Cardinal tells UNHRC Easter Sunday carnage was part of a grand political plot

The Easter Sunday cranage of 2019 had been part of a grand political plot, Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, said at the 49th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council yesterday.

 The Cardinal said that despite their repeated requests and those by civil organisations, the incumbent government of Sri Lanka had failed to serve justice to the victims.

 “Instead of uncovering the truth behind the attack and prosecuting those responsible, there are attempts to harass and intimidate those who clamour for justice.

 Given below is the statement he made in full: “Your Excellency, dear Ladies and Gentlemen, the Easter Sunday Suicide Bomb Attacks in Sri Lanka, on 21st April 2019, claimed the lives of 269, including 82 children and 47 foreign nationals, belonging to 14 nations, and injured more than 500 others.

 “The first impression of this massacre was that it was purely the work of a few Islamic extremists. However, subsequent investigations indicate that this massacre was part of a grand political plot.

 “Despite our repeated requests and those of civil organisations pursuing the truth, the incumbent government of Sri Lanka has failed to mete out justice to the victims. Instead of uncovering the truth behind the attack and prosecuting those responsible, there are attempts to harass and intimidate those who clamour for justice. As a result, nearly three years after the horrendous crime, we are still in the dark as to what really happened on that Easter Sunday.

 As this is a case of a serious violation of the fundamental rights of the aggrieved victims, we earnestly call upon the UNHRC and all its member countries to support the continuation of evidence gathering initiated by the Council last year and to devise a means to ensure an investigation to unravel the truth behind the Easter Sunday massacre.

Courtesy The Island