COLOMBO, Sept 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A fresh inquiry into the Easter
suicide bombings that hit Sri Lanka killing at least 258 people was ordered
by president Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday, after concerns from the Catholic
Church that current probes are not independent.
The government has blamed a local jihadi group, the National Thowheeth
Jama’ath (NTJ) for the April 21 attacks on three churches and three luxury
hotels, while the Islamic State group also claimed responsibility.
Sirisena said the commission has wide judicial powers to gather evidence
on those responsible for the bombings, and to probe security and intelligence
lapses.
The five-member panel is headed by a Court of Appeal judge and includes
three other judges and a retired civil servant. It is to report back with
recommendations within three months.
The inquiry was launched amid fears voiced by the country’s Catholic
Church that a parliamentary probe and police investigation into the attacks
are not sufficiently independent.
While the newly-launched inquiry is being carried out by a cross-section
of MPs, many opposition members are boycotting it. They say the commission is
being used by political parties to deflect any responsibility for failing to
stop the attacks.
Sirisena, who is also the minister in charge of law and order, has said
that all those responsible for the attacks were either killed or under
arrest.
A parliamentary public inquiry has heard evidence from intelligence and
senior police officials that Sirisena neglected national security issues and
failed to convene regular national security council meetings.
The president has also been accused of failing to act on precise Indian
intelligence that jihadists were about to hit Christian churches and other
targets in Sri Lanka.
Sirisena has denied the accusations, and sacked his top defence official
and the intelligence chief after blaming them for the lapses.
The Police chief, Pujith Jayasundara, was also suspended, and he — along
with the secretary to the ministry of defence — are both facing criminal
prosecution over their failure to prevent the bombings.
Sri Lankan authorities failed to arrest the known jihadist who led the
attacks — Zahran Hashim — before they occurred, the country’s top
intelligence official has said.
Ten days before the bombings, Jayasundara warned that Hashim’s NTJ group
could target prominent churches. But this was not followed up.
The government has admitted there were intelligence failures before the
attacks.