The looming Geneva threat

SPECIAL REPORT : Part 347

 

December 16, 2020

Successive governments owed explanations why a confidential UN report that dealt with the Vanni offensive had never been used in the defence of our armed forces. Although, the UN has publicly acknowledged the existence of the report, it is not yet in public domain. The UN acknowledged the report dealt with the situation in the Vanni during August, 2008, to May 13, 2009. The report placed
the number of persons killed, and wounded, during this period at 7,721 and 18,479 respectively. There cannot be a better detailed account than the UN report as it was based on information provided by NGOs, ICRC, as well as numerous other sources trapped in the war zone.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Having announced Sri Lanka’s decision to quit the Geneva process, Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena early this year assured the high-level segment of the 43rd UNHRC session in Geneva of the country’s intention to adopt ‘home-grown solutions to contemporary challenges.’

This pledge was given on Feb 26, 2020, a couple of months after the 2019 presidential election. Reiterating Sri Lanka’s commitment to what he called sustainable ‘peace and reconciliation’ through an inclusive domestically designed and executed reconciliation and accountability process. Sri Lanka’s response includes a Commission of Inquiry headed by a justice of the Supreme Court.

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) leader Gunawardena declared “since 2009, not a bullet has been fired in the name of separatism in Sri Lanka.” The Sri Lankan military brought the war to an end on the morning of May 19, 2009 on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon.

MEP is a constituent of the powerful coalition led by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) that won a near 2/3 majority in parliament despite the numerous Western backed forces ranged against them, including a well-funded local civil society lobby ever ready to do their bidding. Minister Gunawardena alleged at the 43rd session that the co-sponsorship of Geneva resolution 30/1 (Oct, 2015), 34/1 (March, 2017) and 40/1 had violated Sri Lanka’s Constitution.

The next Geneva session is scheduled for Feb-March 2021. Sri Lanka will have to explain the progress made in respect of the reconciliation and accountability process, since Sri Lanka quit the Geneva process.

Those who had moved Geneva in consultation with the top UNP leadership are of the view Sri Lanka hadn’t done anything since March 2020 to meet assurance given in Geneva.

A top Western envoy, during a recent conversation with the writer questioned the Sri Lankan government’s failure to keep its promise. Sri Lanka owed an explanation as regards its conduct since its much touted pull-out from the Geneva process, the envoy emphasized. The diplomat shared concerns of those who had backed the Geneva process while making reference to two additional issues, namely the arrest of attorney-at-law Hejaaz Hizbullah in connection with 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and the controversial government decision to cremate all corona victims in spite of strong opposition from the Muslim community.

But we would like to humbly ask these Western powers, who are literally trying to play god with us, where are the credible investigations into nearly 1000 killings each year in US of mostly unarmed blacks and minority group members. Two years back London Guardian had a series of articles into such brazen killings, but even after that exposure the holy American ‘independent’ media hardly ever touched the issue, till they all suddenly woke up to Black Lives Matter cry after a few killings this year, obviously with Trump as their ultimate target. Everyone except those who refuses to see knows in all those incidents hardly led to any convictions of the perpetrators because of the rigged system of justice with often judges, jurors and executioners (cops) all have the common objective of terrorising the blacks into submission to white men.

We will not go into UNHRC‘s need to call for credible investigations into most obvious horrible crimes recorded by Wikileaks or the present persecution of those messengers of truth like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning etc. etc. or how the canard of Weapons of Mass Destruction that launched a needless invasion of Iraq continues to bring death and misery to millions to this day. Do we need to mention what happened in Libya, Syria etc., etc.? UN you are a disgrace.

 

Core Group and Lord Naseby agree on Hizbullah

Interestingly, Lord Naseby who had strongly defended the war winning Sri Lankan armed forces at the expense of the overall Western strategy, too, has agreed with the Sri Lanka Core Group position on lawyer Hizbullah.

The following is the full text of the statement made by the UK’s International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French on behalf of Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Montenegro and the UK: “We note the High Commissioner’s concerns on Sri Lanka in her update.

The Core Group pays tribute to the people of Sri Lanka and to all those involved in delivering safe and peaceful Parliamentary elections, despite the challenges of Covid-19.

Next March, the Council will consider an important report by the High Commissioner, on human rights, reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. Specifically, it will consider the steps taken to implement resolution 30/1, through which, in 2015, the Council created a consensual framework to help Sri Lanka heal the wounds of its past and to address unresolved serious violations and abuses documented by the High Commissioner. This framework was renewed twice by this Council by consensus and with the explicit support of Sri Lanka.

The Government of Sri Lanka has been clear to this Council that it no longer supports resolution 30/1. The Core Group, once again, reiterates its profound disappointment at this development.

The Sri Lankan Government has also stated its continuing commitment to fostering reconciliation, justice and peaceful coexistence among Sri Lanka’s diverse communities. It has suggested that a new domestic process will take this agenda forward. While we appreciate this continued commitment, previous such processes have, regrettably, proved insufficient to tackle impunity and deliver real reconciliation. This Council will want to pay particular attention to how the new approach will differ from these previous attempts and put the victims of conflict at its heart. The future of the Independent Commissions including the Office for Missing Persons and Office for Reparations will be particularly important.

In the meantime we continue to hear concerns about an increasingly difficult operating environment for civil society and human rights groups in Sri Lanka. Instances of intimidation, harassment and surveillance continue, including threats to families of disappeared persons. Individuals are detained indefinitely without appearance before court, such as lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah.

Sri Lanka’s dynamic and diverse civil society lies at the heart of its vibrant democracy. The Core Group expresses its strong solidarity with Sri Lanka’s civil society, and human rights defenders, and calls on the government to take all steps necessary to allow them to operate freely.”

