Buddhist-Christian unity is now at the center of a heated political dispute as Udaya Gammanpila raises questions over the Easter probe.
Buddhist-Christian unity is facing renewed political tension after Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila claimed that a calculated attempt is being made to divide the two religious communities over the Easter Sunday investigations.
Speaking at a media briefing held today, Gammanpila said the recent controversy surrounding Reverend Father Suresh Salie had now developed into a dispute between the Buddhist Sangha and the Catholic Church.
He said that when the Cardinal made statements in favour of what he described as the torture of Reverend Father Suresh Salie, the Asgiriya Maha Nayaka Thero issued a statement opposing such torture.
According to Gammanpila, this incident has now created a direct clash between the Buddhist clergy and the Catholic Church.
He said Buddhists and Catholics in Sri Lanka have lived in harmony for more than 500 years.
He added that, especially within Sinhala society, marriages between Buddhists and Catholics have been extremely common.
Gammanpila said that when such marriages take place, Catholic wives do not force Buddhist husbands to convert, and Buddhist husbands do not force Catholic wives to convert.
He said there are many such families even within his own party.
He further claimed that Buddhist-Catholic harmony in Sri Lanka has reached such a level that even within the same family, some children become Buddhists while others become Catholics.
According to him, the greatest strength of the Sinhala nation is Buddhist-Catholic unity.
He alleged that a clever and subtle conspiracy is now being carried out to divide Buddhists and Catholics and weaken the Sinhalese.
Gammanpila claimed that an NGO clique leading this alleged conspiracy has now spread its influence within the Catholic Church.
He named priests including Cyril Gamini, Jude Fernando and Ruwan Silva as prominent figures in that group.
He alleged that this group fabricated the “mastermind of the Easter attack” theory and has been spreading such theories in society, including at St. Anthony’s Church in Kollupitiya and through the CSR, the Center for Society and Religion.
He claimed their effort is to free Muslim extremists from responsibility for the Easter attack, shift the blame onto Buddhists, and thereby destroy Buddhist-Catholic unity.
Gammanpila also alleged that the YouTuber now playing the leading role in spreading this conspiracy theory was a former paid employee of the CSR.
He further claimed that, under the influence of this NGO clique, the Cardinal pressured the current government to appoint Ravi Seneviratne as Secretary to the Ministry of Police and Shani Abeysekara as Director of the Criminal Investigation Department to handle the Easter investigation.
Gammanpila described this as unprecedented.
He claimed it was the first time in world history that a main suspect in an investigation being conducted by the CID had been appointed as Director of the CID.
He also claimed it was the first time in world history that a politician had been appointed as CID Director.
Similarly, he alleged that a main suspect in two CID investigations had been appointed as Secretary to the Ministry overseeing the police.
Gammanpila referred to Minister Bimal Ratnayake, saying the appointments had been made because the Cardinal could not be refused, adding that this was “not our work.”
He then questioned why the Cardinal wanted to hand over the Easter investigation to two people who, according to him, had been named as suspects in a CID investigation before court and had even sought court orders preventing their arrest over alleged links to the Easter attack.
He asked why the Cardinal wanted the investigation conducted by suspects themselves instead of allowing an independent inquiry to reveal the truth.
He also questioned why the Cardinal was allegedly afraid of the truth emerging.
Gammanpila further asked why the Cardinal had said the Easter investigation was moving in the wrong direction when, according to him, the links between ISIS terrorists and the Easter attack were being revealed.
He said cases had been filed against individuals he described as the real suspects of the Easter attack, including Ibrahim Nana, Mohamed Nawfer, Riskhan and Milhan, with 23,370 charges across seven courts.
He also questioned why the Cardinal was eager to place responsibility for the Easter attack on Buddhists based on a statement made to Channel 4 by Asad Maulana.
Gammanpila described Channel 4 as pro-LTTE and claimed that the Presidential Commission of Inquiry had recommended that Asad Maulana be named as a terrorist suspect who directly contributed to the Easter attack.
He asked why the Cardinal wanted to destroy Buddhist-Catholic unity by relying on statements from persons he claimed had contributed to the Easter attack and by allowing suspects to conduct the investigation.
He said these were questions that must be answered not only for the Easter victims, but also for the majority of people in the country who genuinely stand for Buddhist-Catholic unity.
According to Gammanpila, conspiracy theorists claim that the Easter attack was carried out to get Gotabhaya Rajapaksa elected President.
He argued that, if viewed that way, the person who contributed most to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s 2019 presidential victory was Ibrahim Nana.
He said two sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren of Ibrahim Nana were victims of the Easter attack.
Therefore, according to that conspiracy theory, Gammanpila said Ibrahim Nana would be the person who contributed most to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s victory.
However, he said Ibrahim Nana received no recognition after the presidential election.
Gammanpila said that although 17 national list parliamentary seats were available at the 2020 general election, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa did not allocate one to fulfil Ibrahim Nana’s alleged dream of entering Parliament through the national list.
He said Gotabhaya Rajapaksa did not even appoint Ibrahim Nana as Western Province Governor.
Based on that, Gammanpila said Gotabhaya Rajapaksa would become the most ungrateful politician in Sri Lankan history.
He then claimed that although Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had not shown gratitude to Ibrahim Nana, the Malimawa government under President Anura Dissanayake had shown what he described as “wonderful gratitude.”
Gammanpila said that after the Malimawa government came to power, the main witness in the case filed against Ibrahim Nana for supporting terrorism and having prior knowledge of a terrorist attack without informing security forces was the woman who worked as a servant in his house.
He said the Attorney General had filed cases against Ibrahim Nana based on her testimony.
However, when the case was called in March 2025, he said the second witness, the woman from the house, had disappeared.
According to Gammanpila, the Attorney General informed court that she had gone overseas for employment.
He argued that she should have been kept in the country under a prohibition order, or at least that police should have checked whether she was boarding a flight.
He alleged that the woman was allowed to leave the country, while the Attorney General’s Department informed court that the crucial witness had gone abroad for work.
He claimed this could now create an opportunity for Ibrahim Nana to be acquitted and released.
Gammanpila also alleged that because the CID did not object, all assets belonging to Ibrahim Nana that had been seized or taken into state custody had been returned by the current government.
He concluded by telling former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to “learn from President Anura Dissanayake how to show gratitude in politics.”
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