Sri Lanka’s former president Maithripala Sirisena has claimed that the “masmtermind” behind the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings is already well known to the Sri Lankan government, military, and intelligence services, but remains untouchable.
Speaking at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo this week, Sirisena said that while authorities continue to scramble in search of the “so-called mastermind”, the truth is already known at the highest levels.
“I’ve told the CID everything about how it all went down. But none of it can be disclosed to the public,” he said.
“Everyone’s scrambling to find the so-called mastermind, but the truth is—they already know who it is. Every government, military, and intelligence agency knows. Even though we can tell where the mastermind is, we can’t take them on.”
The former president further alleged that “serious crimes” had been deliberately orchestrated to tarnish his name, destroy his administration, and dismantle his party.
Sirisena’s remarks will deepen suspicions around Sri Lanka’s handling of the Easter Sunday bombings, which killed more than 250 people. The attacks have been mired in allegations of state complicity, cover-ups, and intelligence failures – implicating Sirisena himself.
India, defence deals, and geopolitics
Turning to geopolitics, Sirisena also sounded alarm over the recently signed Indo-Lanka defence agreement, warning that Sri Lanka risks being dragged once again into external power struggles.
“The new defence deal between India and Sri Lanka is going to be a major issue in the future,” he said, recalling the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord which imposed provincial councils on the island under Indian pressure. “For the past 11 years, those councils have been inactive. Over 2,500 officers are sitting idle, and millions of rupees are being wasted every year. These problems didn’t come from within.”
Sirisena accused India of “strong-arming” Sri Lanka into political concessions.
‘World leaders are mentally ill’
The former president also extended his critique to the global stage, claiming that world peace and sustainable development are endangered by leaders who thrive on war.
“Some powerful world leaders are mentally ill—they just can’t live without war,” he opined. “Netanyahu, for example - he’s always looking to attack someone. First it was Palestine, then Iran. And when Iran hit back at Israel, the U.S started attacks. Imagine if all that money spent on war was used to help the world’s poor instead.”
Sirisena pointed to rising poverty in Western capitals, comparing conditions during his visits to Europe and the US 30 years ago, when he said “you didn’t see beggars on the streets,” to the current landscape.
Read more from News Wire here, the Daily Mirror here, and News First here.
