News
Cardinal alleges 1,500 pages of evidence missing
Proceedings of Easter Sunday Commission given to church
by Norman Palihawadane
Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith says that over 1,500 pages containing evidence are missing from the soft copy of the report of Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Easter Sunday given to the Church by the government.
Speaking at the first meeting of the Archdiocesan Presbyterium at Archbishop’s House Conference Hall in Colombo last week, the Cardinal said that the government had given them the soft copy of the PCoI report in six CDs.
“After going through them by us and our lawyers we found that there are nearly 70,000 pages of the PCoI report. However, the government has kept to themselves over 1,500 pages. It is discernible that these missing pages contained evidence given by key witnesses such as Hadiya, wife of Zahran Hashim and Sarah Jesmin, one of the leading protagonists who had very close associations with the group of terrorists who exploded themselves at the Easter Sunday attacks,” the Cardinal said.
He said that the following many letters from the Church demanding the complete PCoI report, the government authorities released the six CDs and told the media that the report in its entirety was given to the Church.
“These ministers and officials keep on saying that 99 per cent of investigations are over and the Church has been appraised of the contents of the PCoI report. There is no truth in their statements. Now they have filed cases against 23 Muslims who had known Zahran and his team members. The government authorities are now trying to turn them to scapegoats while deliberately overlooking to investigate all aspects of the case,” the Cardinal said.
“This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Easter Sunday attack. In response to our continuous calls for a fresh, fair and independent investigation, government authorities have come up with plots to mislead the public. Besides no inquiry has been conducted, up until now, on new evidence emerging in the case like the statements made by witness Azad Moulana, the personal secretary of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan.
“Moulana has alleged that Pillayan had been the go between who had assisted the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) to approach Zahran and his group. Moulana also affirmed that Zahran Group had received money through Pillayan from the DMI which was then headed by Suresh Saleh, who is the head of State Intelligence Service under the incumbent government.
“As per new evidence, there had been meetings between Saleh and Zahran and that a lorry load of suspicious materials was released without being checked on the orders of incumbent IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon at Gelanigama exit of the Southern Highway. The said lorry belonged to the Avant Garde Security Service closely connected to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Moulana has stated that the lorry presumably contained explosives,” the Cardinal said.Auxiliary Bishops Rt Rev Drs Anton Ranjith, Maxwell Silva and JD Anthony were also present att he head table with the Cardinal.
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
Chief Government Whip and Health and Mass Media Minister, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, told Parliament yesterday that the government would never be able to pay the salaries that health workers receive in the UK and Australia because the country simply did not have the funds to do so.
“If anyone hopes to receive salaries similar to those paid in the UK and Australia here, we must remind them of the reality that there are no funds for that,” Dr. Jayatissa said, making a special statement on the token strike action by healthcare professionals.
Dr. Jayatissa emphasised that strikes in the healthcare sector, which endangered patients’ lives, were unacceptable.
He acknowledged the need for fair wage increases but stressed that holding patients’ lives hostage during such strikes was condemnable.
Dr. Jayatissa also stated that despite the government’s efforts to increase basic salaries of healthcare professionals, certain groups had chosen to strike, causing significant disruption to medical services.
Dr Jayatissa said that the Ministry of Finance had arranged for a meeting with the striking groups on 17 March to discuss their concerns. However, the groups announced their strike immediately after the meeting.
The minister said: “As a government, we have given a basic salary increase for the Professions Supplementary to Medicine, and the Interim Medical Services. We have added Rs. 22,000 to the basic salary of Rs. 32,000. For a person with a basic salary of Rs. 37,190 we have added Rs. 26,120. For a person with a basic salary of Rs. 44,520, we have added Rs. 32,010-. For a person with a basic salary of Rs. 54, 590, we have added Rs. 43,320/-.”
Dr Jayatissa said that it was the taxpayers who funded those salary hikes. “It is unfair for senior citizens and other patients to be turned away from hospitals due to the strike.”
“The President is ready to make time to meet and discuss the real issues of the strikers. Instead, they are holding patients to ransom. We have given them a meeting on Wednesday (19) as well. We are ready for talks,” he said.
By Saman Indrajith
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