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Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka says Channel 4 documentary on Easter massacre raises ‘reasonable doubt’ about covert involvements
In an interview given to Hiru TV on September 4, 2023, the day after the Channel 4 documentary on the 2019 Easter bombing in Sri Lanka was aired in the UK, Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, France, UNESCO and Russia, said that investigations into the Easter bombings have raised more questions than answers and that the latest documentary released by Channel 4 succeeds in creating “reasonable doubt” in the minds of the viewers that the official investigations may not yet have revealed the whole truth.
The Channel 4 documentary he said, would accumulate over time a potentially huge global audience— 2.5 billion Christians, including 1.4 billion Catholics— who would be concerned at allegations that a former Sri Lankan intelligence official and current head of the SIS, had met with members of the group that eventually carried out the attack on Easter Sunday, at a secret location.
The shocking allegation of the whistle-blower that this officer had told him that an “unsafe environment” in Sri Lanka was required to ensure the electoral victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whether truthful or not, needs an urgent, comprehensive and clarificatory response from the GoSL, he said.
If it wants to prevent possible action in other, non-Lankan jurisdictions, the government should remove the sense of opacity that surrounds security officials’ non-response to vital foreign intelligence, their surreal behaviour on the day of the attack and their intervention during subsequent investigations.
Indian revelations at Russian Conference
Asked what information he had at the time of the Easter attack as a serving ambassador, Jayatilleka said he was Ambassador to the Russian Federation at the time of the bombings. He said that at the High-Level International Conference on Security held in the city of Ufa in June
2019 which he attended, together with a delegate from the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Modi’s Deputy National Security Advisor at the time, Rajinder Khanna announced to the conference that India had passed on urgent intelligence to their security counterparts in Sri Lanka about a likely terrorist attack in Colombo. Khanna, a former chief of India’s external intelligence, had expressed his bafflement at the lack of action by the Sri Lankan officials in response to such deadly serious information.
Jayatilleka said that the Commission of Inquiry report revealed that five ranking security officials who received this intelligence prior to the bombings took no action to pass on this information to their superiors. Nor did they take any action which could have prevented the large-scale massacre of innocents. He expressed his dismay that not one, but five chose to remain inexplicably silent.
Suggesting that people even in their ordinary lives usually warn their relatives and friends when there is an impending water cut or torrential rains in their areas, five officials whose main job it was to receive and pass on warnings of threats to the country, had mysteriously failed to do so. He said an urgent, rigorous investigation into their silence is imperative in the context of the Channel 4 allegations.
Close Encounter with a suicide bomber
A more curious incident was the mysterious intelligence officer who is reported by the Commission of Inquiry as having actually met with one of the suicide bombers on the day of the attack. This bomber who left the Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo after receiving a telephone call, was met by a Sri Lankan intelligence official who then let him go on his way and blow himself up at a more modest hotel in Dehiwala. Jayatilleka asks why the unnamed intelligence official did not arrest the bomber when he met him. He says it is a world’s first where such a person, most likely carrying the bomb on himself at the time, was allowed to go his way unhindered by a security official.
According to the report of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) and notes kept by the lawyers representing the Catholic Church at the inquiry, this official was summoned by the CID special team investigating the massacre, but was soon removed by Sri Lankan Intelligence who swooped in on the proceedings, claiming that this person was one of their operatives and the questioning pertained to one of their operations—and therefore he should not be questioned further. Jayatilleka says this must be another world record, where the state official who actually met the suicide bomber on the day of the bombings, and only minutes before he blew himself up, was not allowed to be questioned by the government’s own CID and COI set up to investigate the very event.
Jayatilleka says this sort of behaviour by some government agencies lend sufficient credibility to allegations of a conspiracy. He warns that clearing up these issues is critical to preventing the allegations of involvement of covert state networks or operatives in the Easter Sunday massacre. Blanket denials of the sort engaged in by the government in and outside parliament, including the argument that ‘Islamic religious extremists will never engage in suicide missions to bring a Sinhala Buddhist President to office’, will simply not suffice, since the plotting and manipulation as distinct from the execution, could have been done by someone other than the bombers themselves.
He gave the example of the murder of former Italian PM Aldo Moro in 1978, where two decades later in two BBC programs – including TIMEWATCH by John Simpson—it was eventually revealed that though the execution was by a young Red Brigades member, that cell was manipulated and the actual plotting probably done by a clandestine network called Gladio, set up
by NATO intelligence agencies with the collaboration of ex-Mussolini fascists. ‘Gladio’ was initially formed as a resistance in case of Soviet invasion but later carried out a ‘strategy of tension’ supporting rightwing terrorism.
The murder of Moro was because he was trying to form a coalition government of the Italian Communist Party and the Governing Christian Democrats but some powerful quarters were apprehensive that Italy, a NATO member, would be thereby penetrated by Communist and Soviet influence. The young Red Brigades members who carried out the attack had no idea of the forces manipulating these events in the shadows. The Channel-4 documentary raises doubts that a model of ‘remote end-user’ manipulation may have been used in Sri Lanka’s Easter Massacre Jayatillake said.
2018-2019 Political Context
Dr. Jayatilleka says the political context in which the Gotabaya camp or the Gotabaya project operated must be understood in relations to the allegations. The Yahapalanaya government was in power at the time of the Easter attack. The Presidential elections were only months away. Although it was clear that the SLPP would win against the widely unpopular government, Jayatilleka says that the extremist group in the state institutions and civil society supporting Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for president since 2012 –the “Gotabaya Project” as he called it—was anxious that Mahinda Rajapaksa may either give the nomination to his politically experienced elder brother Chamal, oldest in the family, or support incumbent President Sirisena and place himself as the powerful Prime Minister.
When President Sirisena removed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2018, replacing him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, this fear was evident as supporters of the Rajapaksa brothers Gotabaya and Basil studiedly withheld their considerable resources, human and organizational, which prevented the consolidation of the MS-MR alliance in the face of challenges by the UNP which questioned its constitutionality. Even after the 52-days interlude was over, the SLPP knew the UNP could be defeated at any election. That was not the real fear of the ‘Gotabaya camp’ as distinct from the Rajapaksas as a whole or even the SLPP.
“Their real fear” Jayatilleka said, “was that Gotabaya may not get the nomination, frustrating their hopes and pet project of many years”. That was the real context, he said. The Channel 4 report notes that days after the Easter bombing, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa put his hat into the ring as the law-and-order candidate, was nominated by the SLPP as its presidential nominee and soon swept into office.
Jayatilleka said that the Sri Lankan judicial system should be assisted to reveal the truth to its citizens and to bring the perpetrators to justice. He said there will have to be foreign expert elements in the mix. He suggested using Interpol and forensics experts from other countries to assist in the investigations. He said he was against an international inquiry which was made up of agencies of individual countries because those countries have their own geopolitical agendas in the region and in the current period of big power contestation in this area, it is unwise to trust any of the dominant players to act outside their national interest.
He said the FBI was invited to help and did come in and sweep the locations and took back vital evidence including mobile phones for analysis but Sri Lankans are none the wiser today about the results of their investigations. Multilateral agencies are much better to conduct an impartial inquiry and he recommended using UN agencies to help with the process.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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