The head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has expressed disappointment over the government’s investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday explosions that tore through three churches.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, who is the archbishop of Colombo, said he would ask for help from international organizations if the government would fail to serve justice to victims of the bombings.
Bombers believed to belong to the National Thawheed Jamaat, a group linked to the so-called Islamic State, carried out a series of attacks that tore through three churches and several luxury hotels in the country on April 21, 2019. The attacks killed at least 258 people.
A commission tasked to investigate the bombings has not made public its report.
“We shall have to see what the government does after submitting the report,” said Cardinal Ranjith, adding that if it does not happen, “there are international organizations abroad and we will act accordingly.”
He said he would seek assistance from international groups “to achieve some justice.”
The cardinal said the investigations “seemed as if they were carried out for the sake of investigating with no genuine interest.”
He said he has decided on an “alternative approach in relation to one specific matter through the courts.”
The cardinal said the investigations have only focused on the failure to prevent the attack and not on the possible masterminds behind it.
