Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith faces fresh claims from Udaya Gammanpila over Easter attack politics, Vatican extensions, and retirement.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has been drawn into fresh political controversy after Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila questioned his continued tenure as Archbishop of Colombo.
Gammanpila stated that, according to Canon Law, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was due to retire from the post of Archbishop of Colombo on November 15, 2022, when he reached the age of 75.
However, he alleged that the Cardinal has now extended his service on four occasions by informing the Vatican that he must remain in office to help bring powerful individuals behind the Easter Sunday terrorist attack to justice.
Based on that situation, Gammanpila questioned why Father Cyril Gamini does not act to place full responsibility for the Easter attack on Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, using the argument that the person or party gaining the greatest benefit from a crime should be treated as its mastermind.
He made these remarks during a media briefing.
“There is a popular conspiracy theory that the beneficiary is the criminal. According to this conspiracy theory, suspicion for the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy fell on Vice President Lyndon Johnson. Similarly, suspicion for the assassination of Prime Minister Bandaranaike fell on Acting Prime Minister W. Dahanayake. Likewise, suspicion for the disappearance of Upali Wijewardene fell on Prime Minister R. Premadasa.
“So, using this conspiracy theory that the beneficiary is the criminal, Father Cyril Gamini and others are casting suspicion on President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, based on the premise that the Easter attack benefited Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in the 2019 presidential election, due to a serious breakdown in national security ahead of that election.
“But we know very well that in the 2018 Local Government elections, the Pohottuwa got 42% and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party got 14%. Therefore, going into the presidential election, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who had the support of both the SLFP and the SLPP, had a 56% vote bank. He did not need to gain any benefit from the Easter attack. He already had more than enough votes.
“Therefore, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa cannot be identified as a beneficiary of the Easter attack as claimed by Father Cyril Gamini and others. But there is a real beneficiary of this Easter attack.
“Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was supposed to retire from the position of Archbishop of Colombo on November 15, 2022, as that was his 75th birthday. However, informing the Vatican that there are powerful individuals behind the Easter attack and that he must hold the position to bring them to justice, the Cardinal has now extended his service four times. He has taken four service extensions, or ‘reloads.’
“So, when looked at closely, the real beneficiary of the Easter attack is none other than the Cardinal himself. If that is the case, if you believe in the conspiracy theory that the beneficiary is the criminal, Father Cyril Gamini, why do you not place the responsibility for the Easter attack on the real beneficiary, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith?”
