News

CID Sgt. tipped off Harin’s father about Easter attack a day earlier

Published

6 years ago

2020/09/18

By Rathindra Kuruwita

A CID officer involved in a number of investigations into Islamic extremism had made a six-minute phone call to Nihal Fernando, MP Harin Fernando’s father on April 20, 2019 and probably warned the latter of the impending suicide bomb attacks, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks was informed on Wednesday.

Nihal Fernando was in the ICU of Nawaloka Hospital when he had received the call. He had informed his daughter not to go to church on Easter Sunday.

Around 8.12 pm on April 20, 2019, the CID officer, sergeant Nandalal had taken a 356 second call to Nihal Fernando. Nandalal was involved in the investigations as regards attacks on Buddha statues in Mawanella, the Wanathawilluwa jihadist training camp, the van that transported explosives to Wanathawilluwa and NTJ Physical Instructor Army Mohideen.

When Mohideen was arrested, he had Nandalal’s number in his phone.

“Is Nandalal known to you?” the Attorney General’s Department official who led the evidence asked Harin Fernando. The witness said that he was not aware of Nandalal’s existence.

“Was your father in contact with the CID?” AG’s representative asked the MP.

“He was in contact with the CID about a financial fraud in which he was the victim,” the witness said.

Fernando said he had been in Badulla on the day of the Easter Sunday attacks and that it was former minister Neomal Fernando, who had informed him of the blasts. Then he had called former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and attempted to contact Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith but in vain, Fernando said.

“At this point my sister called me and she was very upset. She told me that our father had been aware that the attacks would be carried out. Then, I called Ranil Wickremesinghe and informed that my father had prior information about the blasts. Wickremesinghe asked me to come to Colombo immediately. Then, I called former state minister Ruwan Wijewardene and he said former Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake was in Diyathalawa and that a chopper was on its way to get him. I also could get into that chopper, which picked me up from the Badulla Church.”

Fernando said once he reached Colombo he had visited his father. “When I asked he told me, “I know a lot more than you.” He was sick and I couldn’t get any information out of him. He passed away a few weeks later,” Fernando said.

The witness said that he then went to see former Prime Minister and Wickremesinghe showed him a letter sent by DIG Priyalal, who headed the Special Protection Range (SPR) to heads of Ministerial Security Division (MSD), the Judicial Security Division (JSD), the Diplomatic Security Division (DSD), the Security Divisions of former Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa asking them to be extra cautious on April 21, 2019 as there was the possibility of a terrorist attack.

“This letter was proof that many people in the police and intelligence services were aware of the intelligence of attacks. This is what I told the press on April 21, 2019 as well,” he said.

Earlier retired DIG Lucien Priyalal told the PCoI that on April 10, he had received a warning of a possible terror attack, in the form of a letter with a three-page annexure, sent by CNI Sisira Mendis to the then IGP Pujith Jayasundara. Jayasundara had sent it to SDIG of Western Province Munasinghe, SDIG crimes, the STF, DIG special protection range and Director of the Counter Terrorism Investigation Division on April 09. Priyalal said that he had seen it at around 2.30 pm on April 10.

Priyalal said that he had five divisions under him and right after receiving the documents he had informed the Directors of the warning over the telephone.

The witness said that, on April 11, he had sent the documents he received from the IGP and a letter he had prepared to the directors of all the divisions under his supervision. DIG Priyalal said that directors had been instructed to inform the officers under them of the warning.

Priyalal said that the Director of the MSD provided security to 268 VIPs, and the officers who provided security to the VIPs had been informed by the MSD Director. Representatives from each protection unit had been summoned for a special instructions session, too, he said.

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News

Establishment of National Trade Negotiation Committee (NTFC) and Trade Policy Consultation Committee.

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/9

Priyan

Approval has been granted at the cabinet meeting held on 24-08-2026 to implement the recommendations submitted by the committee appointed to review Sri Lanka’s current Free Trade Agreements and future course of Free Trade Agreements in Sri Lanka.

Taking into account these recommendations, it has been
recognized the necessity of establishing a National Trade Negotiation Committee and Trade Policy Consultation Committee enabling Sri Lanka to follow a more targeted, sequential, and evidence-based approach in conducting negotiations for Sri Lanka’s future Free Trade Agreements and to ensure a sustainable and meaningful stakeholder consultation process.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Trade, Commercial, Food Security, and Cooperative Development to act as follows.

