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Whereabouts of NTJ bomber Hastun’s wife still a mystery

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Outgoing HR Chief says missing girl’s mother never mentioned Zahran

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) said Rajaratnam Kavitha, mother of P. Pulasthini (24) wife of Thowheed Jamaat suicide bomber Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun hadn’t informed the HRCSL Office in Batticaloa of Zahran Hashim’s involvement in the disappearance of her daughter.

Outgoing HRCSL Chairperson Dr. Deepika Udagama told The Island that there hadn’t been any reference to Zahran when Kavitha visited the Regional Office on April 17, 2019, four days before the Easter attacks.

Dr. Udagama was responding to The Island query whether the Regional Office informed Colombo of receiving a complaint as regards the missing young woman. The Island raised the issue with Dr. Udagama in the wake of Kavitha‘s testimony before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) in late last month.

Kavitha said that she visited the HRCSL Regional Office in Batticaloa after the Kaluwanchikudy and Kattankudy Police stations declined to accept her complaints. Kavitha said: I informed an officer there that I had found out my daughter was with Zahran. At that moment he said he knew Zahran and that there was nothing to be scared of since Zahran was a normal person.” Kavitha also quoted the HRCSL official as having said there was no need to lodge a complaint and that he would look into the matter.

The PCoI was told that Pulasthini fled to India following the blast. Intelligence services are in the process of verifying controversial testimony before the PCoI. However, authorities are yet to reach a conclusion on Pulasthini’s whereabouts against the backdrop of initial reports she perished in

Sainthamaruthu blast that claimed the lives of several Thowheed Jamaat cadres.

Q: Did HRCSL receive a complaint in this regard or any information regarding Kavitha’s visit to HRCSL Regional Office?

A: We obtained a detailed report on the matter from our Batticaloa Regional Office. It also includes the log entry relating to the visit of Ms. Kavitha to the Regional Office on 17 April, 2020. According to our records, one Ms. Kavitha of Mankadu, Cettipalayam had visited our Batticaloa Regional Office on 17 April, 2019 accompanied by a male. Her complaint was that her daughter P. Pulasthini (age 24) had gone away with a young man from the Muslim community and had married him in 2015, and that her whereabouts were not known. She had appealed to the HRCSL to assist in finding her. As the matter was of a private nature, our officer had informed Ms. Kavitha that it did not fall within the HRCSL’s statutory mandate. Ms. Kavitha had been advised to seek the assistance of the police to find her daughter. At that point the mother had not informed of any attempts to complain to the police or of any inaction on the part of the police. If that were the case the complaint would have been registered.

In her complaint Ms. Kavitha had stated that one Razik from a Muslim organization was having influence over her daughter’s family life. There had been no mention of a Zahran. In fact, as a gesture of assistance our officer had called a telephone number provided by Ms. Kavitha which was said to be that of Razik. He had denied knowledge of Pulasthini’s whereabouts and had mentioned that the parents had complained to Maligawatta police station about the matter and that the police including CID had questioned him in that regard. As there was nothing out of the ordinary about the complaint, the HRCSL Colombo had not been informed. That is the regular procedure.

Q: Did PCoI ask HRCSL personnel to appear before it? And if not, will you be inquiring into this (in the wake of PCoI revelation.

A: No, we have not been summoned by the PCoI. The records from our Batticaloa office, in our opinion, do not give rise to any issue that requires further investigation.

Q: Did HRCSL inquire into Easter Sunday tragedy or receive complaints as regards the government’s failure to thwart the carnage?

A: Even in the absence of a complaint, the HRCSL could investigate this matter on its own initiative (per S.14 of HRCSL Act, No 21 of 1996). However, we are aware that the same issue is being canvassed before the Supreme Court via FR petition by at least one aggrieved party. When a matter is canvassed before the Supreme Court in a FR application, the Commission does not conduct a parallel inquiry. The decision of the SC is binding on all parties.

Pulasthini’s husband carried out the attack on St. Sebastian church, Katuwapitiya where over 100 people perished.

Dr. Udagama confirmed the announcement made by the Constitutional Council on Monday (3) regarding her decision to quit the post. Head of Department of Law Faculty of University of Peradeniya, Dr. Udagama received the appointment in Oct 2015.

The Constitutional Council said that Dr. Udagama tendered her resignation from the post of chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka with effect from September 2020.

The CC Chairman informed the Constitutional Council that the Human Rights Commission was rated as one of the best in the world and that he would like to convey the appreciation to its Chairman Dr Udagama and the members of the commission for the exceptional achievement.

 

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AG not bound by its recommendations, yet to receive report

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PCoI on Easter Sunday attacks:

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC is not bound by recommendations made by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, or presidential directives in that regard, according to authoritative sources.

They said that the AG couldn’t under any circumstances initiate legal proceedings until he had received the full PCoI report.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa received the PCoI report on Feb 1. The President’s Office delivered a set of PCoI reports to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Feb 23, a day after the report was presented to the cabinet of ministers. The Island raised the matter with relevant authorities in the wake of a section of the media reporting the PCoI recommending punitive measures against former President Maithripala Sirisena, Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, IGP Pujitha Jayasundera, Chief of State Intelligence Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena, Chief of National Intelligence retired DIG Sisira Mendis and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader and Samagi Jana Balavegaya MP Rishad Bathiudeen et al over the Easter Sunday carnage.

