By Saman Indrajith

Kurunegala District SJB MP Nalin Bandara told Parliament on Thursday that the truth regarding the Easter Sunday terror attacks will remain hidden as long as the murderers and their accomplices continue to hold seats in the government.

Participating in a two-day debate on Channel 4’s exposé of the Easter Sunday carnage, MP Bandara stated that political leaders and their henchmen officers have been obstructing and concealing the truth for years.

As Bandara commenced his speech, State Minister of Rural Road Development, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillayan, raised a point of order. Pillayan expressed support for an international probe into the Easter Sunday attacks but criticized opposition MPs for making childish statements.

SJB MP Nirshoan Perera retorted that while Pillayan might view the events as mere child’s play, the Easter Sunday terror attacks were undoubtedly not child’s play for those who lost their loved ones and continue to suffer from the wounds.

MP Bandara emphasized that these acts may seem trivial to those responsible for bombing the Temple of Tooth Relic, assassinating former MP Joseph Pararajasingham, leading the clandestine unit known as Tripoli camp, and murdering approximately 600 policemen in the East during wartime. Pillayan had been imprisoned on charges related to Joseph Pararajasingham’s killing, and during that time, some members of Zahran’s group were also in prison for incidents in Kaththankudi.

Their connection was strengthened, with Pillayan introducing Zahran to Suresh Sallay. This marked the origin of the conspiracy that eventually led to the Easter Sunday attacks. The need for launching these attacks arose when the Rajapaksas and their supporters failed during the 52-day constitutional coup. The courts ruled against the 52-day government, prompting the conspirators to put their Plan B into action. It began immediately after Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister once again following the court order rejecting the 52-day government.

They initiated the destruction of Buddha statues in Mawanella. Zahran’s wife, Hadiya, testified that a person named Abu Hind instructed Zahran from abroad to expedite the attacks. However, police investigators who recently briefed MPs on Easter Sunday shamelessly claimed that there was no Abu Hind, dismissing it as a mythical story. If we accept the police investigators’ account, then Abu Hind becomes a myth, and Hadiya’s testimony is deemed false. These investigators continue the cover-up, following in the footsteps of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

MP Bandara said that there is undeniable evidence linking Zahran Group to Army intelligence, citing four indisputable instances that point to Sallay’s leadership of Army intelligence having ties with the group. Firstly, there was an IP address of an intelligence officer who used his girlfriend’s mobile phone to contact members of the Zahran group, information provided by the FBI, which was not further investigated.

Secondly, a terrorist initially intended to detonate himself at Hotel Taj but changed his plans after receiving a phone call and instead met with an intelligence officer in Dehiwala. Wellawatte police’s attempts to investigate were thwarted by intelligence units. Thirdly, when two policemen were assassinated in Vaunathivu, Army intelligence repeatedly claimed that the LTTE was responsible and even placed an LTTE jacket to mislead CID investigations into the assassination.

Fourthly, when the police apprehended Sadeeq and Haq, who vandalized Buddha statues in Mawanwella and brought them to Colombo for questioning, Army intelligence officers intercepted them twice, insisting that they were needed for their own investigations. These instances strongly suggest a connection between Army intelligence and the Zahran group. Sallay’s investigations seemed to focus on isolating the Muslim community and inciting communal animosity against Muslims.

Bandara said that everyone knows the incumbent President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was not aware of the conspiracy behind the Easter Sunday attacks. “He was the Prime Minister at the time. When he visited the Defence Ministry soon after the attacks, they did not even offer him a chair to sit on. He had been removed from the National Security Council many months before the attacks.”

MP Bandara concluded by stating that Catholics today suffer because they voted for Gotabaya and this government, which was allegedly involved in the terror attacks. He said that this conspiracy will eventually come to light, but it won’t happen until the officers appointed by Gotabaya to top positions continue to cover it up.