Today: 6 July 2025
8 September 2023
2 mins read

Rajapakse Rejects Allegations in Channel 4 Documentary

Rajapaksa also said from January to November 2019, intelligence head was in India following a course at India’s National Defence College…reports Asian Lite News

Former Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa responding to newest UK’s Channel 4 TV documentary which allegedly connected him to IS-affiliated local Islamic extremists’ 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, has said that the allegations were “absurd”.

A day after the release of the controversial TV documentary titled “Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings” by Channel 4 which alleged coordinated explosions of six suicide bomb attacks killing over 270 and injuring over 500 both locals and foreigners at three churches and three star-class hotels intended to create insecurity and instability in the country to bring Rajapaksa to power at the 2019 elections.

Based on a series of interviews by whistleblowers and former security officials, Channel 4 claimed that the current head of Sri Lanka’s Military Intelligence Maj Gen Suresh Sallay allegedly hatched a plot with the IS-affiliated group of Sri Lankan Islamic extremists to prove that the country’s security was in tatters.

Interviewed by Channel 4, Azad Maulana, identified as a whistleblower and who was also the former spokesman of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, a leader of a breakaway group of the LTTE Tamil rebel and later joined Sri Lankan government forces, said he arranged the meeting with intelligence head and the suicide bombers without knowing their final plan. 

On April 21, 2019 , the morning of the Easter Sunday attacks, Sallay contacted him and asked to meet a person at the leading Indian hotel in Colombo, Taj Samudra, whom he later realised as the suicide bomber whose bomb did not detonate.

Defending the military head, Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated on Thursday that Sallay was serving as a diplomat in Malaysia from 2016 to 2018, during the period the whistleblower claimed Sallay plotted the bombings. 

Rajapaksa also said from January to November 2019, intelligence head was in India following a course at India’s National Defence College. 

The former president claimed that 2015-2019 government ignored the Muslim extremism that was building up in the country.

In his statement, Gotabaya also said that he sought the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assistance for the investigation after he became the President and he was communicated by Christopher A. Landberg of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, US Department of State, that the FBI had worked closely with Sri Lankan law enforcement, and in the week after the attacks, the US deployed around 33 personnel to Colombo to assist Sri Lanka’s investigation.

Ahead of planned major elections next year, Channel 4 revelations had created stir in Sri Lanka’s political circle and opposition parties and the Catholic Church were demanding an international probe and punish those responsible for the attacks.

Following the suicide attacks, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected with a thumping majority but two years later in 2022 he was forced to flee the country amid public agitation. 

With the support of pro-Rajapaksa majority Parliament, Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected President by a Parliamentary vote. 

ALSO READ-Sri Lanka Fully Aware Of India’s Security Concerns: Envoy

Previous Story

PM Modi Unveils 12-Point Plan at ASEAN-India Summit

Next Story

G20 an Opportunity for to Showcase India’s Global Leadership

Latest from -Top News

Kenyans put president on notice

Kenya’s fifth president became a remarkably unpopular leader barely two years into his presidency after proposing aggressive tax measures that many saw as a betrayal of his campaign promise to support working-class

World Bank grants South Africa a $1.5 bn loan

Deteriorating rail systems, jammed ports and frequent blackouts have hindered vital industries like mining and auto manufacturing in South Africa, contributing to slow economic growth over the last decade in Africa’s most

Judge halts Trump from dismantling USADF

Congress established USADF as an independent agency in 1980, with the mandate to support economic development initiatives in AfricaXXX In a significant legal development, a federal judge in Washington, DC, has temporarily

UAE Takes Part in 3rd BRICS Sherpa Meeting

For the UAE, BRICS provides a valuable platform for dialogue and policy coordination across regions….reports Asian Lite News Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri, Assistant Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs and the UAE’s

Khamenei Breaks Cover in Tehran

Iran’s Supreme Leader makes first public appearance since conflict with Israel, as mystery over his wartime absence continues. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made his first public appearance on Saturday since
Go toTop

Don't Miss

YouTube testing improvements to channel page layout

Another experimental feature the company announced provides bigger previews to

WhatsApp set to introduce new Channel Alerts feature

The ‘channel alerts’ function aims to improve the channel managers’