(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –Former President Maithripala Sirisena attended hearings conducted by the Presidential Commission into the Easter Sunday attacks, as an observer today.
Last week Sirisena was accused of offering Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara, who has been suspended from service, a number of perks if he took responsibility over the Easter Sunday attacks.
Former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando had told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks last week that on April 24, 2019 then President Sirisena informed Jayasundara that if he accepted responsibility for the co-ordinated terror attacks on April 21, 2019 and resigned from his position, he would be given pension and a position as an Ambassador in any country he wished to serve.
Fernando said that after President Sirisena’s communication, the then IGP, Pujith Jayasundara had come to seek his advice in this regard.
However, Fernando said that he could not attend to the former IGP’s matter because it was a serious issue. “I asked him to discuss the matter with his family members,” he said.
Fernando further added that the former President had informed Jayasundara that he could be released from the Commission headed by Supreme Court Judge Vijith Malalgoda which investigated the causes and background for the coordinated terror attacks.
