Chief Government Whip and Minister of Highways Johnston Fernando in an interview with the Sunday Observer commented on the wide-ranging mandate of the six-member ministerial Committee appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to study the final report of Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) which probed the Easter Sunday attacks of April, 2019.
Minister Fernando who is also a part of the six-member Committee said there is no use in pointing fingers at the incumbent Government as the PCoI was appointed by the then President Maithripala Sirisena during the tenure of the former Yahapalana Government. He said the very same people who appointed the PCoI now say it has ignored the masterminds who were behind the Easter Sunday attacks. The Minister said: “However, we would not provide any room to sweep this incident under the carpet. All those who respect democracy want us to bring the culprits to book without further delay”.
Excerpts:
Q: What led the President to appoint yet another six-member ministerial committee to study the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) on the Easter Sunday attacks?
A: The PCoI in its report has made recommendations to provide legal advice to take immediate measures on certain areas. In addition, there are some recommendations made by the Sectorial Oversight Committee on National Security which was appointed following the Easter Sunday carnage. These decisions have to be implemented by the respective ministries and amendments have to be brought into certain laws. Therefore, the six-member ministerial committee was appointed to fulfill these requirements.
The President and the Government will not defend any culprits of the Easter Sunday attacks. We have a President, Prime Minister and a Government who are committed to implement the law to the letter. The very same people who appointed the PCoI now say it has ignored the masterminds who were behind the Easter Sunday attacks.
Those days the Cardinal and both the Government and Opposition Christian MPs requested the setting up of an independent Commission to probe the Easter Sunday attacks as they didn’t have any trust on the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed by the Yahapalana Government. They appointed politicians as the members of the PSC who had taken photographs with the terrorists and retained them within their political organisations. That is why a PCoI was appointed to probe the Easter Sunday carnage. Even after we came to power, the PCoI continued its proceedings with the consent of all parties. However, instructions had been issued not to initiate legal action against the suspects until the PCoI report is released. Therefore, there is no use of pointing fingers at the incumbent Government as the PCoI probing the Easter Sunday carnage was appointed by the then President Maithripala Sirisena during the tenure of the Yahapalana Government.
Q: Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith addressing a recent media briefing said they cannot be satisfied with the final report of the PCoI on the Easter Sunday attacks and that they would continue to protest until justice is meted out to the victims. Would you like to comment on this?
A: We as a Government and Opposition Christian Parliamentarians of the previous Parliament made a request through the Cardinal to appoint a Presidential Commission to investigate the Easter Sunday carnage. At present, the final report of that Commission has been released.
The six-member committee appointed by the President will also be able to find out whether the PCoI has properly implemented the mandate entrusted upon it or gone beyond that. Otherwise, it is too early to make any judgement right now. The PCoI consists of a large number of pages so that we will have to go through all of them.
The people should also be educated about the content of it. However, I would like to state with responsibility that the Government under the leadership of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would implement the law to the letter. Even after the President assumed office, a lot of suspects have been arrested while investigations are still going on into the Easter Sunday attacks. Therefore, I firmly believe that the law will be implemented to the letter against the culprits.
Q: Co-Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the weekly Cabinet press briefing neither the President nor the Government will take responsibility for the final report of the PCoI on Easter Sunday attacks. Could you explain?
A: This was a Commission appointed by the former Yahapalana Government. We didn’t make any changes to it. If we attempted to change its composition, an allegation would have been levelled against us by the Opposition saying that the Government through the Commission attempted to take revenge from its political opponents. Somehow, a report has been submitted by the PCoI.
When the former Yahapalana Government even allowed some politicians, who helped terrorists to freely come and sit in Parliament, the PCoI was appointed following the request by the Cardinal and both the Government and Opposition Christian MPs. Therefore, this is a report submitted by a Presidential Commission appointed by the former Yahapalana Government.
Q: Certain sections have complained that the PCoI report has recommended criminal proceedings against former President Maithripala Sirisena and ex-senior Government officials but it has completely ignored the masterminds behind the attacks. Your comments?
A: All those who are held responsible for those Easter Sunday terror attacks should be punished based on the recommendations by the PCoI and the investigations conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID). Despite the PCoI conducting its hearings, our Government also arrested a large number of suspects who were allegedly connected to this incident and we are still continuing investigations to arrest certain suspects. Therefore, the law is being implemented to the letter under the present Government.
Actually, filing legal action against the suspects was delayed until the PCoI report was released. That is why we requested to submit the PCoI report as early as possible. We would not provide any room to sweep this incident under the carpet. However, we cannot allow the culprits to flee by resorting to arbitrary decisions. This should not be turned into a political or media show.
The former Yahapalana Government paved the way for those terror attacks. They deactivated the intelligence services and couldn’t ensure the security of the people. They allowed the innocent people to be killed and even laughed when they were brutally killed. We are not such an irresponsible Government. Like the previous Government, we never conduct media shows. However, we will implement the law to the letter. That is what the people expect from us. At present, some sections are attempting to create various opinions regarding the Easter Sunday carnage. Some Ministers of the Yahapalana Government who didn’t go to church on Easter Sunday on the advice of their parents are also slinging mud at this PCoI report. We can also respond to them by resorting to mudslinging campaigns. However, we should not resort to such things. What the Cardinal and the people expect from us is to meet justice to the victims of Easter Sunday carnage. All those who respect democracy want us to bring the culprits to book without any further delay. Sometimes, it may seem like some sort of shortcoming on our part as we don’t conduct media shows like the previous Government to take undue political advantages.
