Let the courts decide who the mastermind is

Former Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena (far left) with author Udaya Gammanpila and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, at the launch of Udaya Gammanpila’s book ‘Searching for the Mastermind of the Easter Sunday Attacks’

Photo courtesy: Facebook page of Udaya Prabhath Gammanpila 

• It was the Tamil National Alliance MP S. Sritharan, who first labelled Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the real “master” behind the Easter Sunday bombings during a speech in Parliament in May 2019. However, he failed to back his argument with firm evidence

Former Minister Udaya Gammanpila has stolen the limelight at least for a few weeks by launching his book ‘Searching for the Mastermind of the Easter Sunday Attacks’, despite it disappointing many 

Gammanpila in his book as well as his speech at the book launching ceremony had concluded that Zahran Hashim, the leader of the National Thawheed Jama’ath (NTJ) that carried out suicide bomb explosions in eight places on April 21, 2019, was the mastermind of those attacks.

It did not kindle anybody’s enthusiasm as various people have various preconceived conclusions on the mastermind of these attacks based on circumstantial evidence as well as their political leanings. Previously, former Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara identified Nawfer Mawlavi as the mastermind. 

Popular beliefs on the matter revolve now around former President Gotabaya with some people having a penchant to see the mastermind in him while others fearing to see so. 

In a way, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa stole most of the limelight that was flashed on Gammanpila during and after the book launching ceremony with his participation in the event. Since many members of his party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the Unites National Party (UNP) have long been zealous supporters of the conspiracy theory against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his participation at an event that was very clear to be aimed at absolving Rajapaksa, puzzled many. 

It so embarrassed the other leaders of the SJB that they embarrassed the party even further by shamelessly lying on the matter. Nalin Bandara Jayamaya who always accuses the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) of lying, told journalists that his leader did not attend the ceremony and that it was only an AI generated figure that was seated in the first row of the participants. He might have evaded a question put to him by a journalist on a lighter note, but it points the lack of seriousness on the part of our politicians, even in a matter that involved a massacre of over 270 people. 

Another SJB politician from Kalutara District, Jagath Vithana, also categorically denied Premadasa’s participation in Gammanpila’s book launching ceremony despite millions of people having seen him at the venue. SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara argued that participation in the event does not amount to accepting the views in the book which is true. Yet, it was clear way before the event that what is going to be presented at the meeting runs counter to the SJB’s long-standing line of thinking. It was not a seminar where Premadasa also can air his views on the subject or a wedding ceremony just to attend as a courtesy. This is nothing but again lack of seriousness and sometimes seeking attention.  

The sequence leading to this book is interesting. Unlike the SJB politicians, Gammanpila, who was very serious in this issue demanded even before one month into President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s Presidency that the latter release the reports of two committees appointed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe on the Easter Sunday attacks. The then Cabinet spokesman Minister Vijitha Herath stated that they rejected both the committees. 

The two committees had been rejected by the Catholic community as well. Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith had told media that one of these committees headed by retired High Court Judge A.N.J. De Alwis was appointed to implicate the two senior police officials, Ravi Seneviratna and Shani Abeysekara. 

A day before the last Parliamentary election, former Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan was questioned by the CID over the Easter Sunday horror. He was questioned based on his name being mentioned in a documentary aired by the Britain’s ‘Channel 4’ on September 2023. In this documentary Azath Mawlana, the former secretary to Pillayan had stated that Pillayan had prior connection with Shainy Mawlavi, a brother of Zahran Hashim, the leader of the National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ) that carried out the terrorist attacks later in 2019. 

He said that he arranged a meeting between the former State Intelligence Service (SIS) chief Suresh Salley and Zahran in February 2018 at in Karadippooval in Puttalam, at the instance of Pillayan. He further quoted Salley as telling him that a tense situation has to be created in the country for Gotabaya Rajapaksa to come to power at the 2019 Presidential Election. However, though having been questioned Pillayan was not arrested then. 

Then in February 2025, during a press conference Gammanpila stated that NPP Government has hatched a plot to arrest former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and former SIS chief Suresh Salley. On April 9, Pillayan was arrested over the disappearance of Eastern University Vice Chancellor S. Raveendranath in 2006. despite him being arrested over a purported abduction, two days later Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament that investigations had revealed that Pillayan had prior knowledge on Easter Sunday attacks.

Two unusual and incomprehensible incidents occurred after this arrest. Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has sought permission from the CID to talk to Pillayan. The CID had turned down his request on the grounds it is illegal. Then Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila who is well known for his views towards Tamils and Muslims had got the permission to meet Pillayan as the legal counsel of the latter. An interview in a Sinhala weekly indicated then that Gammanpila had become Pillayan’s lawyer without any request from the latter. Why these two politicians were so keen to speak to a person arrested for the disappearance of a man is not clear. 

Then Minister Wijepala stated in October last year that evidence have surfaced to suggest that Pillayan is involved in the Ester Sunday attacks. And, as indicated by Gammanpila in February last year, Suresh Salley was arrested in January this year. Based on these incidents one can infer where these investigations are leading to and Gammanpila is attempting to preempt it by building up public opinion against it.

It was the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP S. Sritharan, who first labelled Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the real “master” behind the Easter Sunday bombings during a speech in Parliament in May 2019. However, he failed to back his argument with firm evidence. 

Then around mid-2020, Gotabaya was accused by Opposition politicians indirectly using a recent Sinhala adage “one who carry the prey is the predator.” What they meant was that it was Gotabaya who politically benefitted by the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks and thus he was behind the bombings. However, you can’t accuse anybody for such a horrific crime without hard evidence, in spite of a considerable public opinion having been built up on Gotabaya’s purported involvement. Similarly, you can’t derail investigations by building up public opinion either. Let courts decide.