Easter Sunday carnage: Counsel for BASL blames it all on Sirisena

By Chitra Weerarathne

The failure on the part of the then President Maithripala Sirisena to convene the National Security Council (NSC) had resulted in security lapses that led to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, Sanjeewa Jayawardena, PC, told the Supreme Court yesterday (16).

Appearing for the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) in the Easter Sunday case, Jayawardena alleged that President Sirisena had been responsible for causing confusion in the defence set-up. Had the President, who was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, in addition to being the Defence Minister, convened the NSC regularly, he would have received information pertaining to possible threats to the Catholic Church, the Methodist Church and the Indian High Commission, the court was told.

The President’s Counsel explained that information had been received that Zahran Hashim was planning to mount attacks on Catholic Churches and the Indian High Commission. The then head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena had reported the threat to the then Secretary Defence and the IGP, the Counsel explained.

The SIS had been under the Minister of Defence, he explained. President Sirisena, who was the head of the defence apparatus, was responsible for overall failure, the Counsel argued. In 2018, an open warrant was issue don Zahran by a Magistrate. Zahran had desecrated Buddha statues in Mawanella as well, Counsel said. The seventh respondent CNI, was expected to have discussions on 07 and 09 April on the situation regarding national security then. Information had been received by an Indian Intelligence agency of a possible attack.

According to the Counsel, the weekly intelligence meeting was chaired by Hemasiri Fernando in his capacity as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and not by the then President. The Head of State had been out of the country at the time of the incident, the Counsel said.

Had the warning been conveyed to the Cardinal, he would have cancelled the Easter masses in all the churches on 21 April 2019, Counsel Jayawardena said. There was a clear threat to the Indian High Commission, the Indian Nationals and the Catholic Churches, he pointed out. The IGP had taken position that instructions had been given to all the relevant officers, the Counsel said.

But none of the churches had been warned, he said, adding that the National Security Council was chaired by the President.

The National Security Council was re-summoned on 22 April, 2019, after the attack on April 21, 2019. The then President was in Singapore at the time of the attack.

The bench comprised Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare, Justice L.T.B. Dehideniya, Justice Murdhu Fernando, Justice S. Thurairajah, Justice A. H. M. D. Nawaz and Justice Shiran Gooneratne.