ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka will appoint another committee to oversee implementation of recommendations by previous committees appointed to probe the 2019 Easter attacks, minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.
“The committee will monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the Easter attacks report,” Jayatissa told reporters.
“Previously there was no mechanism for implementing these recommendations,” he claimed.
The cabinet has approved the proposal to appoint a committee comprising ‘experts in the field of counter-terrorism and national security’ and representatives of relevant ministries and institutes under the supervision of the Presidential Secretariat.
It’s been seven years since the attack on April 21, 2019.
Since 2019, there have been multiple layers of inquiry to find out the truth about the Easter attacks.
The Malalgoda Committee was the first formal inquiry established in the immediate wake of the attacks, appointed by then-President Maithripala Sirisena.
Chaired by Supreme Court Justice Vijith Malalgoda, the 3-member board, which also included former Inspector General of Police (IGP) N K Illangakoon and former Law and Order Ministry Secretary Padmasiri Jayamanne, was tasked with investigating the causes and background of the attacks within a strict 2-week window.
The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to investigate the attacks released a comprehensive report in October 2019 that placed heavy accountability on the state’s security and intelligence apparatus.
The findings revealed that senior officials had received specific intelligence regarding the impending attacks from foreign agencies as early as April 4, 2019, yet failed to act, leading to a catastrophic breakdown in national security.
The Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Easter Sunday attacks, appointed in September 2019, produced the most extensive official record of the tragedy, concluding its mandate with a final report running into thousands of pages.
The commission’s findings centered on a grave failure of the state’s duty to protect its citizens, specifically recommending criminal proceedings against former President Maithripala Sirisena and top security brass for criminal negligence.
Beyond immediate security lapses, the commission provided a controversial set of recommendations aimed at preventing future extremism, including the banning of certain extremist organizations, the regulation of madrasas, and reforms to the national education curriculum.
While it provided an exhaustive chronological map of the attacks, the PCoI has faced criticism from victims’ groups and the Catholic Church for failing to definitively identify the mastermind or the intellectual authors behind the plot.
Finally, in a landmark judgment delivered on January 12, 2023, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka held former President Maithripala Sirisena and several top security officials personally liable for failing to prevent the attacks despite receiving credible intelligence.
Despite all these, the criminal prosecution of the intellectual authors of the crime remains stagnant, with many cases bogged down in preliminary legal hurdles. (Colombo/Apr22/2026)