The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL)’s planned request for assistance from the UK Police with regard to the Easter Sunday terror attacks of April 2019 will be only for the review of the reports pertaining to the investigations that have already been conducted, and not for a fresh investigation into the attacks, which claimed over 260 lives.
When queried as to whether a request has been made by the Government from the UK police authorities with regard to the investigations into the said terror attacks, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security S. Hettiarachchi told The Morning: “It has been decided to make a request to the relevant UK police authorities. However, it is not to carry out an investigation, but to review the reports pertaining to the investigations that have been given to them, and to see if there are any flaws. The IGP was told to make that request, and he will make it accordingly.”
Accordingly, the Ministry of Public Security has instructed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne to request the relevant UK police authorities to review the reports pertaining to the investigations carried out by foreign authorities and Sri Lankan authorities into the attacks.
Hettiarachchi added that the Police authorities of several countries such as the UK, the US, and Australia had been assisting the Sri Lankan authorities, including the Police, in carrying out investigations into the attacks, and that they have been given all the reports pertaining to the investigations that have been carried out.
Last week, UK’s Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat informed the UK Parliament that the Metropolitan Police Service, the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in Greater London, has not deployed any officers to support the investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
However, he added, the UK would consider any request to support an overseas investigation where it is “proportionate, necessary, and legal” and that the Home Office works closely with policing partners to support requests from international partners across the full spectrum of policing.
“The Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism command dispatched a team of specialists to Sri Lanka in 2019, including family liaison officers, to support the families of British victims and assist with the repatriation of deceased British nationals. A programme run by Interpol involved the training of 30 Sri Lankan forensic specialists and police officers by UK experts in disaster victim identification,” the Minister added.
Making a statement on 18 July 2022, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that he plans to obtain the assistance of the UK police authorities to complete the investigation into the Easter Sunday terror attacks, as the lack of a proper investigation has meant that this issue is yet to be fully resolved.
“One problem is the question we all are having about the Easter Sunday attacks. None of those procedures have been finalised yet. I am dedicated to resolving these problems. We don’t need to continue with these problems forever. We must ensure that this is brought to an end. There should be a full-scale impartial review of the material that is available. If everyone is willing, I would like to get the help of the UK and its police authorities. They are the best that we can find. In addition to the people from Sri Lanka who will be working on this issue, it is the responsibility of the Government to finalise this matter without any further delay,” he said.
Meanwhile, Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith had recently told the media that there was no need to seek international assistance to probe the Easter Sunday terror attacks, and that all that is needed is to depoliticise the local investigation process.
On Easter Sunday, 21 April 2019, three churches (the St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, the St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, and the Zion Church in Batticaloa) and three luxury hotels in Colombo (the Cinnamon Grand, The Kingsbury, and the Shangri-La) were targeted in a series of co-ordinated Islamist terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, another two bomb explosions took place at a house in Dematagoda and the Tropical Inn Lodge in Dehiwala. Over 265 people were killed in the bombings, including at least 45 foreign nationals, while at least 500 were injured. All eight of the suicide bombers in the attacks were Sri Lankan citizens associated with the National Thowheed Jama’ath organisation founded by the suicide bomber at the Shangri-La Hotel, Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran, alias Zahran Hashim.