Karunanayake Cautions Against Using Easter Attacks Probe to Inflame Communal Divisions

New Democratic Front (NDF) parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake has issued a stern warning against what he describes as deliberate efforts by certain groups to exploit the ongoing investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks as a vehicle for stoking racial and religious tensions across Sri Lanka.

A Warning From the Opposition Benches

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Karunanayake urged all parties involved in the discourse surrounding the Easter Sunday attacks inquiry to exercise restraint and responsibility. He made clear that while justice for the victims of the devastating bombings remains a paramount national obligation, that pursuit must not be manipulated by opportunistic elements seeking to divide communities along ethnic or religious lines.

The NDF legislator expressed concern that certain sections of society appear to be using the renewed public focus on the Easter attacks probe not to genuinely advance accountability, but rather to inflame long-standing communal sensitivities that could destabilise the country's fragile social fabric.

Justice Must Not Become a Political Tool

Karunanayake stressed that the families of those killed and injured in the coordinated bomb blasts — which targeted churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday in April 2019, claiming over 260 lives — deserve sincere and unimpeded justice. However, he warned that hijacking their grief for political or communal agendas would be a grave injustice in itself.

The victims and their families deserve truth and accountability — not to have their suffering weaponised for political point-scoring or to set communities against one another.

A Call for National Unity

The parliamentarian called on political leaders, civil society actors, and media institutions to remain vigilant against narratives that seek to assign collective blame to any particular religious or ethnic community. He emphasised that Sri Lanka's hard-won post-war reconciliation must be protected at all costs.

Karunanayake's remarks come amid renewed pressure on the government to accelerate the Easter Sunday investigations and bring all those responsible — including those suspected of political negligence — to justice. The probe has remained a deeply sensitive and politically charged issue since the attacks, with successive administrations facing criticism over the pace and transparency of proceedings.

The NDF MP urged national unity and a measured, lawful approach to achieving accountability, warning that allowing communal tensions to resurface would ultimately harm Sri Lanka's broader democratic and social progress.

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