Namal’s inescapable challenges; Sajith’s unfinished tasks; Easter massacre originators – A response

I respect Dayan Jayathilaka (DJ) as a professional diplomat but I, being a retired soldier and now a politician, differ with him in opinion and disagree in many aspects. Hence this response to his above article appeared in Daily FT on 9 April 2026. (See https://www.ft.lk/columns/Namal-s-inescapable-challenges-Sajith-s-unfinished-tasks-Easter-massacre-originators/4-790658)

In the above article he advises both Namal and Sajith on their politics and allocating a major part for Namal. We all know by now, Namal’s popularity is on the rise.

DJ says that Mahinda Rajapaksha lost his Muslim and Catholic/Christian votes due to ultranationalist lobbies within his own ranks. Ultranationalists? Do we have them in SL? DJ obviously means Sinhala Buddhist Ultranationalists (SBUs) Ultra nationalism is generally defined as that which denies the legitimacy of other minority groups, seeking to enforce homogeneity through exclusion, authoritarianism and violence. Do we have such people in SL? Do the Sinhalese Buddhists deny the legitimacy of Muslims, Tamils, Catholics/Christians in our country? 

Adolf Hitler was a ultranationalist and his regime built on Aryan superiority, anti-Semitic violence etc. In Romania Iron Guard was a fascist movement combining orthodox mysticism with anti-Semitic violence. Khmer Rouge promoted a brutal, exclusionary form of ultra-nationalism that led to genocide.

In SL where were those so called DJ’s SBUs when 4 Buddhist monks were remanded for over a month for placing a Buddha statue on a table at a historical Buddhist site in Trincomalee? What did the so called SBUs do when a Minister called a well-respected Buddhist priest a “savage” (vanachariya) or when another politician said that the most Sacred Sri Maha Bodhi at Anuradhapura is just another tree like a coconut tree, or when another hooligan insulted the Sacred Tooth Relic revered by the entire Buddhist world! As DJ says, If there were SBUs in our country, these people would be 6 feet below the ground. 

Can the wholesale trade in Colombo be dominated by Tamils and Muslims if there are SBUs? In the north 25,000 Sinhalese families were subjected to “ethnic cleansing” and still they are unable to return and resettle in places where they lived for generations. Can that happen when there are Sinhala Buddhist Ultranationalists in our country.

DJ is not a child who doesn’t know the correct meaning of the word “’ultranationalists”. It’s a deliberate and a malicious message to the international community (writing in English) that there is discrimination against minorities by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority. 

Being an open supporter/lobbyist of the 13 A , and in view of the forthcoming provincial council elections, DJ seems to have already started the campaign to pave the way for the federalists to achieve their objective. 

The Sinhala Buddhists , in certain instances, have reacted only when provoked and apart from that, have always lived in harmony with others extending hands of compassion even to the aggressor. 

DJ says if not for the post war anti-Muslim conspiracy no Easter massacre would have occurred years later. Who is DJ trying to fool? As per available statistics, between the years 2018 and 2025 , 46,281 churches/Catholic buildings were attacked by Islamic terrorists globally and 1847  were in the Easter attack year, 2019. Were those attacks also caused by the anti-Muslim conspiracy in SL? If the anti-Muslim conspiracy was the project of SBUs, why did Zaharan attack Catholic churches instead of Buddhist temples? 

Wahabism, which emphasises absolute strict monotheism (Tawhid), was introduced in the 18th century and ISIS ideology was introduced by Abu Bakar Al Bagdadi in 2014. Their objective is to establish a Caliphate called an Islamic state and  believe that they can kill non-Muslims to achieve that objective. 

 Zaharan became an ISIS member and promised allegiance to Bagdadi. A day before the attack Zaharan said (video available) that he is carrying out the attack for the sake of the Islamic state and he targets catholic churches to take revenge for the massacre of Muslims inside a mosque (in New Zealand) by a Catholic man. Even the FBI confirms it was an ISIS attack and Raj Patel, the head of the FBI team which carried out the investigation, was selected for the best international investigation of the year award. The curious public would like to know how DJ has discovered something (anti-Muslim conspiracy as the reason) that even Raj Patel of FBI could not find.

DJ says, (without mentioning a word about how the riots began) in 2014, Muslims were physically attacked in Aluthgama and when MR was about to issue an arrest order for the agitators of BBS, he was stopped by top defence official who told MR that if he did so Sinhala Buddhists would riot. It›s a blatant lie. 

In this case initially there were over 50 arrests and later reports mentioned up to 124 by late July 2014 in which a higher proportion of arrests were Sinhalese. Some are still appearing for the case in courts. 

