A bishop in Sri Lanka expressed his greater hope for justice as the new government in Colombo confirmed the opening of a new investigation into the suicide bombings in the Southeast Asian nation on Easter Sunday of 2019.
“The fact the government under the newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has confirmed its will to conduct a thorough investigation into the Easter 2019 attacks is certainly a good sign… We can say that we are confident,” said Ratnapura Bishop Peter Antony Wyman Croos to Fides News Agency.
These attacks, which took place on April 21, 2019, devastated three churches and three hotels, killing 279 people and injuring hundreds.
The new probe was initiated after the Sri Lankan government concluded that the previous ones had failed to identify other culprits responsible for the attack.
In 2023, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court fined former President Maithripala Sirisena and four high-ranking officials more than $1.03 million for failing to prevent the attacks after neglecting Indian intelligence warnings.
According to government spokesman and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, the public can rest assured that no one involved in the bombings will be exempt from legal responsibility.
"The Easter Sunday attacks will be thoroughly investigated. We assure the people of Sri Lanka that we will not pave the way for injustice. We will not hide or protect anyone. All those responsible for these acts will be brought to justice through legal channels," he said.
Herath said that a full report will be submitted once the investigation is completed, which is currently in the government’s possession to ensure “completeness and accuracy.”
The announcement of the new probe came days after President Dissanayake dismissed Suresh Sallay, Sri Lanka’s intelligence chief who was linked with the bombers.
According to reports from British broadcaster Channel 4, Salay allowed the attacks to happen to influence the presidential bid of then-candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Rajapaksa won the 2019 presidential elections in a landslide after vowing to go after Islamist extremists.
Meanwhile, Sallay denied his involvement in the bombings and was promoted to intelligence chief when Rajapaksa assumed office.
These 2019 Easter Sunday bombings are considered as Sri Lanka’s worst-ever attack against civilians.
Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka have been calling for an independent investigation.
Through their efforts, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna in Italy, pledged support to their cause.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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