23 October 2019 10:45 pm
The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that probed the Easter Sunday attack says the State Intelligence Service (SIS) is to be blamed most for its failure to act upon prior warnings. The PSC submitted its report to Parliament today. The report has also named the President, the Prime Minister and the State Minister of Defence as ‘culpable’ persons who can be blamed for the tragedy to some extent.
The report had revealed that the then SIS chief is to mostly responsible for the tragedy while it had also named the then IGP, the then Defence Secretary, Centre for National Intelligence as other culpable persons. It has also found former Governor Eastern Province presidential candidate M. L. A. M Hizbullah for patronizing extremism in the East.
Citing the reason for naming SIS as an institution that has to be blamed most is the failure to its part after taking over the task of investigation on rising extremist activities in the East from the Terrorist Investigation Division and also for failing to inform the political leadership on impending attacks.
Also the report had come up with eight recommendations which includes taking action to ban Wahabism in Sri Lanka, reorganising the defence sectors including the intelligence services, setting up of financial investigation unit, Reorganising the Attorney General’s Department and the Judiciary, monitoring media in order to stop publishing of false reports, change the education system to avoid teaching of extremism. The committee had also recommended that political leadership should be more responsible.
The select committee members led by its Chairman Ananda Kumarasiri told a press conference that Speaker could refer the report to the Attorney General after getting the approval of the House.
The committee members said the terrorists who carried out the attack has been used as informants of intelligence units and had been paid salaries from 2011 while the present regime had also failed to act upon the prior warnings’ given even in 2018.
“We were able to get it confirmed that the attacks on the churches could have been avoided had the religious leaders including cardinal Ranjith was informed beforehand,” Mr. Kumarasiri said. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)