The Catholic Church has stated that the role of retired Major General Aruna Jayasekara, who is currently serving as Deputy Defence Minister, could affect the credibility of the investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks.
The Catholic Church is urging President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the government to take an appropriate decision in this regard.
Several opposition MPs had recently called for his removal, saying that since he was the Eastern Commander of the army at the time of the attacks, his current role could affect the relevant investigations.
When the allegation was raised in Parliament, the Minister in charge of the subject stated that there was no reason to remove the Deputy Minister from office.
When asked by the media about their position on this matter, Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, spokesman for the Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, said that the church also believes that Jayasekara’s work as a deputy minister could influence the investigations.