Everyone responsible for Easter attacks will be brought to justice – PM

Every person responsible for the deadly Easter Sunday attack on April 21, 2019 will be brought to justice, says Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He noted that the government has taken all possible measures to prevent the recurrence of an unfortunate situation as such.

The Prime Minister made these remarks delivering a special statement in Parliament today (April 21) for the second commemoration of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.

“Today we commemorate one of the darkest days in the history of Sri Lanka which is the 2nd Anniversary of the April 21st Easter Sunday Attack that happened two years ago. As we take this moment to remember the native and foreign lives lost, which took away 259 innocent lives and injured hundreds of people who attended the Easter Sunday Mass on that day given the series of bombing which took place on the 21st of April, I take this moment to wish that the souls of the Christian Community will receive the heavenly bliss they wished for and that all others whose lives were lost would also rest in peace.”

Hundreds of injured and disabled people are still suffering physically and mentally, the Premier said extending his deepest condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives or became disabled.

PM Rajapaksa stated that this matter has already been referred to the Attorney General based on the report and other documents prepared governing the information revealed by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) which probed the massacre.

“Though we do not wish to intervene with the judicial process, I wish to state that as a government we are ready to provide any assistance required for the success of this process of judiciary,” he stressed.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has also facilitated the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) in addition to the Commission for the purpose of carrying out investigations independently, he added. “We are confident that at the end of the investigation, the respective departments will take legal action in the future.”

It is the innocent public who have to pay for the criminal neglect and evasion by the previous government by mixing up their own political agendas with national security, the Premier went on to say.

The parties responsible for the attack are spreading various lies, influencing investigations and diverting social attention even to date, PM Rajapaksa alleged. “We feel sorry for such groups. While remembering all those who died, we as a government are taking every step to prevent such an unfortunate situation from ever recurring.”

Concluding his address, the Prime Minister pledged to bring to justice all those responsible for the heinous attack.