Easter Sunday attacks and harassment of Fr Cyril Gamini

By Dr Laksiri Fernando

On November 15 and 16, two consecutive days, Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini was asked to come to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and has been questioned for almost eight to nine hours each day, from 9.00 am to 5.00 or 6.00pm. On the second day, in the afternoon, he was asked to come on the next day, and it was on his request, or protest, that the statement taking was completed on the same day.

Otherwise he would have been asked to come another day. As he clearly expressed to the media after returning from the CID, he has strongly felt that he had been harassed by the CID by dragging the so-called investigation, questioning, and statement taking for no valid reason. A victim has been converted into a ‘perpetrator’ by Sri Lanka’s intelligence system.

Who are the victims?

The whole world knows what happened in Sri Lanka on Easter, April 21, 2019. Apart from three luxury hotels in Colombo (Cinnamon Grand, Kingsbury and Shangri-La), attacks were carried out by suicide bombers on three churches (St. Anthony’s, Colombo; St. Sebastian’s, Negombo; and Zion Church, Batticaloa).

Later that day, two more bombs exploded, one at a house in Dematagoda and another at the Tropical Inn in Dehiwala. A total of 269 people, excluding the eight suicide bombers, were killed in the events, including about 45 foreign nationals, while at least 500 were seriously injured.

All eight suicide bombers were identified as Sri Lankan citizens associated with the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) organization founded by the suicide bomber at Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran alias Zahran Hashim. This is what was revealed by the investigators and the intelligence services.

The victims included not only those who were killed or injured, but also the families, the Catholic Church, the priests and the devotees. This is the reality. Anyone who cannot understand this reality is either ignorant or apparently complicit in the attacks, in my opinion.

Mysteries

There is still so much mystery and unknowns associated with the incidents. There are questions about the attack, and the organization behind it.

(1) Why did they attack the Churches and hotels? There is no apparent connection between the two. (2) There had been no evident conflict between the Muslims and Catholics in Sri Lanka. Both are minorities facing similar marginalization. (3) Zahran Hashim, the alleged leader, attacked a hotel and not a Church. Is it possible that two groups operated within the operation? This is a question, not a conclusion. (4) Zahran was primarily an extremist ideologue, and a preacher. Other sources were responsible for the technological know-how and planning. (5) Had Zahran been the actual leader of the Easter carnage? Given the later revealed bigger network of operations, it is difficult to believe that the leader would commit suicide at the first attack.

Then there are questions about the CID, the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), the State Intelligence Service (SIS), the Military Intelligence Corps, the Police, the Ministry of Defence, the National Security Council and the then Prime Minister, and the President.

(1) According to what is revealed, Zahran and his organization, NTJ, have been in operation at least since 2014. What have security organizations been doing since then? Why such apathy and indifference towards this terrorist organization? (2) It is very clear that the rise of Jihadism in Sri Lanka was a consequence of anti-Muslim riots in June 2014 and other activities, instigated by some extremist Buddhist organizations such as Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and Ravana Balaya. These organizations should have been banned, identified as potential terrorist outfits. No such action was taken.

Most importantly, as very clearly revealed in the inquiries of the Parliamentary Select Committee and the Presidential Commission, the whole of the Security Apparatus had failed to act on the ‘early warnings’ received from India and other countries. In such a situation, it is quite obnoxious for the CID to harass Fr Cyril Gamini on the instigation of the Head of the State Security Service (SIS), Major General Suresh Sallay.

Complaint against Fr Gamini

As far as I can gather, Fr Cyril Gamini at present is the Pastor at St. Anne’s Catholic Church at Kurana, Negombo, and also the Director of the National Catholic Centre for Social Communications (NCCSC). He has also often acted as the spokesperson for Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo of the Catholic Church.