The statement issued in Sept. 2020 reiterated the importance of Oct 2015 Resolution 30/1, through which Geneva created an agenda to deal with Sri Lanka. In terms of the Geneva agenda, the previous yahapalana administration made a costly bid to replace Sri Lanka’s Constitution though the operation couldn’t be brought to a successful conclusion. Those who now represented the SLPP in parliament today participated in that disruptive process. The man who spearheaded that process-UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is no longer in parliament. The UNP that co-sponsored the Geneva Resolution has been reduced to just one National List MP in parliament. In the previous parliament the UNP had 106 members. The handling or mishandling of the post-war reconciliation process (read Geneva deal), too, contributed, in a big way, to the UNP’s deterioration.

Sri Lanka cannot be unaware in spite of its withdrawal from the Geneva process, the country is still very much part of the Geneva agenda. The Core Group has reminded Sri Lanka that the UNHRC would consider the UN human rights chief’s report pertaining to reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, particularly the steps taken to implement resolution 30/1.

Now let me get back to Lord Naseby’s stand on Hizbullah revealed in a recent letter he wrote to Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth. In the Nov 30, 2020 dated letter that had comprehensively dealt with the UK’s indefensible stand on post-war Sri Lanka, Lord Naseby stated the following: “The only substantial point in the Report that warrants real attention is the holding in custody of the Muslim Lawyer without being charged. I have raised this issue at the highest level in Sri Lanka pointing out it is unacceptable. I am told that evidence is being collected in relation to a possible association with the Easter Sunday bombing atrocity. I have made it clear he should either be charged or released.”

Lord Naseby took up the Hizbullah case, in his response to Lord Ahmad’s ministerial statement on Nov 20, 2020 in respect of what the UK called Human Rights Priority Countries for the period Jan -June 2020. Lord Naseby alleged that the policy statement “is dreadful, as it is riddled with factual inaccuracies and a total failure to reflect in any way the efforts of Sri Lanka to achieve reconciliation following the end of the terrorist conflict in May 2009. In fact the question arises as to why Sri Lanka is in the list of our human rights priority countries when there are countries with abysmal human rights records.”

 

Baffling continuous failure

Sri Lanka has a couple of weeks to finalize its forthcoming presentation in Geneva. With the debate on the 2021 budget over, the Foreign Ministry can undertake the project. However, the fact remains, the Joint Opposition (JO), predecessor to the SLPP, in spite of much rhetoric hadn’t worked on a strategy to reverse the Geneva trap. In an interview with the writer in Colombo in Sept 2019, Lord Naseby expressed serious disappointment over Sri Lanka’s failure to use his Oct 2017 disclosure in the House of Lords to effectively challenge the Geneva Resolution. Lord Naseby acknowledged he was quite surprised by Sri Lanka’s reaction as his revelation based on once classified wartime British diplomatic cables from Colombo disputed Geneva allegations directed at the war winning government.

Over three years after the House of Lords disclosure, British diplomatic cables remained unutilized. The incumbent government certainly owed the public an explanation why an opportunity to counter the Geneva project was never exploited. Sri Lanka for some strange reason never bothered at least to make a reference in Geneva to origins of terrorism in the country. In a way, Sri Lanka has facilitated the Geneva agenda by conveniently refraining from challenging the basis for the 2015 resolution based on STILL unsubstantiated allegations.

The primary allegation in PoE (Panel of Experts) report (March 2011) on Sri Lanka alleged at least 40,000 civilians perished on the Vanni east front. In terms of the UN dictates, the accusations made against Sri Lanka cannot be verified till 2031 due to a strange confidentially clause. Where in the world do you get a system of justice where one is precluded from facing one’s accusers for 30 years, let alone challenge their specific allegations? Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is regularly bashed by interested parties on the basis of unverified accusations. Wouldn’t it have been better if Sri Lanka made reference to this confidentiality clause that effectively prevented examination of allegations? Perhaps, Sri Lanka will take it up at least now, nearly a decade after the PoE report and five years after the country ended up in the Geneva agenda.

Having faulted the Sri Lanka Army, on three major counts, the PoE (Panel of Experts) accused Sri Lanka of massacring at least 40,000 civilians. Let me reproduce the paragraph, bearing no 137, verbatim: “In the limited surveys that have been carried out in the aftermath of the conflict, the percentage of people reporting dead relatives is high. A number of credible sources have estimated that there could have been as many as 40,000 civilian deaths. Two years after the end of the war, there is no reliable figure for civilian deaths, but multiple sources of information indicate that a range of up to 40,000 civilian deaths cannot be ruled out at this stage. Only a proper investigation can lead to the identification of all of the victims and to the formulation of an accurate figure for the total number of civilian deaths.”

The writer raised the issue with Farhan Aziz Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for UNSG António Guterres. Haq told the writer that the Geneva-based UNHRC could revisit resolution 30/1 titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’

Haq said that decisions regarding actions taken by the UNHRC were solely in the hands of the members of the Human Rights Council. The spokesperson added that it would be up to the member states of the Human Rights Council to decide whether to revisit Sri Lanka’s case. The UNHRC comprises 47 countries, divided into five zones.

The UN spokesperson said so when the writer asked him whether the UN could revisit Geneva Resolution in the wake of Lord Naseby’s revelation that the Vanni death toll was at most 7,000 to 8,000, and not 40,000 as cavalierly claimed by the PoE, in March 2011, and that Sri Lanka never targeted civilians purposely.

“Decisions about the actions taken by the Human Rights Council are solely in the hands of the members of the Human Rights Council. It would be up to the member states of the Human Rights Council to decide whether to revisit this case”, Haq said.

Sri Lanka accountability issue comes up in Geneva again while genocide accusations are repeated in the current parliament. In spite of the parliamentary group of one-time LTTE mouthpiece, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) being reduced to ten members, newcomer C.W. Wigneswaran and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam are on the offensive. The Sri Lankan military is under heavy fire in parliament whereas the government expressed concerns over the growing LTTE propaganda, particularly in Canada and the UK.

Especially, the recent developments in the UK proved the British have no option, but to tolerate Tamil Diaspora strategy due to relationship between political parties therein and the influence of voters of Sri Lankan origin.

 

Political interests supersede other concerns and obligations.

