The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL) has distanced itself from any involvement in an alleged attempt to misuse the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks to secure a service extension for the incumbent Attorney General, President’s Counsel Sanjay Rajaratnam.

In a statement, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL) addressed news articles published in the first week of June 2024 regarding a purported statement by the President about an extension granted to the current Attorney General’s term.

The articles mention an unfounded incident where the Chairman of the CBCSL allegedly met with the President, during which the President reportedly appointed a three-member committee, the statement said.

This committee supposedly included the Secretary to the President, Mr. Saman Ekanayake, Mr. Sagala Rathnayake, and the Attorney General, Mr. Sanjay Rajaratnam, to discuss the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Report on the Easter Sunday attacks, the CBCSL said.

The CBCSL denied these claims, stating there has been no such dialogue with the Attorney General, Sanjay Rajaratnam.

The articles also falsely assert that Mr. Rajaratnam is coordinating with the CBCSL and that his term is being extended by exploiting the Easter Sunday attacks, the CBSL said.

The CBCSL clarifies that Mr. Rajaratnam, appointed as Attorney General in May 2021, has not implemented the recommended actions from the inquiry over the past 36 months, the statement added.

The Morning newspaper quoting a Constitutional Council member reported that the Council has received a recommendation from the President to grant a six months service extension to Rajaratnam PC.

A decision whether to approve the extension has not been made yet, the Morning reported. (Newswire)

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The Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Sri Lanka has expressed that it does not have confidence or trust in the government investigations conducted into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, Opposition Leader MP Sajith Premadasa said.

Addressing the Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 17), MP Premadasa said that in a letter sent to the President, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has refuted the government’s claims that 99% of the investigations into the Easter attacks have been completed. 

Stating that they are suspicious about some of the incidents and facts contained in the investigation report related to the incident, he said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has stressed that a formal investigation is needed.

The Opposition Leader further said that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has also emphasized that it has no confidence in the credibility of the parliamentary committee in this regard.

“Presenting a three-point proposal in this regard, they have called for investigations to be conducted under the supervision of an international independent investigation team, CID officers who had been earlier transferred to different areas to be appointed to the local investigation team, and to suspend the service of the higher officials under investigation related to the incident until the completion of the investigation,” MP Premadasa revealed. 

The Opposition Leader also noted that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has refuted the President’s statement during a recent interview with German media of a conflict between the institution and the Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. 

MP Premadasa pointed out that in order for the Parliamentary Select Committee on the investigation to be successful, the opposition should be allowed to nominate its chairman and the composition of the 9-11 Commission should be equal in that the government and the opposition are represented.

Warning that the opposition will not participate if it is otherwise, MP Premadasa said that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will take further decisions based on the decisions of the Archbishop and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference. (NewsWire)

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