Former Sri Lankan Minister and paramilitary leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, widely known as Pillayan, gave a five-hour-long statement before Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today over allegations presented in a controversial Channel 4 documentary about the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.
Pillayan addressed the media before his appearance, strongly denying involvement in the attacks and calling for action against his former media secretary, Azad Maulana, who reportedly fled the country.
A former commander of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), Pillayan led the paramilitary group after breaking away from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The TMVP was implicated in numerous human rights violations, including abductions and forced conscription during the armed conflict while operating as an armed political entity aligned with the government. Pillayan later transitioned into mainstream politics, serving as a Member of Parliament and government minister, despite the group’s controversial past. He is also an ally of the Rajapaksa family.
Maulana worked as an aide to Pillayan, and claims he met the bombers behind the Easter Sunday bombings of 2019 while he was in prison facing charges of the murder of a political opponent. In an interview for a Channel 4 documentary, Maulana specifically names head of military intelligence, Suresh Salley, Pillayan, and the Rajapaksa family as being the architects of the six separate church and luxury hotel bombings which took the lives of 269 people on 21 April 2019. He fled Sri Lanka in 2022 and has given his testimony to European intelligence agencies and the United Nations.
Criticizing the CID for allegedly supporting Maulana's lifestyle abroad, Pillayan insisted on an independent investigation to uncover the truth.
"If I am proven guilty, I am ready to hang myself," he told reporters. He further urged authorities to bring Maulana back to Sri Lanka for questioning, as Maulana claimed to have crucial information about the attacks.
This follows a report by a three-member committee appointed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to investigate the Channel 4 documentary. The committee, led by retired Supreme Court Justice S.I. Imam, included former Air Force Commander Jayalath Weerakkody and retired Supreme Court Justice Harsha A.J. Soza. Their findings suggested that Maulana fabricated allegations related to the attacks. Despite multiple invitations to provide testimony, Maulana reportedly did not cooperate, leading the committee to recommend legal action against him.
The CID’s investigation into the documentary was relaunched after a complaint filed by Father Rohan Fernando of the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR). Father Fernando has been vocal about potential political conspiracies surrounding the bombings and urged authorities to examine the documentary’s claims, which implicated high-ranking officials. However, the documentary’s producers later acknowledged they lacked concrete evidence beyond Maulana’s assertions.
Aired in September 2023, the Channel 4 documentary, Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings, explored allegations of political and military complicity in the attacks, featuring testimonies from various individuals, including Maulana, journalists, and religious leaders. The allegations were met with denials from government and military officials, who maintained that ISIS-inspired extremists carried out the bombings.
Pillayan, who was previously summoned by the CID on November 12 but could not appear due to election-related commitments, expressed frustration over the timing of the investigation during his campaign.
The controversy surrounding the documentary has reignited public discourse on the attacks, which killed over 250 people, and the need for accountability.
