The PCoI Report has failed people – MP Haleem

(By Akitha Wijayasinghe)

The report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to investigate and inquire into the Easter Sunday Attacks has failed people, MP M.H. Abdul Haleem said.

He told with MediaLK that although the people had high hopes for the Presidential Commission, those hopes have been scattered after the release of the final report.

You stated in a media briefing in Kandy that an international investigation should be conducted on Easter Attacks to reveal the truth. Does that mean you are not satisfied with the investigations carrying out by the local entities?

“Not only me, no one can be satisfied with that. This issued report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday Attacks has failed people. It is true that those who have failed duties have been held accountable in this report. There is nothing wrong with that. Even so, that’s not what we expected.

We all just wanted to find out who is the mastermind behind this. There is nothing about that in this released report by the PCoI. The other thing is there are still a lot of suspicious things out there. What about that woman Sarah? We have a huge suspicion on her. We also doubt if this report is a brief report or if there are more volumes. We hear that two more volumes are out there.

That’s why I said that there should be an international investigation into the Easter Sunday Attacks. All we wanted to know who was the mastermind behind this, who planned it, who funded it, if this is a conspiracy originated within Sri Lanka, or is there any foreign relation to this incident.”

Do you think that there are parties who took the advantage of the Easter Sunday Attacks?

“Of course. There are many parties who benefited from this event. Who gained the most of this attack? How many things were dragged along with this in those days? It is very clear that we had a good government and it was because of this incident we lost it. We did not lose without doing anything.

There was this one incident where media highlighted the word ‘swords’ right after the Easter Attacks, as if I said it in a press conference. Like this, those parties used this incidents to boost their propaganda. The majority in my constituency are Sinhalese and only 20% are Muslims. This affected hugely on my votes.

We must live in harmony. But that harmony was lost in this Easter Sunday Attacks. People look at Muslims with discrimination. Before the Easter Sunday, there was no hatred between Muslims and Sinhalese. Now that sparked hatred after the Easter Attacks has spread everywhere.

The People have to know the truth. And this PCoI report has failed them. Not only the Muslim or Catholic people, but all the Sri Lankans want to know who is behind all these.”

Meanwhile, a copy of the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks has been handed over to Chief Prelates Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Thero, Mahanayaka of the Malwatta Chapter and Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thero, Mahanayaka of the Asgiriya Chapter and to  Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo yesterday (1) by the Director General, Legal Affairs of the Presidential Secretariat Hariguptha Rohanadheera.