UPFA blames Govt. for not completing compensation to Easter Sunday attack victims

Govt. says 95% of compensation paid, proposes debate to present details

United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Dayasiri Jayasekara yesterday charged the Government in Parliament, for allegedly delaying compensation to the families of the deceased and the injured in the Easter Sunday attacks.

Raising a Point of Order in Parliament, to prove the delay in paying Rs. 500,000 to 264 persons killed from the explosion, MP Jayasekara said: “It was revealed in Court that only 20 persons were compensated. Of the 101 injured persons, only six or seven have been compensated. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and other religious leaders have repeatedly raised this issue. But the Government continues to say that they compensated them all.”

Referring to details of a Petition filed at the Supreme Court, MP Jayasekara said: “An Attorney-at-Law by the name of Chamil Perera has filed a Fundamental Rights Petition with the real statistics. The Petitioner seeks compensation for those who were killed or injured in the Easter Sunday attacks, which went un-prevented due to the negligence of officials. People are cursing us wanting the Parliament bombed.”

In response, Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella said: “As far as I know 95% of the compensation claims were settled. You can ask for a debate in the House on the issue, so that you could produce those figures, and the Government too could explain the real situation.”

According to the United National Party lawmaker Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, the Parliamentary Select Committee investigating the Easter Sunday attacks is in the process of drafting the report. “We have identified those responsible for the crime on the basis of testimonies. We would submit our report recommending structural changes that would prevent the recurrence of similar incidents,” he said. (AH)