Sirisena denies Hemasiri’s claim

Former President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday claimed that the testimony given by former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks, about his (former’s) behavior, was completely false.

Issuing a press release, Sirisena said that the media had given significant coverage to the testimony given by Fernando last week.

“I vehemently deny what was said at the Commission by Fernando. These are malicious and fictitious statements and I wish to reiterate to the public that Fernando’s statements are false,” Sirisena said.

Sirisena insisted that when he is permitted to testify before the PCoI he will divulge the truth.

During last week’s testimony Fernando said that Sirisena was not interested in inviting Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was the prime minister during the 52 day government, to the National Security Council (NSC) meetings in November and December 2018, that it was Sirisena who insisted that former CID Inspector Nishantha Silva be transferred so that he would no longer be involved in a case on former CDS, Admiral Ravindra Chandrasiri Wijegunaratne and that it was highly likely that former Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS,) SDIG Nilantha Jayawardane had informed Sirisena about a report sent by a foreign source warning of the possibility of a terror attack by NTJ leader Zahran Hashim and others.