In these capacities, Fr Gamini has every right to express his views on these disastrous events, those who are possibly directly or indirectly involved in the attacks, and call for justice on behalf of the victims and the Church. Of course, as anyone else, he should refrain from baseless accusations, or expressing misleading information, knowingly.

I came to know Fr Gamini first in 1996 in my capacity as the Director of the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI), and more closely during my tenure as the Director of the Peace Building Project, Ministry of Constitutional Affairs (2002-2005). He is well-respected and modest and a person committed to social justice, peace and human rights. I have had no contact with him thereafter and this opinion is completely independent.

Fr Gamini must have been involved in many discussions with many people, mainly people associated with the Church, in Sri Lanka and abroad on questions regarding the Easter attacks, the unfortunate fate of the victims, and apparent absence of justice even after three years. The zoom discussion in question had taken place on October 23, 2022.

Unfortunately, it is the Director of the State Intelligence Service, Major General Suresh Sallay, who has made the complaint against Fr Cyril Gamini to the CID. According to various newspaper reports, there appear two main complaints. (1) Because of the alleged statement by Fr Gamini, it was claimed that the lives of the Major General and his family have been threatened. Accordingly, in this case, the ‘victim’ is a Major General and the ‘perpetrator’ is an innocent Christian Priest. This is hilarious and childish. Perhaps Suresh Sallay is trying to equate Fr Gamini to Zahran Hashim, who was also a preacher.

(2) It was also complained that because of the apparent mentioning of the Major General’s name at the zoom discussion, considerable damage has been done to his ‘prestige and integrity.’ This is quite unbelievable. The Director of the State Intelligence Service is a public servant. All public servants should be accountable to the people. It is also not clear in what context Suresh Sallay’s name was mentioned by Fr. Gamini at the discussion. However, this is not the first time his name was mentioned in connection with the Easter attacks. Several Members of Parliament and others have mentioned his name under various contexts.

CID victimization

After the complaint, the CID had taken the matter very seriously, for some reason or the other, and had hunted for Fr. Cyril Gamini running about here and there for some days and weeks. In the meantime, some other priests, on behalf of him, went before the CID and requested some time for Fr Gamini to appear before the CID. This was not properly heeded. The CID went before the Colombo Magistrate to get an order, through the Attorney General’s Department, for Fr Gamini to appear immediately. It appeared therefore that the whole State apparatus was involved in the victimization.

The concern of Fr Gamini and many others was that, if he is arrested by the CID and taken to the Fourth Floor what would happen to him, or how would the CID treat him? The Fourth Floor is infamous for mistreatment, and forcing some, in certain instances, to jump out the windows.

It is in this context that Fr Gamini went before the Supreme Court requesting the Court to safeguard his fundamental rights to ‘express his views’ and raise ‘concerns about his parishioners’ who were killed and severely injured during the Easter Attacks. One of the immediate pleas of the case was to prevent him from being arrested.

A full hearing is to be held pertaining to his full range of fundamental rights under the Constitution, and other related matters. However at the first hearing, the three member court took up the matter of the threatened arrest. What had the CID said? Through the Attorney General’s Department, they had said that they have no intention of arresting Fr. Gamini at that moment. This statement itself proves that Suresh Sallay’s complaint about a threat to his life is baseless.

In March 2021, Suresh Sallay made a complaint to the CID against a Member of Parliament, Nalin Bandara. The accusation was similar to that levelled against Fr Gamini. Apparently, the CID is still investigating the case. The situation is so confusing and controversial and Suresh Sallay, as the Head of the SIS is apparently exerting undue influence, regarding these cases, on the CID. This is not right.

Incidents like the Easter attacks are so complex and multifaceted. It is primarily the victims who know the pain and agony. It is the right of the victims and their spokespersons to express their views, raise questions and suspicions, of course without resorting to defamation. It is the duty of the State, or the CID in this case, to investigate them without harassing the whistleblowers or the victims. The harassment of Rev Fr Cyril Gamini by the CID should be strongly condemned.