The previous Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government fully cooperated with Western powers as the Geneva Resolution was part of a high profile Western strategy meant to achieve several objectives, including introduction of a new Constitution to promote a federal agenda. The project was also aimed at obstructing growing China-Sri Lanka relations. The Geneva agenda should be properly countered. Sri Lanka cannot thwart the Geneva project by quitting the process. Instead, the government should seek re-examination of the original but STILL unverified allegations.

 

A web of lies

The Island learns that the Foreign Ministry is in the process of examining Geneva matter ahead of the next session. The following are the issues that needed attention: (1) Dismissal of war crimes accusations by war time US Defence Attache Lt. Col. Lawrence Smith in Colombo. The then US official did so in at the May-June 2011 first post-war defence seminar in Colombo, two months after the release of PoE report. The State Department disputed the official’s right to represent the US at the forum though it refrained from challenging the statement. (2) Examine the US statement along with Lord Naseby’s Oct 2017 disclosure based on the then British Defence advisor Lt. Colonel Anthony Gash’s cables to London during the war. Sri Lanka never did so. (3) Wikileaks revelations that dealt with the Sri Lanka war. A high profile Norwegian study on its role in the Sri Lanka conflict examined some cables. However, the Norwegian process never strengthened Sri Lanka’s defence. Instead Norway it merely sought to disown its culpability in the events leading to the annihilation of the LTTE. One of the most important Wikileaks revelations disputed Sri Lanka deliberately targeting civilians. The cable proved that our ground forces took heavy losses by taking the civilian factor into consideration. (4) Wide discrepancies in loss of civilian lives claimed by UN and various other interested parties. The UN estimated the figure at 40,000 (March 2011) whereas Amnesty International (Sept 2011) placed the number at 10,000 and a member of UK parliament (Sept 2011) estimated the death toll at 100,000. (5) Disgraceful attempt made by Geneva to exploit so called Mannar mass graves during yahapalana administration. The Foreign Ministry remained silent on Mannar graves while Western diplomats played politics only to be proved utterly wrong. Acting at the interest of those hell-bent on blaming Sri Lanka, Geneva faulted Sri Lanka before the conclusion of the investigation.

The then Northern Province Governor Wigneswaran rejected scientific findings of Beta Analytic Institute of Florida, USA, in respect of samples of skeletal remains sent from the Mannar mass grave site. Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet went to the extent of commenting on Mannar mass grave in her report that dealt with the period from Oct 2015 to January 2019.  We come to wonder whether she was actually a victim of Gen. Pinochet or a mere manufactured victim.

Had the US lab issued a report to suit their strategy, would they have accepted fresh tests in case the government of Sri Lanka requested? The following is relevant section bearing No 23 from Bachelet’s report: “On May 29, 2018, human skeletal remains were discovered at a construction site in Mannar (Northern Province), Excavations conducted in support of the Office on Missing Persons, revealed a mass grave from which more than 300 skeletons were discovered. It was the second mass grave found in Mannar following the discovery of a site in 2014. Given that other mass graves might be expected to be found in the future, systematic access to grave sites by the Office as an observer is crucial for it to fully discharge its mandate, particularly with regard to the investigation and identification of remains, it is imperative that the proposed reforms on the law relating to inquests, and relevant protocols to operationalize the law be adopted. The capacity of the forensic sector must also be strengthened, including in areas of forensic anthropology, forensic archaeology and genetics, and its coordination with the Office of Missing Persons must be ensured.” (6) Wigneswaran, in his capacity as the then Northern Province Chief Minister in August 2016 accused the Army of killing over 100 LTTE cadres held in rehabilitation facilities. Wigneswaran claimed the detainees had been given poisonous injections resulting in deaths of 104 persons. The unprecedented accusation made by the retired Supreme Court judge had been timed to attract international attention. Wignewaran is on record as having said a US medical team visiting Jaffna at that time would examine the former rehabilitated LTTE cadres, who he alleged had fallen sick because they were injected with poisonous substances at government detention or rehabilitation centres.

Sri Lanka paid a very heavy price for its pathetic failure to counter a web of lies fashioned by interested parties, both local and foreign and well-funded by the West to coerce the country to adopt a new Constitution. The previous government played a key part of this strategy. Their strategy remained simple. A new Constitution meant to do away with Sri Lanka’s unitary status to address STILL unsubstantiated war crimes allegations. The previous government reached agreement with Geneva regarding a new Constitution as part of the overall deal that could have been executed successfully if not for the UNP causing a massive crisis by way of Feb 27, 2015 Treasury bond scam at the onset of the yahapalana administration.

Politics of Public Security

 

SPECIAL REPORT : Part 346

December 9, 2020

By Shamindra Ferdinando

A smiling Public Security Minister, Sarath Weerasekera, MP, (Colombo District), last Thursday (Dec 3), said he was happy to have his school cadet platoon Sergeant Sarath Fonseka, in Parliament as an ordinary MP. The Former Navy Chief of Staff said so in response to Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) lawmaker Fonseka’s reference to Weerasekera being a Corporal in the Ananda College cadet platoon, at the time he served as the Sergeant.

 Recently, Viyathmaga member Weerasekera received appointment as the Public Security Minister (formerly Law and Order Minister).  Following the parliamentary election in August, Weerasekera received appointment as the State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government. Many an eyebrow was raised when one of the strongest critics of the Provincial Council system was named the Minister in charge. Weerasekera gave up the Provincial Council and Local Government Ministry to accept the far more influential Public Security portfolio.

War-winning Army Chief Field Marshal Fonseka and Rear Admiral Weerasekera also exchanged words over the latter’s son, ASP Sachitra Weerasekera, in uniform, saluting the father and then embracing him. 

The exchange between Fonseka and Weerasekera highlighted continuing tensions among some sections of the retired top brass, divided on political lines. Both entered Parliament at the 2010 April parliamentary election, the first since the successful conclusion of the war against the LTTE.

