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Defence Ministry hits out at Channel 4 allegations as false and reprehensible
View(s):The Defence Ministry says it “categorically refutes” what it says are false and reprehensible allegations made by Britain’s Channel 4 that Director General of the State Intelligence Service Major General Suresh Salley helped orchestrate the Easter Sunday terror attacks and assisted the bombers involved.
Issuing a statement, the Ministry noted that over the years both local and international investigations have consistently pointed to ISIS-affiliated group members led by Zahran Hashim as the architects of this horrifying tragedy.
The Ministry statement noted that Major General Salley served at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Malaysia as Minister-Counsellor from December 2016 until December 2018. He left for India on January 3, 2019 and returned to Sri Lanka on November 30, 2019 after completing the National Defence College Course in Delhi.
“This officer was never in Sri Lanka during the period mentioned in the Channel 4 video documentary. Furthermore, during the said period (December 2016 to November 2019), this officer was not employed in the Intelligence and Security Apparatus of the country, nor did he hold any official responsibilities in those fields,” the Defence Ministry insisted.
The Ministry also reiterated that no terrorists involved in the Easter Sunday attack have ever been on the government payroll.
It also underlined that investigations conducted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States, along with the subsequent verdict rendered by the US Department of Justice, have reaffirmed the findings of local investigations.
“On behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Defence hereby categorically refutes these false allegations and reiterates the government’s unwavering commitment to the truth, justice and the well-being of the nation,” asserted the Ministry.
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