Easter Sunday terrorist bombings:

Leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya and former MP Udaya Gammanpila yesterday said that an ultimatum he had issued to the government in respect of two probe committee reports on the Easter Sunday bombings had gone unheeded, and therefore he would be compelled to release the two documents on Monday (21).

Speaking to the media yesterday Gammanpila said, “The time I have given the President to release the two reports, which he is hesitant to make public regarding the Easter attacks, ends at 10.00 a.m. on Monday.” He emphasised that the President had until 10 a.m. on Monday to fulfil his constitutional responsibility.

Gammanpila said, “If the President violates Article 38 of the Constitution and fails to meet that deadline, I will certainly make them public.” He expressed concern over threats of incarceration under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Official Secrets Act. “I have consulted legal experts, and they have pointed out that this could lead to a 14-year jail sentence. However, I believe the people’s right to know is more important, so I am willing to take the risk and will release the reports after the deadline.”

Gammanpila said that Dissanayake, as an MP, had called for the release of the reports on the Easter Sunday terror attacks. Church Spokesman Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando had also previously advocated for their release. “Now, they seem less enthusiastic about it. There are seri

ous doubts about whether the release of these reports will be detrimental to the interests of the NPP government and the Church. However, these reports are of national importance and do not belong to any party. They are public property, and the people have the right to know.”

Gammanpila said that the unpublished reports prepared by two probe committees headed by I.M. Imam and A.N.J. de Alwis.

In June 2023, the then President Ranil Wickremesinghe established a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the actions and responses of the intelligence and security services.

Retired Judge A.N.J. de Alwis was tasked with investigating the conduct of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), the Chief of National Intelligence (CNI), and other relevant authorities.

At the time of the Easter Sunday attacks, Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena led the SIS, while retired DIG Sisira Mendis served as the CNI, a role previously held by intelligence veteran General Kapila Hendawitharana.

In September, Wickremesinghe appointed a three-member committee to investigate allegations made by Britain’s Channel 4 regarding the alleged involvement of military intelligence in the Easter Sunday attacks. The President’s announcement followed a denial issued by the Ministry of Defence on behalf of the government.

The Committee, chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge Syed Ishrat Imam, also included retired Air Chief Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody, a former Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), and President’s Counsel Harsha Soza. Senior Assistant Secretary to the President Sarthanjali Maheswaran served as the Commission’s Secretary.