The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, for the opportunity.

¶ 02 One main purpose of this Bill is to provide for uncovering and prosecuting proceeds derived from terrorism-related activities concealed behind companies.

¶ 03 Speaking of terrorism, we must recall the Easter Sunday bombings. When this Government assumed office, the first official disclosures emerged in Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court, Case No. B 35882/24, via a “B Report” filed on 11 November last year. It referred initially to Channel 4’s revelations through Asad Maulana, then to Rev. Cyril Gamini’s WhatsApp-based disclosure, aligned with Asad Maulana’s testimony before the UNHRC. Based on this, the CID identified two suspects: Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (Pillayan) and Suresh Sallay, and obtained an Immigration order to prevent their departure. Yet, to date, the CID has neither recorded their statements nor arrested them.

¶ 04 The report also documented the brutal killing of two police officers in Vavunativu and the theft of their weapons, later used by the Zahran group. The CID’s report names Army Intelligence officials—officers of the 3rd Military Intelligence Corps (MIC) in Batticaloa, including commanding and intelligence officers—showing that in 2015, an informant provided vital information on Islamist extremists, including Zahran, to the 3 MIC, but that unit’s officers failed to act. The CID indicates that if action had been taken, the Easter attacks could have been prevented.

¶ 05 Further, in April 2025, orders were made to the Immigration Department to impound passports of five named officers, but none of the military intelligence officials has been arrested or produced in court. Under Section 115 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, such statements must be reported to the Magistrate, but that has not been done. Instead, a civilian Tamil interpreter who assisted SI Wijenayake in Vavunativu was arrested and produced—like in the “Kekille” judgment: the real actors remain free while a powerless person is punished. Even the then Eastern Security Forces Commander is in Parliament, while only a translator is in custody.

¶ 06 On 7 January, Minister Ananda Wijepala stated that after assumption of office, the investigation entered a new phase—referring to the same Fort Magistrate’s B Report of 11 November 2024. I have been granted two additional minutes by the Opposition.

¶ 07 That B Report says 48 statements have been recorded—12 civilian witnesses, 7 Army personnel, 26 police officers, and 3 prison officers. Yet none of those statements is annexed. Who is stalling this? Why are key Eastern intelligence and commanding officers not questioned or produced? Who is the big boss behind those who planned and enabled terrorism using military authority and Zahran for political ends? To identify him, consider this timeline: On 26 October 2018, President Maithripala Sirisena removed PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. On 9 November 2018, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Weeravikrama Vibhushana Aruna Jayasekara was appointed Eastern Commander. Three weeks later, on 30 November 2018, two Vavunativu police officers were murdered, and an LTTE ex-cadre, Ajandan, was framed. The B Report notes that a Police Inspector of the Division Intelligence Unit, Samantha, was arrested, but no Army officer was arrested. Why?

¶ 08 I also ask about Mr. Aruna Jayasekara’s trajectory: in 1988–89 he engaged in counter-insurgency; later became Eastern Commander under PM Mahinda Rajapaksa; retired in November 2019; then in 2023, anticipating your Government’s rise, he surfaces as head of a retired officers’ organization within the NPP and enters Parliament via the National List, becoming Deputy Minister of National Security. Investigate how he arrived here and who orchestrated this.

¶ 09 Please pay attention to these matters. Thank you.