Parliamentary Committee to be appointed to probe ‘Channel 4’ claims on Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings

Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara has revealed that a new inquiry will be conducted into the recent allegations made by UK’s ‘Channel 4’ pertaining to the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks.

Addressing Parliament this morning (05 Sep.), Nanayakkara stated that a special Parliamentary Committee will be appointed for this purpose, adding that while the need for international assistance to investigate these accusations has been recognised, such measures too, will be taken if required.

He stated that the matters of concern were discussed at the Cabinet meeting held on Monday (04 Sep.), assuring that current government will not hesitate to investigate these claims.

Despite his assurances, however, the Minister opined a rather skeptical view pertaining to the exposé due to be aired by the British television channel at 11:05 p.m. today, claiming that the channel had a ‘common practice’ of airing such controversial videos close to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva.

‘Channel 4’ became well-known in Sri Lanka in the past after airing several controversial videos alleging that war crimes had taken place in Sri Lanka, including its 2011 documentary “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields,” a hard-hitting investigation into the final weeks of the Sri Lankan war.

In its new documentary, titled “Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings – Dispatches”, ‘Channel 4’ claims to uncover “shocking new revelations about Sri Lanka’s deadly Easter bombings of 2019, as high-placed whistle blowers allege complicity by officials inside the government”.