A number of politicians who played a key role in the Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Presidential election campaign have become extremely agitated about the arrest of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan aka Pillayan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath told a political rally in Ja-ela on Friday.
He said that a committee was appointed to study the earlier investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks soon after Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected President last year. Fresh investigations too have begun based on the review of previous investigations.
“Soon after we began the review process, a politician who played a prominent role in the Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Presidential election campaign attempted to divert public attention by harping on the findings of two committees appointed by Ranil Wickremesinghe. The same politician has now become the defender of Pillayan,” he said.
Herath said for a long time this politician and Pillayan pretended to be in opposite political camps. However, their recent behaviour shows that there was a conspiracy to bring Gotabaya into power.
“People who were at the forefront of the Gotabaya campaign are now the main defenders of some suspects of the Easter Sunday attacks,” he said.
Pillayan was arrested on April 9 at Batticaloa in connection with the abduction and disappearance of a former Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University, Prof. Sivasubramaniam Ravindranath.
Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala told the media that former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s attempts to meet Pillayan has been denied. Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila now represents Pillayan as legal counsel and told the media that Pillayan was not arrested over the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
In response, NPP MP Chandima Hettiaratchi said that Gammanpila is attempting to tell others involved in the Easter Sunday attacks that Pillayan has not made any statement that could jeopardise them.
