The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has called for investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks to continue without interruption, warning that no political influence should be allowed to derail the search for the truth, Ada Derana reported.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Archbishop’s House in Colombo on Monday, Archdiocese of Colombo spokesperson Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando also disclosed that former State Intelligence Service (SIS) chief Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay had previously sought an out-of-court settlement in a defamation case Sallay had filed against him, but that he had rejected the proposal.
Fr. Fernando said Sallay approached him at the courthouse after the first hearing in the case and stated that the lawsuit had been filed to protect his reputation rather than to cause personal difficulties. According to the spokesperson, Sallay suggested the matter could be settled amicably if Fr. Fernando removed references to Sallay’s name from his earlier public statements. Fr. Fernando said he declined, maintaining that he stood by his previous remarks and continued to believe they were accurate.
The spokesperson stressed that the criminal investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks and Sallay’s civil defamation suit were “separate matters,” rejecting claims circulating on social media that recent developments involving Sallay — including his admission to the Colombo National Hospital from CID custody and the opposition’s indefinite protest at Colombo Fort — were intended to influence the defamation proceedings.
Fr. Fernando said questions remain over whether a wider conspiracy lay behind the suicide bombings and over who may have planned or orchestrated the attacks, adding that uncovering the full truth was “a fundamental right of the victims and their families.”
“No political party or politician should interfere in these investigations in any way. Under no circumstances should these investigations be allowed to stop,” he said. The Church previously petitioned President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to remove Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekera over a conflict of interest concern in the same probe.
Update — June 8 (PTA reform call): In a subsequent Ada Derana report on the same briefing, Fr. Fernando renewed calls for the Prevention of Terrorism Act to be either substantially amended or fully repealed, saying the law contained “inhumane aspects” particularly in relation to detainee treatment while acknowledging the need for national security measures. Responding to questions on the perpetrators, he said the group led by Zahran Hashim carried out the suicide bombings influenced by extremist ideology but stressed that investigations must also focus on identifying those who supported, facilitated or enabled the attackers. He pushed back on the President’s earlier deadline-driven framing of the mastermind question, saying the Church was “not asking for deadlines” but only that the investigation be “conducted lawfully, impartially, and concluded through the judicial process.” The PTA repeal call lands as former SIS chief Suresh Sallay remains hospitalised on a “fast unto death” with the Act’s repeal among his stated demands.
