Cardinal Criticizes Politicians Over Easter Sunday Attack Discussion

"Now, after ignoring our pleas for so long, politicians and leaders are eager to talk about the Easter Sunday attacks. They’ve sat in Parliament without addressing it, hindering our progress, and now they act as if they’re the heroes demanding commission reports. This is not what we’ve been asking for," Cardinal Ranjith said.

He stressed that the public deserves to know the truth about the attacks, which claimed the lives of 274 people, including Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims, and individuals from various nationalities who were present in the churches.

"We still don’t know who was behind the Easter Sunday attacks. The public has the right to know who was responsible for the deaths of 274 of our brothers and sisters, including Buddhists, Muslims, and people of different nationalities in our churches. We need the truth," he added.

He also mentioned that while seven Muslim extremists carried out the attacks, others who knew about it did nothing to stop it. "Who gave these seven individuals the explosives? Who trained them? Who instructed them and enabled these attacks? We need to know the real masterminds behind this," he stressed.

The Cardinal highlighted that the Catholic Bishops' Conference has consistently called for a fair investigation, and evidence continues to emerge suggesting a larger conspiracy behind the attacks. "Without examining this evidence, it’s difficult to reach a just conclusion. We don’t want to wrongfully accuse anyone, but we have the right to know the truth," he said.

He criticized the previous government’s investigation, noting that two committees were formed but only repeated the recommendations of the Presidential Commission. He questioned why another committee was needed to produce the same suggestions and highlighted that the committee recommended legal action against two senior officials linked to the government.

"They are trying to manipulate the Easter Sunday investigation for its own interests, but we won’t accept that. We need the truth and a thorough investigation into what really happened. The country's leader has promised us this, and we are watching closely to see if he keeps that promise. We hope that soon the full truth of the Easter Sunday attacks will come to light," Cardinal Ranjith concluded.