Former Parliamentarian Sujeewa Senasinghe has stated that shutting down hotels and churches despite receiving prior intelligence about the Easter Sunday attacks could have led to widespread unrest in the country.

He made these remarks during a televised political programme aired yesterday (25), in response to questions raised by journalists regarding the failure of the then Yahapalana Government to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks.

Comparing the Easter Sunday attacks to similar extremist incidents in other countries, Senasinghe said that even powerful nations had failed to prevent such acts. Journalists at the programme accused him of attempting to portray the attack, which resulted in significant loss of life, as an ordinary occurrence.

Responding to the criticism, Senasinghe said that extremist attacks had taken place in many countries, including the United States, and noted that even the FBI had been unable to prevent certain incidents.

He acknowledged that prior warnings had been received regarding the attack but said intelligence agencies did not possess specific information about the exact targets.

“Even if the message was received a day earlier, we could not identify precisely where the attack would take place. If hotels had been closed and people had been told not to attend churches during what appeared to be a normal situation, it could have created major panic. Decisions in such circumstances are extremely difficult,” he said.

Senasinghe also accepted that former President Maithripala Sirisena could have exercised greater vigilance, adding that, as President at the time, it was his responsibility to look into the matter.

When asked about warnings made in Parliament by Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Senasinghe said that Rajapakshe, who was serving as Minister of Justice and a Cabinet member at the time, had also had the opportunity to act.

Journalists further pointed to incidents such as the ‘Wanda Kottu’ controversy, the Dr Shafi case, and alleged damage to Buddha statues, suggesting that these events had contributed to growing public dissatisfaction with the Government. Senasinghe rejected that claim.

Appearing somewhat unsettled during the exchange, he stated that he was not involved in the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks and that continuing to debate the matter with him would serve no purpose.

He further noted that the Easter Sunday attacks resulted in a significant political loss of votes.