The Hon. Chanaka Madugoda

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you. The government that won significant Catholic support now speaks about Easter in a manner we cannot accept. The Minister criticized prior probes and their duration, but this government has had one and a half years—what have you done?

¶ 02 Your President, in an address on 21 April last year, promised to name the mastermind within a year. Instead, you have made Suresh Sallay—a distinguished former head of military intelligence who fought LTTE terror—a suspect. Meanwhile, serious allegations against Ravi Seneviratne and Shani Abeysekera relating to Easter have been ignored. As set out in Hon. Udaya Gammanpila’s book “Finding the Mastermind of the Easter Attack,” there are 11 actions by Shani enabling the attack. I table that book.

¶ 03 Police began probing Shani for enabling the attack, but after this government came in, the chief investigator, IP Induka de Silva, was removed and inquiries halted. Now, the chief of CID then is leading complaints. “He who controls the court controls the case.” If you truly seek justice, how can those like Ravi Seneviratne, Shani Abeysekera, and now State Minister Aruna Jayasekara—the then Eastern Province Commander—hold office while probing Easter? We cannot trust such a process.

¶ 04 Do not forget your National List MP Mohamed Ibrahim, alleged to have spent over Rs. 300 million on the Easter plot per investigation records. He is aligned with your politics and you are working to clear him. We must unite to punish the real perpetrators, not label political opponents as masterminds. Thank you.