SRI LANKA president Ranil Wickremesinghe has ruled out having an international-aided independent probe into the 2019 Easter bombings that were carried out by a local Islamist extremist group.
Nine suicide bombers from to the National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ), linked to Daesh (Islamic State group), were behind a series of blasts that tore through three Catholic churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, killing nearly 270 people and injuring more than 500.
Britain’s Channel 4 aired a documentary in September, titled ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings - Dispatches’, alleging the involvement and complicity of certain government officials, including intelligence service chief Major General Suresh Sallay, in orchestrating the 2019 Easter suicide bombings. The programme called the attacks a “crafted act” aimed at forcing a political change in favour of the thenpowerful Rajapaksa brothers.
Wickremesinghe said this week Sri Lanka will not permit any international inquiry into the Easter blasts.
“It is out,” he said. “The Sri Lankan government does not have international investigations. Full stop. Few people may want (it), but parliament doesn’t,” he told the German state-owned broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) in an interview. Referring to an FBI report on the terror attack, Wickremesinghe said, “No one outside was involved.”
“We had the FBI, we had the British police, the Australians, Indians, Chinese and the Pakistanis. If those secret services have given reports, what are these allegations?” he said.
The president accused the West of double standards in calling for an international investigation in Lanka.
“Germany does not have such inquiries. The UK does not have such inquiries. What international inquiries have they gone into? Why is it for Sri Lankans and Asians? You think we are second class?” Wickremesinghe asked.
“You need to take this Western attitude out. The Western media thinks we are bad. The way we have an inquiry is by using Sri Lankan personnel,” he said.
Wickremesinghe has pledged to appoint a parliamentary select committee to investigate allegations that the attack was a conspiracy. The president also said his government has rejected the “wrong” report of the UN Human Rights Commission.
Dharavi slum in Mumbai
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)