Q: As reported by the media, will the six-member committee appointed to study the PCoI report submit its recommendations to the President on March 15?
A: We have already held several discussions. At each discussion, we mainly focus on various laws and other rules and regulations that are mentioned in the PCoI report. We have to bring amendments to so many existing laws as mentioned in the report relating to education, defence and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Responsibility has been vested upon so many ministries to bring amendments and introduce fresh laws. Therefore, the six-member committee will formulate its report by recommending necessary guidelines required for this purpose. The mandate of our committee is not to frame charges or arrest the people. In addition to the PCoI report, so many suspects have been arrested following the investigations conducted by the TID and CID. However, we are not in a position to divulge all that information as it would hamper the ongoing investigations.
Q: The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main coalition partner of the Government has decided to reject the PCoI report and it is of the view that the is incomplete and not compatible with the Commission’s mandate. Your views?
A: Actually, they should be ashamed as those Easter Sunday terror attacks took place during their tenure in office. The PCoI was also appointed by their own President and we didn’t nominate anybody to that Commission. All those committee members were appointed by their President and they should also be held responsible. The people had to face that tragedy when the SLFP was also in the Yahapalana Government. Therefore, they can’t just evade responsibility by rejecting the PCoI report. They should be ashamed of themselves for rejecting the report even without fully reading it.
Q: Already a PCoI, Parliamentary Select Committee and a Sectorial Oversight Committee on National Security have investigated the Easter Sunday attacks and submitted their reports. Have the findings in these three Committee reports not adequate enough to bring some sort of justice to the aggrieved parties?
A: It has to be decided after the end of the court proceedings. Otherwise, the President and the Prime Minister are not in the position to take action against the culprits. We all have to act according to the accepted legal framework in the country. We cannot practise the same ‘jungle law’ of the former Yahapalana Government. We can’t go beyond the limits of the country’s law. As some people expect, we can’t take arbitrary decisions against the culprits. We all have pledged to act in accordance with the existing law in the country.
Q: Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella has told the media that four documets of the PCoI on the Easter Sunday attacks have not been given to the Parliamentarians. The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has demanded that the documets be provided to all MPs before the parliamentary debate on the PCoI report. Is there any truth in this?
A: There are some issues regarding national security. We can remember the ‘Millennium City’ incident, which was yet another betrayal of the United National Party (UNP). The UNP doesn’t have any interest in the country’s national security. It was Lakshman Kiriella who said “any idiot can wage the war”. That is why they imprisoned top intelligence officials and deactivated the intelligence service and paved the way for the terrorists to launch those multiple terror attacks on Easter Sunday. Now they are seeking to expose the evidence given to the PCoI regarding national security and destroy the country’s national security.
This is the contract undertaken by them. The present Opposition never acts in a responsible manner. We don’t want to hide any report but the Government should act in a very responsible manner with regard to the issues pertaining to national security.
Q: The Government lawmakers and various other sectors have raised serious concern on the latest report of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet and say it has completely ignored all the positive developments taken place in Sri Lanka. Would you like to comment on this?
A: I personally see the UNHRC is doing what the Opposition wants. They are resorting to the same thing they did since 2015. When the entire world attempts to rescue the people from the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UNHRC has become the cat’s paw of the Opposition. Actually, we have witnessed similar allegations levelled against us by the UNHRC even before 2015.
Q: So far 21 countries have already expressed their opposition to the UN Human Rights Commissioners report while 15 countries are supporting it. Do you think more countries would extend their support to Sri Lanka at the upcoming UNHRC sessions?
A: Actually, 21 countries extending their support to Sri Lanka at the first round of the UNHRC sessions is a big victory achieved by us. It is a clear reflection that they have reposed their confidence as to how we govern the country and maintain our international relations. However, we have to face these challenges.
We are well aware that the present Opposition is working closely with the international community and the diaspora. Today we don’t have a vibrant Opposition which loves its motherland.
When they were in power, they danced according to the whims and fancies of the international community. Even today, they are doing the same thing. However, the people have a very good understanding about their conduct. As a Government, we should face this challenge while maintaining cordial discussions with our friendly countries, otherwise we can’t evade this challenge.
We regret the manner the Opposition conducts its affairs. It is very obvious, the present Opposition is the architect of these international conspiracies against the Government.
Q: Some question as to why the UNHRC overlooks the facts about grave human rights violations committed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)?
A: The UNHRC doesn’t concern itself with the atrocities committed by the LTTE. It is very clear they only want to act against the democratically elected Government. It is a very pathetic situation. Even the UNHRC has turned into the position of appearing on behalf of terrorists.
The recent report submitted by the UN Human Rights Commissioner clearly shows their nakedness. They are there not to eradicate terrorism but to appear on behalf of terrorists.
At a time when the entire world has become helpless due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation, we vehemently condemn the attempt by the UNHRC to level baseless allegations against Sri Lanka. They should be ashamed of what they are doing.