In an earlier statement, Cardinal Ranjith said the country is “still not secure and attacks like the one that took place on Easter Sunday are still possible at any time.”
“We can’t allow this culture of killing to continue. The country must learn a lesson from the sacrifices of the innocents killed on Easter Sunday,” he said, adding that “the real killers must be identified and the country must know the truth.”
Following the bombings, Sirisena created a five-person commission to investigate the attacks. The commission’s final report was presented to current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in February 2021.
Rajapaksa then appointed a new six-member committee to study the report but did not share the report with the Church or with the attorney general.
The refusal to release the contents of the report has led to criticism, with fears that corruption or negligence have prevented the prosecution of collaborators in the attack. The study committee is composed only of government ministers who are members of the ruling coalition.
Cardinal Ranjith has been pushing for Sri Lankan authorities to be held responsible for failing to prevent the bombings.
In October 2020, five of seven suspects arrested in connection with the attacks were released by the government, on the stated grounds of lack of evidence.
At that time, Cardinal Ranjith said security officials had confirmed to him that there was sufficient evidence against many of the suspects who had been arrested. The cardinal, along with friends and family of the victims, have said they fear the release of the suspects meant corruption, or a lack of a thorough investigation, on the part of the Sri Lankan Criminal Investigation Department.
Several other persons have been charged with receiving weapons training from or being indoctrinated by the Islamist groups believed to be behind the bombings.
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