Easter Attacks: Cardinal demands justice on sixth anniversary

Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, today (April 21) presented a series of requests to Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, urging that those responsible for the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks be brought to justice without further delay.

Cardinal Ranjith made these appeals during the main memorial service held this morning at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade, commemorating the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks on their sixth anniversary.

The coordinated bombings killed around 270 people, including foreign nationals, and injured more than 500.

Reaffirming his call for justice, Cardinal Ranjith made a series of direct appeals to the President, outlining the following seven key requests:

1. Present the full report on the Easter Sunday terror attacks to Parliament and make it public.

2. Establish an independent prosecutor’s office to oversee investigations and prosecutions related to the attacks.

3. Identify all parties behind the attacks, reveal the full truth to the public, and prosecute those responsible regardless of their rank or position.

4. Fully implement the recommendations made in the report issued by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the attacks, dated September 21, 2019.

5. Investigate the alleged connections between the Military Intelligence Unit and the alleged terrorist leader Zahran Hashim, and thoroughly examine the claims made in the UK’s Channel 4 documentary, including statements by key witness Asad Maulana.

6. Enact new legislation to dismantle the lawlessness and para-political structures that enabled the conspiracy behind the attacks.

7. Foster a new political culture where those in power serve the people rather than rule over them.

---

---