Lawmaker Fonseka reiterated accusations directed at Minister Weerasekera in parliament on Monday (7) in the latter’s absence. Weerasekera told the writer that there was absolutely no basis for Fonseka’s assertions and the claim that he received the post of DG, Civil Defence Force with the then Army Commander’s intervention.

Fonseka contested under the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) symbol, having lost badly to Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the 2010 January presidential election, whereas Weerasekera entered Parliament from the Digamadulla district. At the time, the UNP-led political alliance consisting of the TNA, the JVP and the SLMC fielded Fonseka as the common candidate although the Sinha Regiment veteran hadn’t even been registered as a voter anywhere in Sri Lanka at the time.

Along with Fonseka, the JVP-led DNA won seven seats, including two National List slots at the 2010 general election. The DNA group comprised Fonseka (now with Sajith Premadasa’s SJB), Arjuna Ranatunga (still in beleaguered UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s camp), Tiran Alles (National List member of the SLPP) and four JVPers. (Today the JVP group consists of three lawmakers – a 50 per cent drop from the previous 2015-2019 Parliament).

Political maneuvering deprived Fonseka of his seat in early Oct 2010. Jayantha Ketagoda, who replaced Fonseka in Parliament, finally ended up in the SLPP National List last August. Politics here is certainly a game of opportunity lacking in any principles.

At the August 2015 general election, Fonseka contested on the Democratic Party ticket. Fonseka led the party, while Ketagoda functioned as his deputy. The DP failed to secure a single seat. In the following year, thanks to UNP leader Wickremesinghe, Fonseka was accommodated on the UNP National List, in the wake of M.K.D.S. Gunawardena’s sudden death.

Before discussing the circumstances leading to the creation of the Public Security Ministry, and elevation of Weerasekera to cabinet rank, it would be pertinent to mention how the naval veteran created history by being the only lawmaker to vote against the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, enacted by yahapalana strategists in early 2015. Weerasekera, in spite of being repeatedly urged to vote for the much-touted piece of legislation, voted against it, whereas almost the entire UPFA grouping, including the Joint Opposition, backed the 19th Amendment.

Weerasekera received public admiration for always taking a tough stand against terrorism, regardless of consequences. Weerasekera risked his naval career during President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s tenure. Weerasekera earned the wrath of the government for resisting LTTE strategies. The then Maj. Gen. Fonseka, too, strongly opposed the LTTE strategy, though the government relentlessly pushed the military to give in. The nation should be eternally grateful to Fonseka for his unwavering stance, in his capacity as Security Forces Commander, Jaffna, to dismantle High Security Zones, in the peninsula. The TNA hated Fonseka so much so that the grouping demanded Fonseka’s removal from the vital Jaffna command, during the 2002-2003 period. Ironically, the TNA and Fonseka, in his capacity as the UNP- backed presidential candidate, reached a marriage of convenience just to oust Rajapaksas in 2010. Again proving that politics is nothing but a game for opportunists in this country, whatever the long term consequences could be.

The unholy alliance that failed to win the 2010 presidential election, succeeded five years later when Maithripala Sirisena defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa, who sought a third presidential term at the expense of political stability. The same alliance, sans the JVP, failed at the 2019 presidential election, to pave the way for wholly new political groups, the SLPP and the SJB to emerge as the main parties. The UNP and the SLFP are irrelevant in today’s context.

Having each served the armed forces, for well over three decades, Fonseka and Weerasekera, now represent the main Opposition (SJB with 54 seats) and the government (145 seats), respectively.

 

Weerasekera faces a daunting task

There is no point in denying politicization of the police. Successive governments brazenly exploited and abused police, while in return some in the police made hay by often milking the underworld and also getting promotions and perks. The previous yahapalana administration ruined the law enforcement apparatus to such an extent that the police, in spite of having specific foreign intelligence, as regards impending National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) strike, allowed the operation to go ahead. At that time of Sri Lanka’s worst security failure, a retired DIG functioned as the Chief of National Intelligence (CNI), a post previously held by veteran intelligence leaders like, then Maj. Gen. Kapila Hendawitharana, one-time head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI).

Weerasekera will have to grapple with an extremely dicey situation with two key units – the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) under investigation over serious offenses. In both cases, police headquarters had no option but to hastily remove the DIGs, as well as Directors in charge of the CID and the PNB, pending investigations. Police headquarters is yet to reveal its findings. The PNB is under investigation for dealing in heroin, whereas the CID is under fire for releasing Riyaj Bathiudeen, SJB lawmaker Rishad Bathiudeen’s brother under mysterious circumstances after having been taken into custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Previous CID head Shani Abeysekera is now in remand for framing a DIG. He has many other cases in the pipeline against him like fixing cases involving other victims, some of which are on tape him discussing them with actor turned politician Ranjan Ramanayake.

 In both the PNB and Riyaj cases, no less a person than intrepid Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC intervened. The AG demanded special investigation into the CID’s handling of Riyaj Bathiudeen’s case. The President’s Counsel certainly didn’t mince his words when he questioned the deliberate failure on the part of the police to conduct the inquiry and the deliberate denial of the required expertise to bring it to a successful conclusion.

The AG rapped the police in two other cases, namely the Negombo Prison officer’s misconduct and the inordinate delay in the Brandix investigation. In the wake of the Negombo Prison officer’s case, involving the disgraced superintendent of prison Anuruddha Sampayo, the AG called a media briefing, the first time by any AG in over 100 years to take a public stand. On behalf of the AG, Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris went to the extent of suggesting the deployment of the military to execute arrest warrants if the police found the task too difficult. In the high profile Brandix case, the AG directed an investigation into what his Coordinating Officer State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne called negligence on the part of Brandix, and government officials, in the deadly coronavirus second eruption.

Restoring confidence in law enforcement will certainly be a tough task for the new Minister. The public expected the new administration to take remedial measures. However, the damaging of a section of King Bhuvanekabahu II’s royal pavilion, while demolishing an appendage constructed in more recent times in Kurunegala, in July, on the orders of Kurunegala Mayor Thushara Sanjeewa, bulldozing of a section of the Anavilundawa Ramsar wetland, for shrimp farming, by former Arachchikattuwa Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Jagath Samantha, brother of State Minister Sanath Nishantha, in September, caused quite a shock.

