Udaya Gammanpila reveals key findings from committee report on Easter Sunday Attacks

Udaya Gammanpila, a former Member of Parliament, has called for the immediate removal of Ravi Seneviratne, the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security.

He claims Seneviratne was involved in the failures that led to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

During a press briefing today (October 21) in Colombo, Gammanpila shared findings from some unpublished investigative reports, emphasizing the need for accountability.

He mentioned a report from a committee led by retired judge A.N.J. De Alwis, which looked into possible negligence by Sri Lankan law enforcement and intelligence agencies in preventing the attacks.

Gammanpila pointed out that the report, commissioned by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, raises serious concerns about Seneviratne’s actions. At the time of the attacks, Seneviratne was the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The report states he received warnings from the State Intelligence Service (SIS) about an upcoming attack by Zahran Hashim and his group but did not take proper action.

He also revealed that the SIS had informed the CID of intelligence from foreign agencies, warning that suicide bombers were likely to target Catholic churches. Despite these warnings, the attacks took place on April 21, 2019.

Gammanpila criticized the current government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, for allegedly hiding important information about the attacks. He stated that two significant reports, one by the A.N.J. De Alwis committee and another by a committee headed by retired judge S.I. Imam, have not been made public.

The Imam report was submitted to former President Wickremesinghe on June 25, 2024, while the De Alwis report was given on September 14, 2024, just before Wickremesinghe left office.

Gammanpila accused President Dissanayake of deliberately keeping these reports from the public, questioning, “Why is the current government trying to hide these reports? The public deserves answers, and justice must be served.”

He condemned the President for what he called a violation of the Constitution and urged him to apologize to the nation.

Gammanpila warned that if these issues are not resolved, public trust in the government’s ability to handle national security could decline even further.

He also announced that preparations are being made to release the S.I. Imam committee report to the public on October 28, 2024.