Harin runs down former President Sirisena before PCoI

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Former President Maithripala Sirisena was a micro-manager, but he had had neither knowledge nor capability to do so former Minister Harin Fernando, on Wednesday, told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks.

Fernando said that the former government had to take responsibility for the terror attacks on April 21, 2019. Due to the constitutional crisis and its aftermath there had been chaos in the country and Sirisena had excluded former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, and former IGP Pujith Jayasundara from National Security Council (NSC) meetings, Fernando said.

Fernando added that after the 52 days government in December 2018 the relationship between the former President and the former Prime Minister had been strained severely.

When a commissioner asked Fernando whether the Cabinet had ever discussed Islamic extremism, the witness said that they had not discussed it often. Former ministers Patali Champika Ranawaka and Rajitha Senaratne had spoken of extremism on a few occasions, he said.

“However, we discussed the Digana incident at length. Islamic extremism emerged as a response to Sinhala extremism. Because of the racism of the majority community, Muslims felt insecure and they tried to look after their own security. Through education and making sure Muslims don’t feel left out, we can address the problem of Islamic extremism.”

Commissioners again asked if Muslim MPs in the government had spoken of Islamic extremism. Fernando said they had not, but they spoken a lot about discrimination against the Muslims.