Easter carnage: Unmasking real culprits of will begin as prosecutions get underway – Johnston

The unmasking of the real culprits responsible for the Easter Sunday carnage would happen as the judicial process gets underway, Chief Government Whip Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said yesterday (7).

 Addressing the media at his Ministry, Minister Fernando said that the judicial process would help identify the persons who had aided and abetted the terror attacks and also those who had shirked their duties.

“The Presidential Commission report has made recommendations. Once that process commences, the culpability of those who committed the crimes, as well as those who failed to prevent the terror strikes, will be known. Some Opposition politicians seem to think they can get away by picking holes in the Commission report. They are mistaken.”

The Minister said that the main task of the Cabinet sub-committee headed by former Speaker and Minister Chamal Rajapaksa was to study the findings and recommendations of the PCoI and to advice the government on the next course of action. “We studied the reports on the Easter Sunday attacks at length and have identified 78 recommendations. We thereafter submitted a report to the President outlining how those recommendations are to be implemented and which agencies are implementing them.

“When the PCoI completed its investigations the Opposition members demanded its report.
When it was released, the Opposition wanted it tabled in Parliament. Since then, they have been berating the Commission. These vociferous leaders now in the Opposition, were not seen when the country was in near anarchy soon after the terror attacks on Easter Sunday. It was Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith who came forward and appealed to the people against further violence and prevented another bloodbath in this country. The nation must be thankful to him for his brave action on that day. I do not think that they could just escape from their wrongdoing by changing their name from the UNP to SJB and shifting from the elephant symbol to the telephone symbol. They placed the country’s national security in jeopardy by making structural changes in the police to form special units and divisions such as the FCID to suppress their political rivals. They imprisoned intelligence operatives. There were five secretaries to the Ministry of Defence within a period of four years.

“The yahapalana government could investigate the April 21 terror attacks. They too appointed committees including a parliamentary select committee. What were their results? Instead of finding those responsible, that PSC brought before it the intelligence officials and made public information pertaining to national security further worsening the situation. Those now accusing the PCoI of failing to identify the masterminds of the attacks were in that PSC then. Why couldn’t they make such identifications? Did the yahapalana regime implement at least a single recommendation made by that PSC? Soon after receipt of this PCoI report the President presented it to the Cabinet and then to Parliament. A Cabinet sub-committee was appointed to make further suggestions on implementation of the PCoI recommendations. We have completed those tasks and now all is set for the judicial process which will unmask many wrongdoers and offenders responsible for the Easter Sunday carnage.”