis was tasked with examining the conduct of the SIS, the Chief of National Intelligence (CNI), and other relevant authorities.

At the time of the Easter Sunday attacks, Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena headed the SIS whereas retired DIG Sisira Mendis functioned as CNI, a post previously held by intelligence veteran General Kapila Hendawitharana.

In September, Wickremesinghe named a three-member Committee to probe allegations made by Britain’s Channel 4 regarding direct involvement of Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in the Easter attacks. The President made the announcement close on the heels of Defence Ministry denial issued on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka. At the time of the Easter Sunday attacks, Sallay had been overseas on another assignment.

The Committee, headed by Syed Ishrat Imam, a retired Supreme Court Judge, included retired Air Chief Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody, a one-time Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), and Harsha Soza, President’s Counsel. Sarthanjali Maheswaran, a Senior Assistant Secretary to the President functioned as the Secretary to the Commission.

Former parliamentarian Gammanpila said that had President Dissanayake perused the reports received by Wickremesinghe he could have comfortably responded to those who questioned him over the conduct of intelligence services and the overall failure on the part of successive governments to address the grievances of the public.

Responding to The Island queries, Gammanpila emphasized that President Dissanayake couldn’t absolve himself of the responsibility for revealing the truth. “The entire country, including families of Easter Sunday victims, want to know the truth” Gammanpila said, demanding to know whether former President Wickremesinghe refrained from releasing the two reports as they weren’t compatible with his agenda.

The former Minister said that President Dissanayake couldn’t, under any circumstances, delay the releasing of so far hidden reports unless he was trying to protect the interests of Wickremesinghe.

The crux of the matter is why the Yahapalana government failed to act on specific intelligence on the impending attacks provided by India, the ex-MP said. The other issue is that those who had carried out the Easter Sunday massacre, including Zahran Hashim, were under investigation for many years but the Yahapalanaya political chief conveniently failed to take tangible measures, he said.

Yahapalana Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, earned the ire of his colleagues after he declared, in Parliament, in Nov. 2016, that 32 Sri Lankan Muslims from “well-educated and elite” families have joined the Islamic State in Syria. The Minister vowed to clamp down on extremists.

Ex-parliamentarian Gammanpila urged President Dissanayake to conduct a comprehensive study to find out the truth as wealthy spice exporter Mohammed Yusuf Ibrahim, whose sons carried out suicide attacks in Shangri-la and Cinnamon Grand hotels, was accommodated on the JVP National List for the 2016 general election. Gammanpila said that instead of seeking political advantage, President Dissanayake should allow a thorough investigation to establish the truth.

The bottom line is that the terror project appeared to have been launched even before the 2015 general election, the ex-parliamentarian said.