The mastermind behind the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks has been identified, according to Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security Ravi Seneviratne.

He revealed this information while responding to a query raised by Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) General Secretary Nizam Kariapper during a meeting of Parliament’s High Posts Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.

Seneviratne made the disclosure on 8 October during the committee’s discussion on confirming his appointment as Public Security Secretary.

Kariapper later confirmed Seneviratne’s remarks in a post on X today (9).

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) stated that investigative agencies, instead of waiting for courts to issue orders to conduct excavations related to suspected mass graves, must carry out investigations and seek the necessary court orders based on their findings.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, HRCSL Commissioner Nimal G. Punchihewa said that although a court order is required to conduct any excavation, such as in cases involving suspected mass graves, it is not an initiative taken by the courts themselves. Instead, he said that it is the responsibility of the relevant investigative agencies including the Police to carry out the necessary inquiries and then seek the appropriate court orders.

“A court order is issued only upon requests made by the relevant parties based on the facts established through preliminary investigations. If the facts are investigated and reported to the relevant court, the court will allow the excavations. The court does not take the initiative in such matters. Therefore, the relevant parties should not wait for the courts to take the initiative to issue orders. They should report facts before courts and request orders.”

Sri Lanka has a long history of mass grave discoveries, many believed to be linked to the country’s decades-long conflict and episodes of political violence. One of the most well-known cases is the discovery of the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna, which was said to contain the remains of individuals who had disappeared during military operations in the North.

On an earlier occasion, the Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala said that the role of the Police in such cases is limited to providing security and assisting in excavation activities, not initiating them.

“The Police don’t have to go around digging up graves. That responsibility lies with the Justice Ministry. We only provide the necessary security. However, if there’s a complaint about a mass grave, the Police will report it to court and carry out any required actions, including excavations, based on the court’s instructions.”

The United Nations Human Rights Council on October 6 extended a project to gather evidence of human rights violations and war crimes associated with Sri Lanka’s civil war for at least two more years. The resolution adopted by consensus offers a ray of hope to victims of abuses and their families that they may one day see justice, despite the efforts of successive Sri Lankan governments to block accountability.

Sri Lanka’s civil war between the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government raged between 1983 and 2009. Both sides committed countless atrocities, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and recruitment of child soldiers. In the final months of the war, which ended in the LTTE’s total defeat, an estimated 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed when the LTTE used the population as human shields and the Sri Lankan army bombarded areas it had declared as “safe zones.”

Successive Sri Lankan governments have refused to acknowledge these crimes while blocking efforts at accountability, and have used state security agencies to intimidate and surveil victim’s families. The Human Rights Council established the UN Sri Lanka Accountability Project in 2021 after the government backtracked on commitments to establish a hybrid justice mechanism to prosecute conflict-related crimes.

The current government of President Dissanayake, who was elected in 2024, has adopted a more moderate tone than some previous administrations, but continues to reject the UN project. While it has pledged to advance post-war “reconciliation” and prosecute some emblematic cases, little progress has been made, reminding victims of previous broken promises.

The Dissanayake administration needs to honor its promises to advance domestic truth-telling and accountability by demonstrating credibility through concrete confidence-building actions. At least 20 mass graves have been discovered in Sri Lanka, but none have yet been successfully investigated. The government should ensure that ongoing excavations at the Chemmani mass grave near Jaffna are successfully completed, including by enabling the provision of equipment for DNA testing.

The government should also order police, security and intelligence agencies to end the surveillance, harassment and intimidation of victim families, human rights defenders and journalists in the north and east. And it should make good on its promises to repeal repressive laws, establish an independent prosecutor, and prosecute emblematic cases.

While justice is denied in Sri Lanka, the UN’s evidence-gathering project remains essential to support potential prosecutions abroad under the principle of universal jurisdiction. The victims and their families are entitled to justice.

Sri Lanka has rejected the draft resolution 60/L.1/Rev.1 by the United Nations Human Rights Council, which would extend the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted the resolution to extend the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka without a vote on Monday.

“The extension of its mandate will only serve the interests of elements with vested interests seeking to create divisions and polarize the communities in Sri Lanka, and will be counterproductive to the Government’s efforts on promoting unity, reconciliation and human rights,” Sri Lanka said in its statement at the UN.