• Establishment of a National Trade Negotiation Committee to guide trade discussions conducted with potential bilateral or regional trade partners
• Appointment of the Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security, and Cooperative Development as the Chairman of the National Trade Negotiation Committee and
the Chief National Trade Negotiator.
• Establishment of 12 subject specific sub- committees with the required technical working groups under the National Trade Negotiation Committee
• Appointment of Trade Policy Consultative Committee comprising of trade experts, researchers engaged in research relevant to trade field, business community, unions, civil societies and relevant public officers to instruct the National Trade Negotiation Committee on active and technical sectors, to submit the policy recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the matters relevant to the trade agreements, to inquire sustainable ideas regarding the Free Trade Agreements, and to ensure the communication mechanism.
• The Minister in charge of the Subject international trade and the Minister in charge of the subject of Industry to serve as Co-Chairpersons of the Trade Policy Advisory Committee.

News

Justice Minister hits back at CLA

Published

11 hours ago

2026/09/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

Harshana Nanayakkara

By Saman Indrajith

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara yesterday told Parliament that the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA) was not an organisation officially recognised or registered under the Commonwealth Secretariat, but a fee-levying private association.

Responding to a question by Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa on why he had failed to meet CLA representatives, who recently visited Sri Lanka, Nanayakkara said he had offered them a date and time for a meeting, but they had been unable to attend.

The Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) has questioned procedural fairness and other matters of concern in a report that deals with the Supreme Court hearing petitions against the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. Among the issues raised by CLA President Steven Thiru, is the composition of the five-member bench.

The Minister said the CLA representatives subsequently requested another date, but he had already scheduled official engagements for the proposed day.

Nanayakkara said it was, therefore, incorrect to claim that he had refused to meet the CLA delegation.

“The CLA is not an official body accepted or admitted into the Commonwealth of countries. It is a private club whose members pay fees for membership,” he said.

However, the Minister said he was not suggesting that the organisation was “a bad organisation”, adding that the accuracy of several statements made by CLA members during their visit to Sri Lanka had yet to be established.

Nanayakkara identified lawyer Upul Jayasuriya as the CLA’s local representative and said Jayasuriya had sought a meeting with him.

“I gave him the opportunity, but he came up with the excuse that he could not make it as he was not in Colombo. Therefore, it is wrong to state that I did not give them time,” the Minister said.

News

First visit by an Indian Defence Minister since IPKF deployment

Published

11 hours ago

2026/09/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

Deputy Minister Maj. Gen. Aruna Jayasekera receiving Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on his arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) yesterday.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in Colombo on a three-day official visit, the first by an Indian Defence Minister since the 1988 visit by K.C. Pant, during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as the Prime Minister.

The Indian Defence Ministry declared that the visit would further strengthen the traditionally strong and friendly bilateral relations in mutually beneficial areas, including a strong maritime and defence partnership.

The visit takes place in the wake of Sri Lanka and India signing seven MoUs, including one on defence, in April 2025. Communist Party General Secretary Dr. G. Weerasinghe told The Island that the government should set the record straight regarding the rapidly developing military relations with the US and India. The acquisition of Colombo Dockyard Ltd., by Indian Defence Ministry-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, soon after the finalisation of MoUs, underscored New Delhi’s strategy, Dr. Weerasinghe said. Responding to another query, Dr. Weerasinghe said that the government should take this opportunity to discuss the Tamil Nadu fishing fleet poaching on Sri Lankan waters.

Pant visited during the Indian Army operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Northern and Eastern Provinces here, while Pranab Mukherjee visited Colombo, in August 2005, to pay last respects to assassinated Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Indian and Sri Lanka governments said that the visit was meant to strengthen cooperation between the two neighbouring countries in the fields of defence, economic engagement, maritime affairs and regional security.

An Indian warship arrived at the Colombo harbour ahead of the Defence Minister’s visit, reminiscent of old gunboat diplomacy. INS Udayagiri’s visit coincided with the Defence Minister’s visit. The Defence Minister’s delegation included senior officials from Ministry of External Affairs.

During the visit, the Indian Defence Minister is scheduled to hold high-level discussions with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake who also holds the Defence portfolio, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha. He is also expected to meet members of the Indian community, residing in Colombo.

Dr. Weerasinghe said that the NPP government conveniently extended the moratorium on foreign research vessels imposed during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tenure in 2024. The CP official said that the media alleged that that decision was taken at the behest of the US and India but nearly two years after the last presidential election the ban remains.