Shangri-La Hotel in Easter Sunday mystery:

By Shamindra Ferdinando

SJB spokesperson Mujibur Rahman on Sunday (21) alleged that attempts were being made to hide the identities of persons whom two Easter Sunday suicide bombers–– ringleader Zahran Hashim and his accomplice Ilham Ahamed, who blasted themselves at the Shangri-La Colombo on the morning of April 21, 2019––had met in the same hotel the previous day.

Addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s Office, the former Colombo District UNP MP said that the two suicide bombers had stayed at a room on the sixth floor, on the night of 20 April.

At the time of the suicide blasts, Rahman was a member of the ruling UNP-led Yahapalana administration (2015-2019).

Rahman, who previously represented the UNP in Parliament, said he had got to know that the hotel refrained from disclosing the identities of those who occupied the room before Hashim and Ahamed moved in on the night of April 20, 2019.

The SJB official said that they got to know about the hotel’s failure to reveal the names of the guests after having examined the proceedings of the ongoing High Court of Colombo case that dealt with the Easter Sunday carnage.

Ilham Ahamed’s brother Mohamed Ibrahim Inshaf Ahamed carried out the suicide blast in the Cinnamon Grand hotel. Responding to The Island queries, Rahman said that comparison of Hashim’s DNA samples with that of his wife and daughter, apprehended a week later, following a confrontation with the Army at Sainthamaruthu, proved beyond any doubt that the ringleader had been killed in the Shangri-La blast.

According to Rahman, a comprehensive list of those who had stayed at the Shangri-La Colombo, during the period of two weeks before the day of the blasts, had been submitted to the Colombo High Court, sans information pertaining to room number 616.

Spice merchant Mohamed Yusuf Ibrahim is the father of Ilham Ahamed and Mohamed Ibrahim Inshaf Ahamed. His daughter-in-law detonated herself, killing three police personnel during a raid on their luxurious Dematagoda residence.

Rahman told the media briefing at the Opposition Leader’s Office that the identities of those who had stayed in another room, also on the sixth floor of Shangri-La hadn’t been revealed to the Colombo High Court.

Emphasising the responsibility on the part of the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government to reveal the truth, the ex-lawmaker said that those who stayed at room numbered 623, too, seemed to have been involved with the Zahran Hashim’s group. Rahman later told The Island that the Shangri-La management had prepared a comprehensive list of all guests at the hotel at the time of the blasts leaving out those who had stayed at 616 and 623 on the night of April 20, 2019. “We believe that there were some foreigners in room 623 whereas Zahran Hashim’s accomplices in Room 616 were a mystery,” the ex-MP said.

Rahman said that the government or perhaps the Attorney General’s Department owed the public an explanation as to why two senior retired police officers, Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne and SSP Shani Abeysekera, who the spearheaded investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage, had not been listed as witnesses. Similarly, DIG Nalaka de Silva, who headed the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), which had been tasked with inquiring into the clandestine activities of the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ), during Yahapalana regime, in the run-up to the Easter Sunday blasts, had also been left out of the list of witnesses, Rahman said.

The former lawmaker recalled the circumstances under which the CID arrested de Silva over unsubstantiated allegations pertaining to an alleged conspiracy to assassinate the then President Maithripala Sirisena and wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, on Oct 25, 2018, the day before President Sirisena sacked the then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe.

At the time of the Easter Sunday blasts, de Silva had been behind bars; he was granted bail in May 2019.

The former TID head now serves as DIG Puttalam.

The ex-MP urged the government to come out clean during a three-day parliamentary debate on the Easter Sunday attacks, scheduled to be held this week (Wednesday to Friday).

Ex-MP Rahman claimed that inquiries made by his party revealed that there was a certain category of people who could have booked hotel rooms without being registered. Among them were diplomats, their security contingents, Defence personnel and members of intelligence services. It would be the responsibility of the government to set the record straight. The ex-MP said that the government could correct him if he was wrong.