“We do not agree with coercive international action, and we reject resolution 60/L.1/Rev.1 presented to this Council.”

The full statement is reproduced below:

Statement by Sri Lanka as the country concerned during the consideration of draft resolution HRC. 60/L.1/Rev.1 on Sri Lanka at the 60th Session of Human Rights Council

6th October 2025

Mr. President,
Sri Lanka participated in discussions on this resolution in a spirit of open and constructive engagement, that we have demonstrated throughout in our interactions with this Council.

We appreciate the core group’s engagement on language amendments proposed by Sri Lanka. We however regret that we couldn’t find agreement on certain key concerns for us.

While we thank all delegations for their constructive participation on the draft text, Sri Lanka particularly wishes to thank very sincerely, those countries which made positive suggestions during informal consultations and bilateral meetings.

As Sri Lanka had indicated from the beginning to the core group, our fundamental issue with the text is the reference to resolution 51/1 of 2022 denoting the external evidence gathering mechanism on Sri Lanka within the OHCHR, which, in our view is an unprecedented and ad hoc expansion of the Council ́s mandate.

Participating in the Interactive Dialogue on Sri Lanka on 8th September, the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated that Sri Lanka does not accept the external evidence gathering mechanism set up by the OHCHR, which it has labelled as the `Sri Lanka Accountability Project`, at a time when the Government is continuing to strengthen the domestic institutions based on its genuine commitment to reconciliation and human rights in the interests of our own people.

The ongoing domestic processes include strengthening the independent Offices on Missing Persons and Reparations, and the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation, as well as the operationalization of a truth and reconciliation commission, and an independent Public Prosecutor ́s Office.

Sri Lanka, as well as many other countries, have repeatedly questioned the credibility and transparency of how this Project within the OHCHR was set up, its work and the budget allocated to it.

After 4 years of its existence, this Council is yet to see any benefits of this Project for the people of Sri Lanka.

This is clearly evident from the contents of the High Commissioner’s Report as well.

The extension of its mandate will only serve the interests of elements with vested interests seeking to create divisions and polarize the communities in Sri Lanka, and will be counterproductive to the Government’s efforts on promoting unity, reconciliation and human rights.

Mr. President,
We firmly believe that genuine nationally owned processes are best placed to address matters relating to human rights. National processes are rooted in the local context, allow for greater ownership, recognize unique sensitivities, and make implementation of action more efficient and effective.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights who visited Sri Lanka in June this year had the opportunity to experience firsthand the “momentum of change” across all segments of the Sri Lankan society and the “genuine openness of the Government to address issues”.

In his report to this Council too, the High Commissioner highlighted that there is a historic opportunity in Sri Lanka to implement transformative reforms.

As set out by the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs in his statement to this Council, within a very short time, the Government has taken a series of tangible and decisive steps on reconciliation and human rights.

Therefore, it is only fair that Sri Lanka be allowed to seize this opportunity to advance the rights of its own people through domestic processes.

For these reasons, we do not agree with coercive international action, and we reject resolution 60/L.1/Rev.1 presented to this Council.

The Director General of the Land Reforms Commission (LRC), Padmasiri Liyanage, has been relieved of his duties following the exposure of major financial and administrative irregularities before the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).

Deputy Minister of Lands and Irrigation, Susil Ranasinghe, said that Dineka Jayasuriya has been appointed as the Acting Director General.

A recent audit by the National Audit Office revealed that over 49 acres and 35.64 perches of LRC land had been allocated to 396 of its own officers, in plots of 20 perches each, at a token rate of just Rs. 1,000 per perch.

These allocations were made to staff with five years’ continuous service between 2009 and 2023 under this unusually low valuation scheme.

COPE hearings held on 24 July further uncovered that the LRC had transferred 25 acres of state land to a private real estate company at just Rs. 28.72 per perch, amounting to a total sale price of Rs. 101,109 for the entire parcel.

Members of COPE pressured LRC officials to explain these transactions, raising deep concerns over misuse of state assets and weak institutional oversight.