THE MASTERMIND WHO ETERNALLY ELUDES IDENTITY

More than six years after the Easter Sunday Terrorist attacks in 2019 targeting Christians, yet another adjournment debate on the incident was held in Parliament on 9th of this month. With political parties trading charges against each other as usual, it was concluded without any fresh evidence or significant information being shared.

- By M.S.M. Ayub

However, some Opposition politicians seem to have found a new issue out of the debate to annoy the National People's Power (NPP) government leaders. They have been holding media conferences to question a statement made during the debate by Transport, Highways, Ports and Aviation Minister and the Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake that former DIG Ravi Seneviratne and former Director CID Shani Abeysekara have been entrusted to lead investigations into the terrorist attacks on the request of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.

Ravi Seneviratne has been appointed the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security while Shani Abeysekara has been reappointed as the Director of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) by the NPP government.

General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Sagara Kariyawasam question the rationale and the ethicality of these two appointments citing that both the individuals have been prominent figures of the Retired Police Collective formed by the NPP prior to the recent Presidential election. Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara who has become a thorn in the side of the NPP argued that NPP government has to accept the recommendations of the Mahanayake Theras as well.

The gist of these arguments is that the NPP government was making political appointments to important high posts. Notwithstanding the veracity of those contentions it must be noted that none of the political parties that ruled the country and their minor allies have the moral right to criticise political appointments as majority of the individuals they appointed to important positions during their respective tenures have been their political allies.