 Rahman said that the desperate bid to hide the identities of those who met the suicide bombers at Shangri-La underscored their belief that there was an influential and very powerful hand behind the Easter Sunday attacks.

Rahman reiterated SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa’s recent declaration that a through investigation would be conducted into the Easter Sunday carnage if the SJB won the upcoming presidential election.

Amb. Chung stresses importance of facing Indo-Pacific security challenges

A five-day training exercise, Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) involving the US Navy, and the US Marine Corps began in Trincomalee yesterday (22).

 The US Embassy said that the exercise would involve US Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST) and a US Marine Corps unit specialized in security and anti-terrorism for naval assets.

The CARAT Sri Lanka exercise includes a Women, Peace, and Security Symposium on April 24 to promote the vital roles women play in peace negotiations, conflict management, and resolution.  With approximately 70 U.S. personnel working with their Sri Lanka military partners, this fifth iteration of the CARAT Sri Lanka bilateral maritime exercise underscores the strong partnership and shared commitment of the United States and Sri Lanka to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung emphasized the significance of the exercise: “Since Sri Lanka began participating in CARAT in 2017, it has grown to become the most significant bilateral military engagement between the United States and Sri Lanka, reflecting our shared commitment to the peace and stability of the Indian Ocean Region. This exercise demonstrates the importance the United States places on nurturing partnerships, encouraging cooperation, and advancing maritime capabilities, enabling the US and Sri Lankan navies to better operate together to address maritime security challenges in the Indo-Pacific.”

The Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera stated that: “Taking part in exercises of this nature enables the Sri Lanka Navy to gain confidence, experience and operational training by working alongside an experienced and well-equipped Navy like the US Navy. This can be particularly valuable in situations where the Sri Lanka Navy is required to engage with multiple array of navies for combined operations in the establishment of freedom of navigation and rules-based order in the ocean region, as well as responding to traditional and nontraditional threats in the maritime domain.”

Senior Defence Official at the U.S. Embassy Anthony Nelson praised the collaborative people-to-people spirit that the upcoming CARAT exercise exemplifies: “The aim of CARAT is to enhance the ability of our navies to defend our own nations and uphold the international standards that serve our mutual interests. But it’s not just about honing our naval capabilities; CARAT Sri Lanka 2024 stands as a powerful symbol of our partnership, building lasting friendships and mutual understanding by working shoulder to shoulder with our Sri Lankan counterparts.”

Initiated in 1995, CARAT is a series of bilateral and multilateral exercises between the United States and Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, this exercise series is designed to enhance the operational collaboration between the US.and partner navies’ abilities to operate together in response to traditional and non-traditional maritime security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and build relationships through sports, cultural, and information exchanges.

Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha hosted Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj and his accompanying team at India House on Sunday. The two sides discussed ways in which India can support the development of the Ramayana Trail in Sri Lanka.

Taking to social media platform X, The Indian High Commission in Colombo stated, “High Commissioner @santjha hosted Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, Treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust & his accompanying team at India House. Discussed ways in which India can support development of #RamayanaTrail in Sri Lanka, promoting P2P connect and economic growth.”

Earlier, the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, attended the inauguration of the Ramayana Trail Project, endorsed by Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj. Jha underscored that the Ramayana Trail Project will further the civilizational connection between India and Sri Lanka. The National Security Advisor to Sri Lankan President Sagala Ratnayaka, former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya and other dignitaries also attended the event.

In a post on X, the Indian High Commission in Colombo stated, “May the #RamayanaTrail flourish as friendship flourishes today! High Commissioner @santjha joined the inauguration event of #RamayanaTrail Project in Sri Lanka endorsed by Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, along with NSA @SagalaRatnayaka, cricket icon @Sanath07 & other dignitaries.””A key feature of the #VisionDocument, Buddhist Circuit in India and Ramayana Trail in Sri Lanka demonstrate our shared antiquity. HC underlined the #RamayanaTrail Project will further the civilisational connect between India & Sri Lanka besides promoting tourism and local economies,” it added.