‘Justice will be delivered,’ said Dissanayake upon meeting victims’ families of Easter 2019
The newly elected president met families at the St Sebastian Church in Negombo, where about 100 people died. Hope of getting to the truth about the attacks influenced the last elections. Investigations are being accelerated, and government responsibilities will be probed. Card Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, expressed his support.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – Sri Lanka's newly elected president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, had announced it during the election campaign. So, yesterday, he met with relatives of people killed and wounded in the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, at the Church of St Sebastian in Katuwapitiya, Negombo.
During the meeting he reiterated that investigations will be accelerated and measures will be taken to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again in the country.
“Justice will be delivered to the victims,” the president said at the site of one of the attacks on that tragic day, when a total of 258 people of 16 different nationalities died.
Yesterday morning, Dissanayake visited the church and laid a floral tribute at the memorial honouring the hundred or so victims. For the occasion, he received a commemorative gift.
Relatives of victims who spoke to him shared their concerns and difficulties. For his part, he stressed that the Easter attack, on 21 April 2019, was the worst tragedy of the recent past and will not be forgotten in a long time.
He expressed the conviction that one of the key factors in influencing the people's decision in the last presidential elections was “their hope for justice concerning the Easter Sunday attacks.”
The president also explained that citizens' aspirations are in line with his own, stating that his goal is to provide justice and fairness that people seek in relation to the attack. To this end, "efforts have already begun to achieve this,” he said.
Dissanayake also stressed the importance of conducting investigations without preconceived conclusions or bias. He instructed the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security to ensure a transparent and impartial inquiry, guided by openness and objectivity.
He spoke about a widespread belief in society that the attacks may have been carried out to gain political advantage. In his view, if hundreds of innocent lives have been sacrificed for political purposes, that would make it an even greater tragedy.
He stressed that if politics in the country has reached such an extreme, the priority must be to eliminate this dangerous situation.
The president also highlighted growing suspicions that the government apparatus may have been involved in the attacks at the time. Hence, the new investigation is also aimed at examining responsibilities within the government.
If such suspicions were true, he warned, the country would remain in a state of dangerous instability and insecurity. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to find out the truth behind those events.
President Dissanayake insisted that justice must be done for the victims of the tragedy, to honour the love and devotion of their families.
He expressed great appreciation for the role played by priests, who helped prevent an even more serious social catastrophe in the aftermath of the attacks. The President thanked them once again for their action.
The president noted that over the past five years, those who gathered in the streets on 21 April – demanding that the truth be brought to the surface – have been driven by hope for justice, which sustained them year after year.
The archbishop of Colombo, Card Malcolm Ranjith, also spoke at the event, stressing that, despite the appeal to the Human Rights Council in Geneva to obtain justice for the victims of Easter Sunday, no solution has been reached.
He also pointed out that, while the government has worked to provide the necessary support to the victims, public opinion continues to doubt the official cause of the attack, namely the jihadi connection, which led to the arrest of seven Sri Lankan citizens affiliated with the National Thowheeth Jama’ath.
The archbishop expressed his support for Anura Kumara Dissanayake, acknowledging the trust the people of Sri Lanka have in him and the appreciation they have for his integrity.
The prelate added that he believes the president will keep his promise of justice, holding those responsible for the Easter Sunday attack to account.
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15/11/2019 18:11