Sources pointed out that due to the inordinate delay in sharing the PCoI report with the AG, the department hadn’t been able to take preliminary measures required to initiate the proceedings. Sources said that a team of officers would take at least six weeks or more to examine the report before tangible measures could be taken.

With the AG scheduled to retire on May 24, 2021, even if the AG Department received the P CoI it would be quite a tough task to initiate proceedings ahead of retirement, sources said. However, in terms of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution enacted in last October, both the AG and the IGP could receive extensions beyond 60 at the President’s discretion.

 

Dappula de Livera received an Acting appointment as the AG a week after the Easter Sunday carnage whereas his predecessor Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, was elevated to Chief Justice.

Responding to another query, sources said that the Attorney General two weeks ago requested Secretary to the President for a copy of the P CoI. However, the AG was yet to receive one, sources said. In spite of the AG not receiving a P CoI copy, the AG had instructed the IGP to obtain a copy of the report when he requested the police to complete investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage. The AG issued specific instructions after having examined police files pertaining to the investigations.

The IGP, too, hadn’t received a copy so far though some sections of the report were in the public domain.

Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage displayed at a live political programme on Derana a copy of the P CoI report he received at the cabinet meeting earlier in the day.

Sources said that the Attorney General’s Department couldn’t decide on a course of action in respect of the Easter carnage on the basis of a section of the report. In terms of the Commission of Inquiry Act (Section 24), the AG enjoyed significant powers/authority in respect of investigations; sources said adding that the Department urgently required both the P CoI report and police investigations report. The Attorney General’s Department has raised the delay in receiving a P CoI report amidst the Catholic Church attacking the government over the same issue.

Sources said that ministerial committee appointed to study the P CoI report couldn’t decide on how to proceed with the recommendations and the matter was entirely in the hands of the AG. Sources pointed out that the delay on the part of the government to release the report had received the attention of sections of the international media, including the New York Times. Public Security Minister retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera having met Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith at the Bishop’s House on Dec 8, 2020 said that the AG would get a copy of the P CoI report once the President received it. Minister Weerasekera said that the CID had handed over the relevant files after having completed investigations into eight blasts. Referring to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report on the Easter Sunday carnage, the former Navy Chief of Staff said that all such documents would have to be brought to one place and considered before initiating legal proceedings. Acknowledging that there could be delays, lawmaker Weerasekera said that on the instructions of the Attorney General a 12-member team of lawyers was working on the case. The minister vowed to expose the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks. Investigations continued while some of those wanted were overseas, the minister said.

The minister acknowledged that the Attorney General couldn’t proceed without the P CoI report. Minister Weerasekera reiterated that once the President received the P CoI report, it would be sent to the Attorney General. The minister said that there were documents two to three feet high that needed scrutiny. The minister assured comprehensive investigation. The minister said that investigations pertaining to eight blasts had been completed and the reports handed over to the AG. However, the Attorney General had found shortcomings in those investigations.

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JVP picks holes in PCoI report

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By Saman Indrajith

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday bombings had failed to identify the mastermind of , the JVP said yesterday.

Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, JVP Propaganda Secretary MP Vijitha Herath said that the PCoI report had levelled accusations against former President Maithripala Sirisena, former IGP and head of intelligence for their dereliction of duty, shirking of responsibilities and not taking action to prevent the attacks and negligence. There were reference to the causes of the terror attacks and actions to be taken to avoid such attacks and the influence of extremist organisations. “However, there is no mention of the mastermind of the attacks, the handlers of the attackers and those whose interests the carnage served. It is also not mentioned whether there has been any foreign or local organisation behind those attacks. As per the PCoI report the attack took place as a result of culmination of extremism.

“According to the PCoI the extremist activities were a result of the prevailing political situation then. The entire nation was waiting to see who was responsible and who masterminded those attacks. The PCoI has failed to identify the true culprits responsible for the terror attacks. The report says that the leader of the suicide cadres killed himself in the attacks and it was a puzzle. That means those who are actually responsible for the attacks are still at large. The report does not provide exact details of the sources of the attacks. The PCoI had sittings for one year and five months. It summoned various persons and got their statements but it has failed to shed any light on the terror attacks. Everybody knows that the top leaders of the government and heads of security and intelligence establishments failed in their duties. Ranil Wickremesinghe was the second in command and he too is bound by the responsibility but the PCoI report fails to identify him as one of the persons against whom legal action should be instituted. The PCoI has treated Wickremesinghe and former President Maithripala Sirisena differently. We are not telling that this report is a total failure but we cannot accept this as a complete report. The PCoI handed over its report to the President on Feb 1. After 23 days it was sent to Parliament. Now, a copy of the report is there in the parliamentary library for the perusal of MPs.”

Herath said that the PCoI did not have powers to take punitive action. “It only has powers to name those responsible and recommend action to be taken against those named.

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