In the wake of the recent acquittal of former Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, and the then Director General of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Anusha Palpita by the Court of Appeal, in the high profile sil redi case, the focus is now on the police and the Office of the AG. Perhaps there should be a judicial review of the whole process, as successive governments and Oppositions, and vice versa, repeatedly accuse each other of politicizing the judiciary and the police. The nine-member Committee, headed by Romesh de Silva, PC, tasked with formulating a new Constitution, should explore ways and means of having an independent review mechanism.

The Public Security Ministry will have to be mindful of the overall developments, including political environment. Many an eyebrow was raised when Sivenesathurai Chandrakanthan aka Pilleyan, formerly a member of the LTTE fighting cadre, now a lawmaker, who had been arrested in Oct 2015 over his alleged involvement in the assassination of TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham, in Batticaloa, 10 years before was granted bail after being in remand for about five years over a confession that is not admissible in a court. Chandrakanthan backed the SLPP presidential candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at the 2019 presidential election. Chandrakanthan also voted for the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. If those who had ordered Chandrakanthan arrested for political reasons, they owed an explanation.

The yahapalana Prime Minister appointed one-time Attorney General Tilak Marapana, PC, as the Law and Order Minister, in Sept 2015. Marapana was accommodated on the UNP National List. The CID arrested Chandrakanthan during Marapana’s short stint as the Law and Order Minister. Marapana resigned in the second week of Nov 2015 over the Avant Garde controversy as he did not see eye to eye with the yahapalana government on that issue like then Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse. His resignation paved the way for another Wickremesinghe favourite, Sagala Ratnayake, to assume the Law and Order portfolio. Ratnayake resigned close on the heels of the debilitating setback suffered by the UNP at the Feb 2018 Local Government polls.

Western backed civil society wanted Fonseka

A section of the UNP, as well as the powerful civil society grouping, faulted the Law and Order and Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC for the defeat. They alleged the UNP-led government experienced such a devastating defeat due to their failure to bring high profile cases against the Rajapaksa administration to a successful conclusion. Those who largely found fault with Sagala Ratnayake and Wijeyadasa Rajapakse demanded the appointment of Sarath Fonseka as the Law and Order Minister. President Sirisena, at the UNP’s behest, in mid-August 2017, replaced Wijeyadasa Rajapakse with Thalatha Atukorale.  However, President Sirisena flatly refused to accommodate Fonseka as Law and Order Minister. The President’s stand was anyone but Fonseka, who had been harsh on the SLFP leader on many occasions.

The civil society, too, pushed President Sirisena hard to accommodate Fonseka. In the wake of the humiliating defeat suffered by the party, civil society leaders felt the yahapalana arrangement could collapse unless they made a special effort.

Close on the heels of the Feb 10, 2018 defeat, civil society representatives sought assurance from both President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe that they wouldn’t quit the yahapalana alliance over debilitating polls setback. In a bid to pressure the SLFP and UNP leaders, co-conveners of Purawesi Balaya, Gamini Viyangoda, K.W. Janaranjana and Saman Ratnapriya briefed the media as regards their efforts at a hastily arranged media conference at the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR), Maradana on Feb 13, 2018. They acknowledged the possibility of an unceremonious end to the yahapalana arrangement, unless the simmering dispute between the two leaders could be settled. The delegation that made representations to the President and the Premier on Feb 12, 2010, consisted of Ven. Dambara Amila, ‘Annidda’ editor K.W. Janaranjana, Gamini Viyangoda and Saman Ratnapriya. Purawesi Balaya attributed the polls defeat primarily to the yahapalana leaders’ failure to introduce a new Constitution and their failure to punish those responsible for killings and corruption. The writer covered the Purawesi Balaya briefing (Last ditch attempt to prevent collapse of govt – The Island, Feb 14, 2020).

Purawesi Balaya

called a second media briefing on the same matter, on Feb 15, 2020, at the same venue, to demand an immediate solution to the failure on the government’s part to investigate killings and corruption. Amila thera demanded the immediate appointment of Fonseka as the Law and Order Minister. Flanked by Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) Dr. Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu, Nimalka Fernando, Chameera Perera and Saman Ratnapriya, the yahapalana proponent urged the government to allow the police, under Fonseka, to operate outside what he called democratic norms. Ven. Amila demanded that the police operate beyond normal laws of the land. The openly hardcore right wing monk emphasized that the FCID (Financial Crimes Investigation Division), the CID and other law enforcement arms be placed under Fonseka and the military put on alert. Purawesi Balaya wanted Fonseka given six months to execute the operation. Reiterating their role in Sirisena winning the presidency, the grouping insisted that the yahapalana leaders couldn’t, under any circumstances, abandon the agreed agenda (Prez, PM urged to appoint SF Law & Order Minister – The Island, February 16, 2020).

Rear Admiral Weerasekera wouldn’t have envisaged him receiving the Public Security portfolio as he threw his weight behind the high profile Viyathmaga campaign meant to promote wartime Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the SLPP candidate. It would be pertinent to mention that at the time the Viyathmaga campaign got underway, the breakaway UPFA faction hadn’t registered a political outfit of its own.

 

Sand mining Mafia challenges police

 Restoring public confidence in the police would be a herculean task. The police would have to seriously think beyond neutralizing the underworld. Bringing the underworld to its knees is certainly a necessity that needs urgent action. The powerful sand mining Mafia recently killed a 32-year-old policeman, attached to the Bingiriya police station. Although the police quickly arrested the 27-year-old driver of the tipper truck, that ran over the policeman, who signaled him to stop, police headquarters should ensure a proper investigation. Police spokesman Attorney-At-Law DIG Ajith Rohana is on record as having said that the police were deployed to thwart illegal mining at Deduru Oya, on a specific Supreme Court directive. Minister Weerasekera should, without further delay, examine the deteriorating ground situation. High profile case involving former Director of CID SSP Shani Abeysekera, now in remand, custody, fugitive Inspector Nishantha Silva, securing political asylum, in Switzerland, and the arrest of an officer over accusations that he helped the wife of Easter Sunday bomber Hasthun, underscored the need for special attention.

