Melani Manel Perera

The reopened investigations into the attacks on churches and hotels that killed over 270 people have now directly implicated the former president, who returned to power just a few months after the bombings. The former head of intelligence has been in prison for three months on charges of having ‘used’ Islamists to upset the country’s political balance.

The Swedish government has singled out the Sri Lankan Catholic activist for his work on behalf of the victims of enforced disappearances during the civil war and previous periods of political violence in Sri Lanka. Founder of Families of the Disappeared, he has been seeking truth and justice for more than 30 years despite intimidation and threats.

The charge by the Attorney General’s Department follows questioning of a new witness in France. The position of the former head of military intelligence has worsened. Starting in 2017, he allegedly financed Islamic and Tamil extremist groups to be used for suicide attacks and actions against Rajapaksa's adversaries, including the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge and the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda.

The drugs were discovered in their luggage at the airport as they returned from a trip to Thailand. Suspicions have been raised that they were being exploited by organised crime groups. The monks were reportedly told they were transporting educational materials and sweets intended for children in Sri Lanka.

Various memorial events were held in Colombo yesterday for the 269 people killed in attacks on churches and hotels on 21 April 2019. The former head of Sri Lanka’s intelligence service was detained last February, accused of complicity with Islamist bombers. For the cardinal, some politicians and officials are afraid and nervous about the investigation and are trying to sabotage it.

One year after Bergoglio’s death, the Church in Sri Lanka has placed the theme of synodality – dear to his heart – at the centre of the Sunday that annually brings together the grassroots groups which, for over thirty years, have been gathering in their neighbourhoods or villages to walk together in faith. Bishop Wickramasinghe: “A privileged place to live out each person’s responsibility towards others”.

For the first time, tea estate workers mark the event together at the local church, a sign of unity and dialogue between different communities in a wounded land. “Those who love freedom, those who live in freedom, do not trap anyone,” said For Father Jeevantha. The new year will hopefully open a path based on love, unity, and justice.

Seven years on from the attacks that claimed 269 lives on Easter Sunday, the Minister of Security reported to Parliament on the state of the investigation following the breakthrough in February with the arrest of the former head of the intelligence services. Linked to the same group is a long chain of criminal acts that began two years earlier, of which Sallay was aware but failed to act. Suspicions point to a political level above the Islamist leader Zahran Hashim.

More than 100 days after the environmental disaster, over 60,000 people in Sri Lanka are living in makeshift accommodation. ‘The relief centres don't even have drinking water,’ they complain. The effects of the disaster compound the historical discrimination suffered by the tea plantation workers’ community. A petition with 15 demands have been submitted to the president and the government.

According to investigators' statements in court, there is evidence to support the charges against Suresh Salley in the documentary broadcast by Channel 4. Links have been identified with Islamist circles that could have been part of a plan to destabilise the country with the aim of influencing the political balance. The defence rejects the charges, pointing out that when the bombs exploded, the former general was in Malaysia.

Hundreds of religious leaders gathered by the Sangha have issued a ten-point statement and launched a petition on which they are collecting signatures from the faithful. They claim that the current government is pursuing a de facto separation between state and religion despite the role reserved for it by the Constitution. They have called for protection for temples, statues and religious teaching, but also for action against those who denigrate the Buddhist faith on social networks.

A journey marked by spiritual and social activities to deepen understanding and unity between spouses and their relationship with their children. The example of a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu experienced by the families of Marriage Encounter in the parish of Puttalam.