Sri Lankan government to investigate allegations of military's complicity in 2019 Easter bombings

After a British television report claimed that Sri Lankan intelligence had complicity in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, the Sri Lankan government is expected to appoint a parliamentary committee to investigate the allegations.

Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, Sri Lanka's State Minister of Defence confirmed to theparliament about setting up the committee.

"The president and the government hope to appoint a committee that will allow witnesses to provide evidence via Zoom from overseas if they cannot return to the country," saidTennakoon.

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"What is amusing here is that a Muslim pregnant woman and nine men carried out suicide attacks to bring a Sinhala Buddhist leader to power. These things can only happen in Sri Lanka and in Indian cinema," said the minister, adding that the government was also summoning the former attorney general before aParliamentary Select Committee.

Azad Maulana, a former spokesman of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP), who was interviewed in the Channel 4documentary, claimed thatSri Lankan military intelligence met the Easter Sunday bombers before the attacks in 2019.

Maulana said he arranged the meeting and the eventualbombings were hatched to create insecurity in the country and enableGotabaya Rajapaksa to win the presidential election later that year.

Although Maulana himself did not participate in the meeting, the intelligence officer told him that creating insecurity was the only way the Rajapaksa family could return to power.

After the bombing took place and the security footage was released, Maulana said he recognised the faces of the attackerscarrying bomb-laden backpacks as those whom he had arranged to meet with the intelligence officer.

The British channel said Maulana was interviewed by United Nations investigators and European intelligence services over his claims.

Watch |2019 Easter Attack: Sri Lanka begins trials, more than 1,200 witnesses listed

After the government's announcement, Gotabaya broke his silence and said the documentary by Channel-4 was mostly ananti-Rajapaksa tirade aimed at blackening the Rajapaksa legacy.

"Despite the politically motivated accusations being made against me by certain individuals, I have personally done everything possible to help the Roman Catholic community when I held government office," said Gotabaya.

"I also helped facilitate the arrangements to invite His Holiness the Pope to Sri Lanka and I headed the committee formed by the then government to organize the visit. I also played a key role in the construction of the Benedict XVI Catholic Institution of Higher Education in Bolawalana. I worked very closely with His Eminence the Cardinal during that period," he added.

What happened on Easter 2019?

On April 21, 2019, a series of blasts tore through three churches and many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. Nine suicide bombers of the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS were behind the attacks which killed 270 people, including 11 Indians while leaving over 500 injured. Eight explosions rattled the Sri Lankan cities of Colombo, Negombo, Kochchikede and Batticaloa.

Earlier this year,Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, on the occasion of Easter, assured the victims that justice would be delivered.

"I wish to reassure you that the legal proceedings related to this tragic incident are being processed independently and impartially, without any influence," he said in the message.

"The necessary groundwork towards this end has been laid, to ensure justice for all the victims. I pledge my unwavering commitment to ensuring the security of our country, by preventing any recurrence of such heinous acts," the president added.

(Update: Gotabaya Rajapaksa's statement has been added)

(With inputs from agencies)

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