Minister Johnston Fernando, last Saturday (Dec 5) questioned the UNP/SJB, in Parliament over the late Makandure Madush fleeing the country, several years ago. Fernando, onetime UNP heavyweight, who switched his allegiance at the onset of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s first presidential term, alleged a former UNP minister brought the notorious underworld leader on the Southern highway to the Bandaranaike International Airport. Fernando should have named the former minister.

EPDP leader Douglas Devananda recently made a shocking claim in Parliament. One-time militant Devananda, who himself received weapons training, in India, alleged, in Parliament, that a lawmaker, from the Jaffna peninsula, currently serving Parliament, was involved in the abduction and killing of SSP Charles Wijewardena, in Jaffna, during the Ceasefire Agreement. The mainstream media, as well as the social media, conveniently refrained from providing sufficient coverage to the incident. A couple of weeks later, Devananda received appointment as the Prime Minister’s representative in the five-member Parliamentary Council, the successor to the former so called independent Constitutional Council, which in practice proved to be far from independent of the previous government. Minister Devananda’s statement hadn’t received the attention it deserved.

Wijewardena was kidnapped and killed in Jaffna, while he was travelling to Inuvil to investigate a shooting incident on August 4, 2005. The killing took place at Mallakam. Parliament also accommodated LTTE’s Eastern Commander, Karuna Amman, under whose command terrorists butchered over 400 unarmed surrendered policemen at the onset of the Eelam War II, in June 1990.  Karuna served two terms as a lawmaker during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure as the President. Karuna’s one-time junior associate LTTE cadre Pilleyan is now a Member of Parliament, whereas Karuna bid to enter Parliament, from Digamadulla, at the last general election, failed.

The JVP responsible for hundreds of deaths, if not thousands, too, is represented in Parliament – since 1994. The TNA that recognized the LTTE, in late 2001, as the sole representatives of the Tamil people, and then served them until the very end, is also represented in Parliament. The TNA includes three former terrorist groups, the TELO, PLOTE and EPRLF.

Sri Lanka’s politics is certainly an ‘explosive mix.’ Having failed to secure the presidency, Field Marshal Fonseka serves as a lawmaker. The war-winning Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the seventh executive President. Retired Rear Admiral Weerasekera is the Public Security Minister, whereas the LTTE and other Tamil groups, as well as the JVP, responsible for two bloody insurrections, are part of the system.

How Sajith Premadasa promoted Fonseka as his future Defence Minister, during the failed 2019 presidential campaign, and lawmaker and retired Supreme Court Justice C.W. Wigneswaran, exploiting the LTTE cause, as well as Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam’s fiery speeches in Parliament, are grim reminders the country is yet to achieve stability ten years after the war. Public Security Minister Weerasekera’s recent warning in Parliament that Tamil political parties promoted terrorism underscores the need to address security issue, regardless of political consequences.

Easter Sunday carnage: How P CoI boomeranged on former Prez Sirisena

 

SPECIAL REPORT : Part 345

December 2, 2020

Polonnaruwa District MP Maithripala Sirisena leaving P CoI recently

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Many an eyebrow was raised when Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, intervened in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI), tasked to inquire into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage.

The Diocese of Colombo stepped-in, in the wake of accusations that attempts were being made to suppress the investigation. The then President Maithripala Sirisena, who named the P CoI, on Sept 22, 2019, wouldn’t have anticipated the P CoI to boomerang on him.

Sirisena, who is also the beleaguered leader of the SLFP, constituted the P CoI, ahead of the seven-member Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) submitting its report to the Parliament, on Oct 23, 2019. The PSC sittings took place between May-Oct 2019.

Sirisena, who had been away in Singapore, at the time of the coordinated suicide attacks, on the morning of April 21, 2019, returned on the following day, to take charge of the situation. Initially, the public didn’t find fault with the President, whereas the then Premier Ranil Wickemesinghe was mercilessly attacked. Within days after the attacks, Sirisena appointed his first P CoI to probe the attacks. The P CoI, headed by Supreme Court Justice Vijith Malalgoda, included former IGP N.K. Illangakoon (July 16, 2011 to July 11, 2016) and retired Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order Padmasiri Jayamanne.

It would be pertinent to mention that the Easter Sunday carnage mastermind Zahran Hashim stepped up his clandestine activities, during Illangakoon’s tenure, as the IGP. By August 2015, Hashim had reached consensus with a group of Muslim politicians, and the parties they represented.

Sirisena named his second P CoI, in response to the PSC named by the then Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. Headed by Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri, the PSC consisted of SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, Ravi Karunanayake, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka. M.A. Sumanthiran, PC, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa , Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, and Dr. Jayampathy Wickremaratne, PC. The PSC summoned members of the first P CoI, on August 20, 2019. Illangakoon and Jayamanne also appeared before the PSC, on July 25, 2019.

 

Special status for Prez, SIS head

Sirisena declined to appear before the PSC. Instead, the PSC visited him at the President’s House, on Sept 20, 2019. Sirisena received kid glove treatment. Let me reproduce what the PSC stated in its report on meeting Sirisena:

“Committee, having observed the evidence of H.E. Maithripala Sirisena, the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, who was the Minister of Defence at the time these incidents took place, would be very helpful and important in preparing the final report of the Committee, decided to make a request to H.E. the President to give the Committee an opportunity for that.”

Sirisena named his second P CoI two days after his chat with the PSC, on Aug 20, 2019. The then head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena too received special status when his testimony was recorded in camera, at the Parliamentary Committee Complex (formerly Agriculture Ministry) located at Rajamalwatta Road, Battaramulla, at 7.00 p.m., on July 24, 2019. The hearing continued till 1 a.m. the following day. Jayawardena, having joined the Police, as an ASP, in February, 1998, received appointment as Senior DIG, in late Feb 2019. Interestingly, even after the PSC named Jayawardena as the main culprit, the incumbent SLPP administration appointed him Senior DIG, in charge of the Eastern Province. Jayawardena received the appointment on Jan 1, 2020.

