News
Cabinet takes up Channel 4 allegations; Premadasa asks for international probe
By Saman Indrajith
Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday in Parliament called for an international probe into the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 2019.
“The Sri Lankan government should be ashamed that a disclosure has been made on the Easter Sunday attacks. The government should have come up with a disclosure instead. An international-level probe into the Channel 4 disclosure is a must. One Minister said today that Archbishop of Colombo Malcom Cardinal Ranjith could have been involved in the attacks. He insulted the Cardinal. The Minister also said that the Cardinal had asked the people to vote against me. There is no issue with this. I don’t mind if the Cardinal asked the public to vote against me at the 2019 presidential election.”
Premadasa said that a domestic investigation into Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday bombings would never help uncover the mastermind behind the attacks. “It is a shame that a foreign investigation and foreign media outlet has asked our officials to find the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks. I don’t believe the mastermind can be found in a domestic investigation. The task requires an international investigation.
Labour Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said that the Cabinet of ministers had proposed on Monday that a fresh report be submitted to a parliamentary select committee on the attacks. “The Cabinet also discussed government assistance in the event an international investigation was needed. This government will in no way hesitate to act. Channel 4 videos like this come out ahead of United Nations Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva.”
It has been reported that two persons riding a motorcycle were killed in a shooting incident that took place around 11.45pm on Friday [21] night , in front of the southern entrance of the Devundara Sri Vishnu Devalaya, on Sinhasana Road.
The unidentified gunmen, who arrived in a van, opened fire using a T-56 assault rifle and 9 mm firearms before fleeing the scene. The police have recovered 39 T-56 bullet casings, two T-56 rounds of live ammunition, a T-56 magazine, three 9 mm bullet casings, and one 9mm live ammunition.
The van suspected to have been used by the shooters was found abandoned and set on fire on a side road about 800 meters from the crime scene.
The two deceased victims have been identified as Tikira Hennedige Yomesh Nadishan and Marakkala Manage Pasidu Tharuka, both residents of Sinhasana Road, Devinuwara.
Matale Dirstrict SJB MP Rohini Kumari Wijerathna yesterday tabled a list in Parliament naming 1,300 members, leaders, trade unionists, and activists of the UNP, who were allegedly assassinated by the JVP. The list was submitted during a parliamentary session as part of the government’s ongoing effort to document victims of political violence.
Along with the names of the victims, MP Wijerathna also introduced over 900 family members of the alleged victims, providing further context to the extent of the violence.
Speaking during the session, MP Wijerathna stated, “Child soldiers were recruited by the JVP even before the LTTE. ‘Kantale Bonikki,’ a 13-year-old child was used to murder a 70-year-old female UNP supporter.” She accused the JVP of using children to kill numerous UNP members during the JVP’s second insurgency.
The MP said that names not included in the current list would be submitted during the upcoming “Batalanda Debate” in April.
MP Wijerathna invited the public, via her Facebook page to submit further details on family members affected by political violence to ensure their inclusion in the extended record.
Deputy Labour Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe yesterday informed Parliament that a CID probe had been called into land deals involving former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa in Gampaha.
Jayasinghe said a request has been made by the Acting IGP in that regard.
The Deputy Minister said the lands in the Imbulgoda and Makola had been purchased in 2012 and sold in 2023.
He told Parliament that a plot of land purchased in Ihala Imbulgoda in 2012 under the Mahinda Rajapaksa Spiritual Foundation for Rs. 500,000 has been sold for Rs. 10 million, adding that the owner of the land is one Shiranthi Wickramasinghe Rajapaksa of Carlton House, Tangalle.
Jayasinghe said that another plot of land in Makola that was purchased for Rs. 01 million has been sold for Rs. 12 million, of which the owner was Shiranthi Wickramasinghe Rajapaksa of Carlton House, Tangalle. Inquiries into the land deals have revealed that the deeds had been drawn up and signed at Temple Trees and had been transferred in 2023 to a person residing in Nugegoda.
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