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Police chief blames president for failing to prevent Sri Lanka attacks
COLOMBO, June 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Sri Lanka’s suspended police chief has
petitioned the Supreme Court, accusing President Maithripala Sirisena of
failing to prevent the Easter bombings that killed 258 people.
In a 20-page complaint, Inspector-General Pujith Jayasundara disclosed
serious communication gaps between intelligence agencies and security arms of
the government, all which fall under Sirisena.
In the petition submitted to court last week and seen by AFP Sunday,
Jayasundara said the country’s premier spy agency, the State Intelligence
Service (SIS), ordered him last year to stop ongoing police investigations
into Islamic militants.
The SIS, which reports directly to Sirisena, wanted the police Terrorist
Investigation Department to stop all inquiries into extremist Muslim
factions, including the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), which was blamed
for the Easter Sunday bombings.
Jayasundara said the head of the SIS, Nilantha Jayawardena, did not take
seriously the intelligence shared by neighbouring India which warned of an
impending attack by the NTJ.
Jayasundara said despite the SIS not sharing information warnings with the
police department, he had initiated action to alert his senior men, but he
had no input from the main spy agency.
Sirisena suspended Jayasundara after he refused to accept responsibility
for the deadly attacks. The Attorney General has asked for a full bench of
the apex court to decide the case.
Jayasundara said he was offered a diplomatic post if he took the fall and
stepped down, but he refused as he said he was not responsible for the
catastrophic intelligence failure.
He said he had been sidelined by the president since a political rift
between the President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe emerged in
October.
Jayasundara’s petition came days after Sirisena publicly rebuked another
intelligence official, Sisira Mendis, after he told a parliamentary panel
that the Easter suicide bombings could have been avoided.
Mendis’s testimony appeared to put Sirisena in a poor light by implying he
had not held National Security Council meetings to review threats such as the
attacks carried out by Islamic State.
In a statement, Sirisena denied claims by Mendis that the country’s highest
security body had not met as often as it should have around the time of the
attacks, which were blamed on Islamic State-backed militants.
Sirisena, who is also defence minister, said in a statement he held NSC
meetings twice a week, contradicting Mendis who told parliament the last
meeting was on February 19, more than two months before the April 21 bombings
targeting three churches and three luxury hotels.
Sirisena said he met with the national police chief and his top brass 13
days before the Easter Sunday attacks and no officer raised warnings which
had been relayed by India.
Sri Lanka has been under a state of emergency since the attacks, but
Sirisena announced last week that it will end in a month.
BSS/AFP/RY/1542 hrs