No civilised person condones acts of violence. We totally condemn both attacks.  (Sinhalese on Muslims and Muslims on Sinhalese) However, it is considered prudent to mention how the riot began. Ayagama Samitha thero was the high priest in the Buddhist temple at Darga town and one day the priest was hit by a bucket of blue water. The next day, a bloody head of a slaughtered cow was hung on the temple fence. Next on the Poson Poya day, whilst Samitha thero was travelling in a vehicle for a sermon, a Muslim gang on motor bikes, blocked the road and when the priest and the driver got down, they were brutally assaulted. (All the incidents were logged in the Aluthgama police) Then the BBS arrived at the scene and held a meeting with the Sinhalese in the area. Obviously there had been emotional speeches as a Buddhist priest was assaulted on a Poson Poya day by Muslims!

Then whilst the crowd was dispersing , even the Samitha thero with his parents could not return to the temple as some Muslims were throwing stones onto the vehicles. The riots began after that and the above sequence of events were confirmed even by the law enforcement authorities. This was the background of the clash between Muslims and Sinhalese and houses of both communities were burnt. It has nothing to do with Zaharan or the Easter Sunday attack carried out 5 years later, but DJ says” if that post war anti-Muslim conspiracy wasn’t set rolling , no Easter massacre would have occurred years later.” To avoid being laughed at, I think DJ should read Prof Rohan Gunarathna’s book “Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre – Lessons for the International Community” for more details. 

What DJ says about Dr Shafi’s case is more hilarious. He says Dr Shafi’s fallopian tube – tying allegation was a part of post – Easter massacre Presidential election campaign!

DJ should be aware that the above case against Dr Shafi was filed not by any politician or SBU, but by the police on a report submitted by the Director of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital. 

The report says that it has been proven that he performed caesarean operations on Sinhala mothers very quickly, outside of standard procedure and with undue haste. A large number of doctors and nurses have given evidence and it further states that such a practice can cause damage to the fallopian tubes and ovaries. Also it mentions that he takes Sinhala mothers to the theatre without the labour pains and dilation of the cervix.

Finally the above report says that the allegation that he is deliberately damaging the reproductive system of Sinhala mothers cannot be ruled out. 

Two weeks after this Government came to power, the CID informed the court that there was no need to continue and the case was closed.

Dr Shafi’s money laundering case is still pending as he was unable to explain as to how he received millions of rupees into his account after the Easter Sunday attack.  The Supreme Court dismissed his fundamental rights petition regarding his arrest, without even taking it up for hearing.

So this is the background of Dr Shafi’s case and DJ says it’s a conspiracy by the ultranationalists and was a part of Gotabhaya’s election campaign!! I was compelled to write the above about Dr Shafi, because of the unnecessary accusation of Sinhala Buddhists by DJ. 

DJ also must get his economics correct. He says payment of interest on foreign debt without adequate foreign currency to pay for the import of fuel was also a cause for GR’s downfall. The payment of 500 million dollars was not the interest on foreign debt but the capital which has matured. If it was not honoured all the loans/grants would have halted. Also by that time , due to COVID, the inflow of foreign exchange had dried up. The money expected from Tourism (approx. 4.5 billion dollars), foreign remittances (approx. 7 billion dollars) and FDI (approx. 2-3 billion dollars) never arrived. On top of that the Government announced bankruptcy and I think that was the conspiracy. The loans already finalised with China, India, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan etc. stopped abruptly and that’s what made the treasury empty. Now the country has become a slave to the IMF, forced to oblige all her conditions. Many development projects were stopped halfway and the Government had to pay huge amounts to the relevant companies as damages. 

The saboteurs took the advantage, poisoned the minds of the public saying that the situation arose because the Rajapaksha family had robbed the country (billions of dollars in Uganda) and the Aragalaya campaign established in Galle face. One could easily observe that it was an anti-Buddhist, federalist campaign. Black Vesak lanterns were hanging with placards showing “we want a united (not unitary) country.”

However much DJ is trying to whitewash Julie Chung, her social media comments itself were adequate proof to say that she was the key figure behind Aragalaya. In parliament I said that the US Ambassador Julie Chung was violating the Vienna Convention and hence should be deported. 

I refrain from commenting on other similar false allegations due to space constraints.    

Namal has become a matured politician by now. He is the son of a President who has defeated the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world and developed the country by building harbours, airports, highways, skyways, bridges, stadiums, power plants etc etc. He is already inspired by his father, whom the present President AKD has described as “a culture by himself “. Namal of course needs advice, but that should be from patriots, and not from those who advocate/lobby 13 A and suffer from Sinhala Buddhist phobia.

(The author is a former Public Security Minister)