Hand Over Investigations of Easter Sunday Attacks to former IGP (Opp.Leader Sajith)

Speaking to parliament on September 8, 2023, the opposition leader said the followings:

Whether we liked it or not, the parliament was divided into factions over the events surrounding the East Sunday attacks.

This current ruling party, including the house speaker, was elected on the promise of conducting an extensive inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks. Indeed, you have stated that you will launch an extraordinary investigation into this unfortunate tragedy that occurred during the former government’s tenure.

People voted for the SLPP massively because they believed what the politicians said, but regrettably, what had happened in the previous couple of years in terms of investigations into Easter Sunday attacks.

Honestly, did the previous president lead the current government, and did they do anything to support the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks?

From the perspective of Catholic religious leaders, to all those who have suffered and lost loved ones, and to the entire Catholic community in Sri Lanka, if they have taken the necessary efforts to ensure a proper investigation. There would not have been as much discussion surrounding the attacks as there is today.

So I’d like to emphasize that we, the Sri Lankans, do not require overseas experts’ support or advice. We can solve this investigation using our own expertise.

We do not need the expertise of international media outlets or the assistance of international agencies to conduct our probe. We can handle everything on our own.

Let’s get one thing straight: there are two sides here. One party does not want or prefer that this investigation be conducted correctly, whilst the other is eager to discover what happened. As a result, the parliament is divided on this matter.

As a result, it is evident that no meaningful inquiry will be conducted by local authorities. It is unavoidable that people will demand an internationally sanctioned investigation. Probably involving institutions such as the FBI in the United States and Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom, as well as several international terrorism experts. But we don’t need their assistance or direction; we can do it on our own.

What we are requesting and recommending to the government is that an unbiased investigation be conducted so that the Catholic community in Sri Lanka, in particular, feels satisfied in every manner possible.

Mr. Shani Abesekara, who truly conducted a thorough investigation and uncovered what transpired prior to the Easter Sunday attacks, has been imprisoned and falsely accused of a variety of offenses. preventing him from performing the duties he had.

So I sincerely requests from the president himself to hand over the investigation in regards to Easter Sunday attacks to our former head of police Mr. Shani Abesekara.

To be honest, the president strongly feels that Mr. Shani Abesekara is capable of completing this investigation. So there is no need for the president to be hesitant about what must be done.