Obviously, Sirisena never expected the second P CoI to really go into the Easter attack. Perhaps, Jayawardena, too, didn’t anticipate any devastating exposure, at the second P CoI.

Sirisena concluded his testimony, on Nov 25, having appeared before the P CoI, on eight occasions, with Shammil Perera, PC, Counsel for the Diocese of Colombo, giving the former President a very hard time. Sirisena, now an SLPP (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) MP for Polonnaruwa, ended up having to produce his medical reports to the P CoI.

The on-going second P CoI comprises Court of Appeal Judge Janak de Silva, Court of Appeal Judge Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, Retired High Court Judges Nihal Sunil Rajapaksa, and A.L. Bandula Kumara Atapattu and former Secretary of the Ministry of Justice W.M.M.R. Adikari. Secretary to the Commission is H.M.P.B. Herath.

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith refrained from seeking changes to the P CoI, though President Gotabaya Rajapaksa requested the Archbishop of Colombo to make suggestions. Instead, the Church had Counsel therein to raise pertinent issues. Perhaps Sirisena felt confident that he could deal with the situation. However, the proceedings have taken a nasty turn with the Counsel for disgraced former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando questioning Sirisena whether he lied before the P CoI.

Responding to Fernando’s Counsel, Sirisena, on Nov 24, acknowledged how his son Daham’s wedding had to be shifted from the Shangri-La Hotel, where Zahran Hashim, and another, carried out suicide attacks, to Hilton Colombo. Sirisena also defended visiting Tirupathi, before Singapore, where he claimed he received treatment, whereas Fernando’s Counsel insisted he was there for a regular checkup. The Counsel also challenged Sirisena’s excuse for not taking an earlier flight, in spite of the unprecedented national security emergency.

 

Diocese of Colombo responds

The Island

sought an explanation from His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. J. Winston S. Fernando, S.S.S., President, Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Bishop of the Diocese of Badulla as regards the intervention made by the Church.

Asked whether the decision to employ legal counsel had been taken by the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Dr. Fernando explained how the Diocese of Colombo could take the relevant decision as the Easter Sunday attacks took place within the area coming under its authority. The senior clergyman pointed out that the church, attacked in the Batticaloa district, didn’t come under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Batticaloa. Responding to another query, Dr. Fernando said that the intervention of the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference depended on the nature of the issue at hand. On behalf of the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Dr. Fernando strongly endorsed the measures taken by them to ensure justice for those who perished in terror attacks.

Dr. Fernando underscored the pivotal importance of maintaining cordial relations among communities as the investigation progressed. Colombo is among altogether 12 Dioceses which constitute the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Supreme body responsible for the overall direction of the community. Rt. Rev. Dr. J.D. Anthony Jayakody, Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo, functions as the Secretary General of the body.

In October 2020, the supreme body had the courage to reject the much touted 20th Amendment to the Constitution. Instead, it called for the appointment of an independent constitutional council to draft a new constitution. It also called for tangible measures to plug the loopholes that could lead to multiple interpretations.

Thanks to apt strategies adopted by the Church, the P CoI inquiry attracted unprecedented attention with the Counsel going ahead with no holds barred questioning of no longer privileged ex-President Sirisena which would have been unthinkable a year ago. Did Sirisena realize how the P CoI inquiry could boomerang on him! Obviously, consequences are catastrophic and irreversible. The impact on the Muslim political leadership too is quite devastating and likely to undermine their longstanding relationship with major political parties. If not for the tough stand taken by the Church, utterly corrupt political party system could have easilysucceeded in suppressing the investigation.

The releasing of Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) Vanni District lawmaker Rishad Bathiudeen’s brother, Riyaj, taken into custody over his alleged involvement with one of the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) suicide bombers, by the incumbent government, is a case in point. Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC called for an inquiry into the release of Riyaj. However, law enforcement authorities are yet to take him back into custody.

 

Pompeo’s questionable claim on Easter Sunday attacks

Outgoing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, at the end of his official talks in Colombo on Oct 28, 2020, directly blamed ISIS for the Easter Sunday attacks. Let me reproduce the relevant section of his statement verbatim: “Finally, this afternoon, I’ll travel – it’s important for me to take a moment to go and visit the Shrine of St. Anthony, one of the five sites that were attacked by ISIS on Easter Sunday of 2019. I’ll shortly have the chance to pay my respects to the hundreds of victims of evil terrorists, including five Americans. I’m proud that the State Department has offered substantial counterterrorism assistance to help Sri Lankans bring killers of Americans and their own people to justice. These Easter Sunday attacks represent the kind of sectarianism that Sri Lankans are ready to leave behind forever. Sri Lankans of all backgrounds – Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims alike – want a peaceful nation where their human rights are respected.”

Two senior intelligence personnel, a retired official and a serving officer categorically denied ISIS culpability, though the organization claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday carnage, several days after the attack. Both having access to an entire range of information, emphasized that at the time the suicide bombers struck, the ISIS hadn’t been aware of the operation. Referring to the US Secretary of State’s claim, they underscored the need to set the record straight as the perceived ISIS leadership could divert government and public attention, away from the real perpetrators.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they explained that the ISIS claimed responsibility for coordinated bombings at churches and high-end hotels on Tuesday (23) after a youth, 21, from Matale, who had been in Qatar before, contacted the ISIS. The CID later arrested the suspect.

The ISIS offered no evidence to back its claim, initially announced in Arabic, carried by its Amaq news agency, on April 23, 2019. The news agency claimed the attackers were ‘among the fighters of the Islamic State.’

ISIS later issued a longer, formal statement, identifying the seven suicide bombers, who detonated explosive-laden vests, at the churches, and hotels, and a housing complex, on that particular Sunday.

Elusive ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a week later, reiterated his fighters carried out the attack.

