Days after his release from jail, Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara stirred controversy by claiming that he had warned Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith about the Easter Sunday attacks well in advance, but his warnings were ignored.
Speaking to the media, Gnanasara alleged that government intelligence services and officials had prior knowledge of the attack.
“We approached the Cardinal before the attack and had lengthy discussions, warning him of the possible threat. However, he disregarded our concerns,” he claimed.
As the BBS General Secretary, Gnanasara stated that while they had the authority to inform relevant personnel, they did not have control over the country’s security forces. He also claimed that they had access to secret information that even intelligence services could not obtain.
“I had been warning about the attack since 2014. I sent 17 letters to the respective government leaders at the time, raising concerns about the rise of extremist groups in the country,” he said.
He further stated that the BBS had revealed extensive information on religious extremism through the Presidential Task Force on ‘One Country-One Law,’ formed under Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government. “We gathered all this information independently, without government assistance, to protect the country’s ethnic integrity,” he added.
“Finally, we handed over the report, but no action was taken,” Gnanasara said, expressing his willingness to cooperate with an investigation initiated by the current government by sharing the information he had.
