Nagalanda Challenges Ali Sabry for a Public TV Debate
The call for accountability in Sri Lanka has intensified as civil activist Nagalanda Kodithuwakku has thrown down the gauntlet to President's Counsel Ali Sabry, demanding a public television debate on two of the most contentious issues in the country's recent history: the catastrophic intelligence failures leading to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and the citizenship controversy surrounding former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Easter Sunday Convictions: A Grim Reminder
The timing of this challenge is significant, coming in the wake of the recent death sentences handed down to former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando. A three-judge High Court bench found both guilty of criminal dereliction of duty for failing to act on prior intelligence that could have prevented the attacks that killed 279 people on April 21, 2019 .
The court heard compelling evidence that an Indian intelligence agency had alerted Sri Lankan authorities on April 4, 2019, to a possible suicide attack by Islamist extremists, but authorities failed to take action . The majority decision, delivered by Justices Priyantha Liyanage and Thilakaratne Bandara, stated that due to negligence of intelligence information, 268 people died while 586 were left injured .
Justice Viraj Weerasuriya gave a dissenting ruling, acquitting both men, but Jayasundara became the most senior police official to be tried and sentenced in the over 150-year history of the police force .
The Unanswered Questions
While the convictions of Jayasundara and Fernando represent a measure of justice, the Nagalanda challenge highlights a fundamental question: what about the others who received intelligence warnings and failed to act?
The information had been received by multiple high-ranking officials . These include the Rajapaksa family, the former Defence Attaché at the Indian High Commission, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and President Maithripala Sirisena, who left the country .
The investigation under the National People's Power government has moved into the intelligence services, with the arrest of former State Intelligence Service Director Major General Tuan Suresh Sallay . This represents a significant shift from the accepted narrative that the Easter attacks were simply the result of coordination failures and incompetence .
The case also raises questions about whether elements of Sri Lanka's intelligence apparatus worked with, protected, or manipulated Islamist extremists before the attacks . President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has described the bombings as a "tragedy used to seize power," suggesting deeper political dimensions to the failure .
The Gotabaya Citizenship Controversy
The second pillar of the challenge concerns Ali Sabry's role in the citizenship controversy that surrounded Gotabaya Rajapaksa's 2019 presidential campaign. Questions had been raised about whether Rajapaksa had properly renounced his United States citizenship .
Ali Sabry, as Rajapaksa's counsel, produced documents at a press briefing which he said confirmed that the SLPP candidate was no longer a US citizen . Sabry claimed to possess the original US passport with a cancellation seal, the official oath of renunciation, and the original certificate of loss of citizenship approved by the US State Department .
However, these documents were submitted to the Election Commission in the form of an affidavit, not accompanied by any official verification from the US government . The absence of evidence from US authorities raised questions about the legitimacy of these claims.
The Affidavit Controversy
The situation was further complicated by concerns raised by the Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence regarding anomalies in the affidavits submitted by Rajapaksa . These organizations noted that two distinct affidavits were produced in support of Rajapaksa's candidacy, raising questions about whether he met the constitutional criteria for presidential eligibility .
Another Election Commissioner reportedly challenged the legitimacy of the affidavit submitted by Ali Sabry, adding to the mounting questions about the citizenship issue . The fact that these documents were provided through affidavit rather than official US government verification left many Sri Lankans skeptical.
The Implications
The Nagalanda challenge to Ali Sabry represents a critical moment for Sri Lankan justice and transparency. If the courts decide to rehear the citizenship case, as some have suggested, it could have profound implications for the legitimacy of Gotabaya Rajapaksa's presidency and his subsequent actions as head of state.
The challenge also addresses the broader question of accountability for the Easter Sunday attacks. While two officials have been convicted, the public continues to seek answers about the roles of other political figures and intelligence officials who also had prior warning of the impending attack.
The proposed public debate on Sirasa TV between civil activist Nagalanda Kodithuwakku and President's Counsel Ali Sabry would provide an unprecedented opportunity for the Sri Lankan public to hear direct answers to these questions. It would force a public examination of the citizenship issue and the broader intelligence failures that cost hundreds of lives.
As Sri Lanka continues its journey toward truth and reconciliation, such debates serve as essential mechanisms for accountability and transparency. The judiciary has a valuable opportunity to address these questions, but the public must also remain vigilant in demanding answers from those who were in positions of power when these events unfolded.