In spite of Sirisena continuing to deny knowledge of the NTJ build-up, there had been three briefings on Zahran Hashim at the National Security Council (NSC) before the Easter Sunday massacre. In addition to them, the Defence Ministry received nine comprehensive reports on the extremists. The DMI, on several occasions, in the run up to the Easter Sunday attacks, suggested that Zahran Hashim be arrested and dealt through legal means.

 

Who really masterminded the Easter Sunday carnage?

What really triggered the Easter Sunday attacks? Did negligence on the part of the political leadership, and the security apparatus, paved the way for this high profile terror project? Who masterminded the overall operation? If Zahran Hashim wasn’t responsible, who actually picked the targets? Did Thowheed Jamaat suicide bomber Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun’s Tamil wife P. Pulasthini Rajendran alias Sarah, 24, leave their Sainthamaruthu hideout, on April 28, before troops, and the police, cordoned off the area. Pulasthini remains an enigma, well over a year after a series of blasts, within the hideout, claimed the lives of 15 persons, including six children. Troops captured Zahran Hashim’s wife and child following the confrontation at Sainthamaruthu.

Although Pulasthini was widely believed to be therein, later multiple sources claimed she escaped. Had the P CoI been able to verify claims Hasthun’s wife fled to India, in September 2019, suggesting the possibility of she being one of the informants, run by Indian intelligence?

The Indian intelligence warning, in spite of being ignored by Sri Lanka, revealed the true status of the Indian operation that enabled New Delhi to alert Colombo, well over two weeks before the coordinated terror strikes. Perhaps, Sri Lanka’s response to intelligence warning wrong-footed New Delhi, as Indian interests here were provided enhanced security. On the other hand, New Delhi certainly knew the attackers’ preparations, hence additional warnings.

The confidential Indian memo provided names, addresses, phone numbers, even the times in the middle of the night that one suspect would visit his wife.

If one examined the testimony of Sirisena, and fallen SIS Chief Jayawardena, who appeared before the P Col, for at least 20 days, the bone of contention is nothing but the latter’s failure to tell President of the Indian warning, received on April 4th. Zahran Hashim’s group carried out thespate of blasts, on April 21. Who would believe Sirisena didn’t receive the alert against the backdrop of revelation at the P CoI where there were at least 20 telephone conversations between the two from April 4 to April 21 period alone.

During October 24 P CoI proceedings, President’s Counsel Shamil Perera watching the interests of the Catholic Church, revealed how Sirisena and Jayawardena engaged in a 159-second telephone conversation, beginning at 7.59 am on the day of the attacks. The first blast hit St. Anthony’s Church, at 8.45am. The bomber targeted the Tamil service. However, the PSC, in its report, asserted that the suicide attacks, on St. Anthony’s Church, as well as St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya, were carried out at 8.45 am. The next blast, at The Kingsbury Hotel took place at 8.47 am, Shangri-La at 8.54 am, Zion Church, Batticaloa, at 9.10 am and the sixth explosion at the Cinnamon Grand at 9.12 am.

There were two subsequent blasts at Tropical Inn, Dehiwalaand the Dematagoda house of spice tycoon Mohammad Yusuf Ibrahim, at 1.30 pm and 2.25 pm, respectively. Ibrahim’s two sons were among those who carried out attacks. When police surrounded the Dematagoda residence, Ibrahim’s daughter-in-law detonated explosives. Ibrahim who had been on the JVP’s National List, at the 2015 general election, is still in detention, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Counsel Perera produced a document before P CoI, in the presence of Sirisena, that proved the then President and hisspy chief had been constantly in touch. The list proved that there had been altogether 221 calls, from January to April 2019, therefore claim of Jayawardena didn’t receive an opportunity to pass such vital information, is highly questionable.

Similarly, can the possibility of Premier Wickremesinghe receiving the intelligence warning be ruled out, asJayawardena had shared security alert, received from New Delhi, with the then IGP Pujitha Jayasundera and CNI (Chief of National Intelligence Intelligence) retired DIG Sisira Mendis? Both IGP Jayasundara and Mendis wouldn’t have received appointments if they weren’t the UNP’s favourites.

 

Political background

The NTJ struck a couple of months after UNP leader Wickremesinghe regained the premiership, following Sirisena’s abortive bid to have the general election ahead of the presidential poll, which eventually took place on Nov 16, 2019. If the UNP-TNA-JVP combine hadn’t been successful in its legal challenge, the general election would have taken place on January 5, 2019. Had that happened, who would have taken the upper hand? Under whatever the circumstances, the SLPP wouldn’t have secured a near 2/3 majority by winning 145 seats. The result could have gone either way. Most importantly, the then UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa wouldn’t have an opportunity to contest the general election, under a new symbol. In other words, in case the SLPP won the Jan 2019 general election, envisaged by Sirisena, with a slim majority, the main Opposition would have been the UNP. What we should also take into consideration is that if Sirisena managed to sustain his strategy, his SLFP would have had a far bigger share in the SLPP parliamentary group. The SLFP managed to obtain 13 seats, under the SLPP ticket, and one on its own, in the Jaffna peninsula, at the Aug 2020 general election, after the judiciary reversed the then President’s strategy.

The NTJ mounted attacks after Wickremesinghe regained premiership though the police couldn’t be brought under the UNP. Sirisena would have been in a far more comfortable situation now if he gave in to the UNP demand to have the police under its control. However, an adamant Sirisena retained both the defence and police portfolios thereby automatically taking responsibility for the Easter Sunday carnage.

As claimed by academic Rajan Hoole in his explosive ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Tragedy: When the Deep State gets out of its Depth, ‘launched ahead of the Nov 2019 presidential election, the failure of high profile NTJ’s political project to get some parliamentary representation, at the 2015 general election, may have prompted the Easter Sunday attacks. According to Prof. Hoole, the NTJ sought an arrangement similar to that of the LTTE having its interests represented in Parliament, through the TNA. An in depth examination of political factors is certainly essential as part of the overall investigation which is still at a very early stage.