AKD urges Govt. to end ‘Ibrahim mantra’ and take action instead

• Points out failure to file charges against Mohamed Ibrahim father of two of Easter Sunday suicide bombers five years on 
• Highlights Ibrahim’s past accolades, including awards from former President Mahinda Rajapaksa before he was nominated to JVP national list 
• Says mistakes can happen when choosing candidates but policy must be to not protect them if found to have committed wrong

National People’s Power (NPP) party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday said the Government must stop chanting the ‘Ibrahim’ mantra and instead take action if Mohammed Ibrahim, father of two of the Easter Sunday suicide bombers has in fact committed any wrongdoing.

“There is no point in chanting the Ibrahim mantra if the Government is not carrying out its duty,” he said while participating in the parliamentary debate on the Easter Sunday attack.

“It has been five years since but the Government has failed to file a single charge against him,” he added. 

Dissanayake made these comments while addressing the ongoing criticisms from both Government and other Opposition MPs regarding the JVP’s decision to nominate Ibrahim, a prominent businessman, as a candidate on the national list of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in 2015.

The NPP leader pointed out that Ibrahim had been awarded the Desha Keerthi award by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his business success long before the JVP included him in their national list. He also displayed photos on his phone in Parliament showing Ibrahim receiving the award from Rajapaksa.

He noted that Ibrahim also received an award as the Best Exporter from Prof. G.L. Peiris in 2014 as well as other awards from former Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, former Ministers Piyasena Gamage and Sujeewa Senasinghe. 

Dissanayake said for nine months, Ibrahim was kept under the custody of the Criminal Investigations Department and later remanded. “He is now out on bail. Has any case been filed against him for the past five years? The authorities have failed to charge him with any crime yet,” he noted, urging the Government to take action if he has committed any wrong. 

“We do not test people before connecting with them. Mistakes can happen. The policy must be to not protect them using political power,” he said.