Former President Maithripala Sirisena today alleged that the mastermind behind the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks is widely known to Sri Lankan intelligence services, the military, and successive governments, but remains beyond the country’s reach.
Speaking at an event held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Sirisena claimed that despite continuous investigations, the truth cannot be disclosed to the public. “Everyone knows who the mastermind is. People in every government, the military, and intelligence agencies know where the mastermind is. But we cannot fight him,” he said.
The former President further charged that grave crimes had been deliberately engineered to tarnish his reputation, undermine his government, and weaken his political party.
On foreign policy, he warned that recently signed Indo-Lanka defence agreements could spark serious challenges in the future, similar to the Indo-Lanka Accord of the 1980s. He also criticised the decade-long inactivity of provincial councils, calling them a drain on public funds.
Commenting on global affairs, Sirisena said world peace and sustainable development were under threat due to the “war mindset” of powerful leaders. He cited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an example and accused certain nations of fuelling conflicts instead of addressing global poverty.
