The Hon. Ajith P. Perera

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I wish to state that Samagi Jana Balawegaya extends fullest support to the new regulations under the IP Act aimed at affirming the rule of law. The present Government came to power with the principal pledge to establish the rule of law, with an Executive President and a 159-seat parliamentary majority. Yet, a very unfortunate situation prevails today. On 08 January 2009, our dear friend, internationally renowned journalist and my colleague at the Bar, was assassinated on a public road in a High Security Zone using State’s unofficial armed apparatus of that time. At his funeral procession, I carried the banner “The Killer is Known” for over two kilometres; I say this with responsibility. We knew such investigations would not happen under a thug government; justice would not be done. When the Yahapalana Government came into power in 2015, we pledged to deliver justice in the murders of Lasantha Wickrematunge, Upali Tennakoon, Keith Noyahr and other grave crimes. As a result, in January 2015 we assigned capable, experienced officers, and the CID conducted very diligent investigations. It took time because the killers held State security power and were involved in unofficial operations with the armed forces; they had the capacity to suppress evidence.

¶ 02 Therefore, we assigned the process to Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne and SSP Shani Abeysekara. Investigations commenced, and substantial information was uncovered—among the most significant in our criminal investigation history. Lasantha’s was not the only murder in this thug politics; there were a series of murders and attempts. Thoroughly probing this created hope in society about the rule of law and justice.

¶ 03 As a result, Prem Ananda Udalagama was arrested; he was found to be a member of this unofficial killing squad and linked to many grave crimes, including the assault on “Rivira” editor Upali Tennakoon. The Gotabaya Government granted him special protection—immediately sent him abroad to serve at the Embassy in Germany. A former army sergeant major was placed in a diplomatic mission to shield him. The OIC of Mount Lavinia Police was arrested; pressure had been brought on him by DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara. Just before the murder, the number plates of the motorcycles carrying the assassins were recorded in his notebook. That notebook was made to disappear; pages in observation books were torn—there were more witnesses around. All this was uncovered. Years later, due to pressure on Sugathapala by DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara, it was found that he had photocopied his notes before tearing pages. The CID recovered them. Those are admissible, secondary evidence. As this was a chain of interlinked attacks, an evidence system existed.

¶ 04 Hon. Presiding Member, at that stage there was sufficient evidence to file the grave charge of causing disappearance of evidence necessary to a homicide against two persons seated here, and later to identify direct links to abducting and threatening Lasantha’s driver.