Mujibar Rahman, MP for Samagi Jana Balawega, made an important revelation in Parliament about the current status of the investigations into the Easter bombing on April 5th. We present Mr. Rahman’s speech to, the readers of ‘Mawrata,’ where Mr Rahman presenting facts about the inefficiency and problematic areas of those investigations one by one.
Mr. Chairman, Next, I’d like to draw your attention to the fact that the Easter bombing case is currently being heard. The case’s evidence has begun to be heard. Professor Rohan Gunaratne is the first witness, and Nilantha Jayawardena is the second.
Mr. Nilantha Jayawardena, the second witness, was found guilty before the Presidential Commission. He deleted the data and, despite being aware of this, he did not disclose the facts. That is why he was named as an accused by the Presidential Commission. However, the Attorney General’s Office has called him as a witness. How did such people become witnesses? That is our issue.
The next thing we have to ask from the Attorney General’s Department is especially about Professor Rohan Gunaratne. Honorable Chairman Professor Gunaratne is a person who works for money and gives advice in different places. How can he be a witness? What does he have to do with the Easter bombings? Is he an investigating officer? He is an expert. As an expert, he can give his opinion. There are many such experts. When Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa came to power, he was made an adviser to the Ministry of Defense and he was made a witness.
He was made a witness not for anything; we know that many facts have come out about the Easter bombing. They are trying to turn this in a different direction by allowing Professor Gunaratne to cover up those facts. That means everyone knows that this is an extremist act. Everyone knows that Saharan did this. There is no doubt about this. But the people who gave the political space to the Saharans to do this, who sat behind this and led the Saharans, who supported the Saharans, who gave them technical support, and who gave them the ingredients to detonate the bombs, should be found.
It is to find this mastermind behind it. Then they try to finish this game of Saharans without looking for the mastermind. That’s why we say they brought Professor Rohan Gunaratne and put him here to take this case in a different direction. There are more witnesses. There are investigative officers. Why didn’t Shani Abeysekara become a witness? Why Mr. Ravi Seneviratne was not made a witness?
The President also knows that Shani Abeysekera and Ravi Seneviratne’s team discovered the most facts about this bombing. But the Attorney General’s Department did not name that group as witnesses. Why is that? Have you seen Mr. Shani Abeysekera’s affidavit? The things he has said. If you go through those facts, you can apprehend the mastermind. Then the Attorney General’s Department knowingly did not appoint the officers who investigated this as witnesses to direction of the case to different direction.
This is a crime. What I would like to say, Mr. Chairman, especially now that this case has been assigned. There are 23,000 allegations. There are places where the tests have not been completed. They have not finish Sarah’s test? Sarah’s investigation not yet over, tried to finish. Three tests were done. Attempt was made to dismiss the case saying Sara is dead by issuing three DNA tests. But the investigation about Sara is not over yet. But the investigations have been completed.
Next, did Podi Saharan’s test completed? That too is finalised. That’s why the case was filed. Next is ‘Sonic Sonic’. Mr. Harin Fernando shouted Sonic, Sonic previously. Now Harin Fernando is also with Sonic. That is the true story. When he was here, he used to shout ‘Sonic, Sonic’ very often. Now he’s gone and is with Sonic, Sonic.
Now have that sonic test finished? Not finished, Mr Chairman. Next is another important matter. On April 5, 2019 at 11.30 pm, a lorry was stopped at Galanigama exit for inspection. But the lorry was released when a senior police officer called the police constable at the check point. The constable’s stated that a higher officer informed me to let this lorry go.
There was a V8 vehicle in front of that truck. The occupants of that spoke to the police officer at the check point. One more truck was not stopped. That truck too was released unchecked. According to the investigation report, it is suspected that explosive materials were taken to Saharan’s safe house in Panadura from those two Lorries. That’s the real story. But were those tests completed? Those investigations have not been completed, Mr. Chairman. All those tests stopped. Now the investigations have been stopped and Saharan’s minions have been caught and the cases have been filed. There are 23,000 chargers.
Now the best available evidence is Saharan’s wife. Saharan’s wife was brought to the Presidential Commission and questioned for a few days. That test did not go ahead with her evidence. Why didn’t it proceed? Evidence concluded that she had contracted Covid-19 because unnecessary things would come out of her mouth. Finally he is here. Why not put her as a witness? Saharan’s wife knows a lot about this. Looking at her statement, reading the statement she gave to the Presidential Commission, there are many key points. Then why she was not named as a witness? We have a problem.
Honorable Chairman, this is a very serious matter. During the previous government, when the current president was the prime minister, when these bombs exploded, that government was also accused. We were also accused. Some members of this House accused us. Some MPs did not want to sit together with us. The entire Muslim community was so angry that it was impossible to go down the street. I personally had to change my child’s school. Because the kid said “I can’t go to school, the kids make fun of me daddy”.
We faced such helplessness. That is why we say that justice must be met. This cannot be hidden. This is what the Attorney General’s Department and some of the parties involved in this have done together. That’s why the Attorney General’s Department is calling people who work for money like Rohan Gunaratne as witnesses, instead of bringing in real witnesses, instead of bringing in witnesses who have investigated and found out the facts, put the burden on Saharan’s team and finish it. We tell the President that as soon as he came to power, he said that he would bring Scotland Yard. We are waiting for it.
Honorable President, when you were the Prime Minister, you were also accused of serious things. When we were all in the same government, we could not face this. It became very helpless. This Easter attack became one of the reasons for our defeat. At that time, the opposition did its election campaign entirely on the basis of this Easter bomb attack. That is why you are the president today. You have a responsibility to find out the true situation of this. And I think according to your conscience, you know who is behind this. Those days when we were in the government, we have discussed some things with you. That’s why we tell you especially not to let this overwhelm you.
We need to find out about this. Bring Scotland Yard quickly. If not brought, we may lose important witnesses. I’m not saying that for just for nothing. The officer named Saman Weerasinghe who investigated about Sarah Pulastini, mysteriously dead. That police officer was finally brought to Colombo, and his dead body was cremated on the grounds that he had died of Covid. But it is a mystery. That officer found many facts.
We can lose even many living evidence like that. Even Saharan’s wife, because she is the only one today who knows many facts about this. According to the reports she gave to the Presidential Commission, we can see that she knows many facts. But the Attorney General’s Department has forgotten to make Saharan’s wife a witness in this case. She has been forgotten, Rohan Gunaratne has been remembered.
We know about Rohan Gunaratne. He is a man who goes to different countries and works for salary. One day in Singapore, one day in Canada. He went to Canada and made a false accusation against a Tamil organization and finally the Canadian court asked him to pay a fine of 50,000 Canadian dollars. Such a person is made the first witness. What nonsense is this? When the President is present, we tell him, we especially request him to bring the Scotland Yard as soon as possible and find the real mastermind behind the crime of using the Saharans as pawns to grab the power in this country.