Sri Lanka’s president has launched an investigation into allegations against the country’s spy chief following accusations made in a British television documentary. The documentary claimed that Suresh Sallay, the head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), was complicit in the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, which killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a retired Supreme Court judge to probe the accusations against Sallay. The findings of the investigation will be referred to a parliamentary panel for further action. While this local investigation has been initiated, the Catholic church in Sri Lanka has called for an independent international inquiry into the attacks.
The alleged involvement of local intelligence operatives in the bombings has been previously raised in Sri Lankan courts, but no prosecutions have been made. Several local investigations found that authorities had failed to act on warnings from an Indian intelligence agency about an imminent attack.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has also urged an independent investigation with international assistance to establish the full circumstances surrounding the bombings. The British documentary claimed that Sallay was connected to the Easter Sunday bombers and had intentions to destabilize Sri Lanka in order to facilitate the return of the Rajapaksa family to power.
Sallay, however, denied these allegations, stating that he was not in the country at the time of the bombings. His former boss, field marshal Sarath Fonseka, informed parliament that Sallay had traveled using multiple passports.
Two days after the attacks, Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his participation in defeating Islamist extremists. Gotabaya later won the presidential poll, and Sallay was appointed as the head of the SIS. Gotabaya stepped down in July last year following public protests over an economic crisis.
While this investigation represents a step towards uncovering the truth and ensuring accountability, it remains to be seen whether further progress will be made in establishing the full circumstances behind the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka.
