President establishes committee to investigate 2019 bombings
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the actions taken by the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Chief of National Intelligence (CNI), and other relevant authorities concerning prior intelligence received about the bomb attacks on April 21, 2019. This decision follows the findings of the Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry, dated January 31, 2021, which highlighted that Indian Intelligence agencies and other sources had provided advance warnings about the impending attacks.
The Committee of Inquiry will be chaired by Ms. A.N.J. De Alwis, Retired Judge of the High Court. Other esteemed members of the committee include SLAS special grade Officer Ms. K.N.K. Somaratne and Senior Lawyer Mr. W.M.A.N. Nishane, AAL. The committee’s mandate includes examining whether adequate actions and measures were taken by the SIS, CNI, and other relevant authorities based on the prior intelligence and evaluating the sufficiency of these measures.
Additionally, the committee will investigate the circumstances surrounding the Directorate of Military Intelligence’s (DMI) initial belief that the Vavunathivu killing of two police officers on November 30, 2018, was connected to the LTTE. This belief was held for four months before suspects with alleged links to the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) were identified.
A compact disk containing the Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry on the Bomb Attacks of April 21, 2019, has been provided to the committee. The President has authorized the committee to inquire relevant officials and examine pertinent documents to thoroughly investigate these matters.
Ms. Sarathanjali Manoharan, Senior Assistant Secretary to the President, will serve as the Secretary to the Committee of Inquiry. The committee is expected to submit its report, including findings and recommendations, to the President by September 15, 2024.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the actions of the State Intelligence Service and other relevant authorities regarding prior intelligence on the 2019 bomb attacks. The committee, chaired by Judge A.N.J. De Alwis, will evaluate the response to warnings from Indian and other sources. They will also examine the delay in connecting the Vavunathivu killings to the National Thowheed Jamath, instead of the LTTE. The committee has access to the Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry and is authorized to question officials and review documents. The report with findings and recommendations is due by September 15, 2024.
