ECONOMYNEXT – An unprecedented verdict by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ordering an ex head of state and top defence officials to pay hundreds of millions of rupees in compensation to victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings has been welcomed by the Catholic church which also anticipates criminal proceedings against some of the respondents.

Head of Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said he was “very happy” with the verdict and expressed his hope that it will mark the beginning of a new era where equality before the law is entrenched in society and no public official or politician operates above the law.

The archbishop told reporters on Friday January 13 that the judgment, delivered the previous day, was a historic verdict that must be celebrated by all who value justice.

The verdict has shown that anyone who holds high office, even a former president who once wielded executive powers, can be held accountable for their actions, he said.

On Friday, Sri Lanka’s apex court ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena, four other officials and the State to pay compensation totalling 311 million rupees to victims of the Easter Sunday bombings that killed 269 people.

The court held that a Victim Fund be established at the Office for Reparation which must formulate a scheme to “award the sums ordered as compensation in a fair and equitable manner to the victims and families”.

“This will be a great opening for us to start looking at other aspects of the case,” he said.

The prelate has been crusading for justice for the families of the victims in a relentless campaign that saw the church in no uncertain terms suggest a political conspiracy behind the attack. On more than one occasion, he openly berated the government of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for what he claimed was its lethargy and lack of interest in investigating the case.

Though the church is satisfied with the Supreme Court’s verdict, Cardinal Ranjith said the church will not give up the fight until the masterminds of the attack are brought to justice. Only after a full investigation has been complicated can there be true justice, he said.

“This is an important step in the journey to find that truth.”

Ranjith claimed that attempts were still under way to keep the truth from coming out. Low-level investigators have been gagged by their superiors, he claimed, adding that an attempt had also been made to disappear a police B report relating to the probe.

The archbishop urged law enforcement agencies and personnel to not become a tool of the political establishment.

“Consider this a moment of realization that the law applies equally to all,” he said.

The cardinal had previously threatened to take the matter up with the international community if Sri Lanka’s government failed to satisfactorily investigate the attack.Reiterating this warning, he said at Friday’s press briefing: “If our government fails to do it, we’re left with no choice but to go to the international community,”

“This is a beginning, and we’re very happy with the judgment,” he said.

The court ordered ex-President Sirisena pay a sum of 100 million rupees, former police chief Pujith Jayasundara and former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Nilantha Jayawardena 75 million rupees each, former Defence Ministry Secretary Hemasiri Fernando 50 million rupees and former Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) Sisira Mendis 10 million rupees as compensation.

The State was also ordered to pay one million rupees as compensation to the victims.President’s Counsel Shamil Perera who appeared for the archbishop said that he expects criminal proceedings will be filed by the Attorney General against former Sirisena, Jayawardena and Mendis as soon as possible.