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Easter Sunday probe: Cardinal wanted NPP to bring back Shani and Ravi – Leader of the House

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1 year ago

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Bimal Rathnayake

Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake has disclosed in Parliament that two retired police officers, Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne and SSP Shani Abeysekera, had been brought back to oversee investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage at the request of Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and the Catholic Church.

Rathnayake said the two officers had been victimised by previous administrations.

Rathnayake said so during an adjournment debate on the progress in the Easter Sunday investigations on Wednesday (9).

With the approval of the National Police Commission (NPC), the police headquarters had brought back Abeysekera as Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Abeysekera retired in June 2021 but the NPP took him back on contractual basis and then extended the contract before accommodating him as the CID Director.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake last year appointed former Senior Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ravi Seneviratne as the Public Security Ministry Secretary.

Minister Rathnayake alleged in Parliament that Seneviratne and Abeysekera had been targeted by the Rajapaksasas as they felt that some high-profile investigations such as the killing of Mohammed Wasim Thajudeen in May 2012 threatened them.

Declaring that the Easter Sunday investigations had been streamlined and were progressing well, Minister Rathnayake alleged that the yahapalana administration that was in office at the time of the near simultaneous Easter Sunday blasts in April 2019, the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration that followed and the subsequent Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government didn’t investigate the crime.

Minister Rathnayake said that the Easter Sunday carnage should be investigated taking into consideration the political environment created by the Rajapaksas following their defeat at the 2015 presidential election. In line with their despicable strategy, the then Opposition utilised the intelligence services to promote extremism among both Sinhala and Muslim communities.

That heinous project culminated with the Easter Sunday attacks, Minister Rathnayake said asserting that the clandestine operation got underway in 2013 in the run-up to the presidential election.

The Leader of the House reiterated that the Easter Sunday carnage had been the brainchild of the Rajapaksas. However, the President Maithripala Sirisena and Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe could have thwarted the planned attacks if intelligence warnings were taken seriously, the JVPer said, emphasising that Sirisena, Wickremesinghe and the then UNP deputy leader Sajith Premadasa should accept responsibility for the failure to prevent the Rajapaksa project.

There had been numerous warnings, some from the Muslim community itself regarding the activities of this group.

Yahapalana justice minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC, in parliament revealed the Muslim extremist buildup while referring to their links with ISIS.

Minister Rathnayake at the onset of his speech alleged that the Rajapaksas also exploited a developing rift between President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe to cause chaos and the attempt by Sirisena to seek a second term resulted in further deterioration. Asserting that the mandate that had been received at the 2015 general election was as equally powerful as the NPP’s results in Nov last year, Minister Rathnayake said the Rajapaksas acted on the premise that they didn’t have political space in the new environment. According to the minister, the Easter Sunday murder project had been their strategy.

The National List MP explained how the Rajapaksas developed a situation over a period of time that pushed Muslim youth to extremism.

Alleging UNP leader Wickremesinghe would do anything to gain and retain power, Minister Rathnayake lambasted Wickremesinghe while calling him the Rajapaksas peon.

Commenting on high profile ongoing investigations, Minister Rathnayake accused Sirisena, Wickremesinghe and Premadasa of sabotaging such inquiries launched in 2015. They betrayed the investigations. Now that the NPP had resumed those investigations in addition to new inquiries, Rathnayake said.

How could those who failed to thwart attacks and at least conduct proper investigations now question us, Minister Rathnayake asked. They would be elected to govern the country again, the lawmaker said.

By Shamindra Ferdinando ✍️


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Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

15 hours ago

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2026/10/5

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Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

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Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

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16 hours ago

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2026/10/5

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The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

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Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

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16 hours ago

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2026/10/5

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A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.

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