Easter Sunday Attacks: Former IGP Haunted by 'FNA' Notation as ASG Demands Accountability for Ignored Intelligence

Critical Intelligence Failures Under the Spotlight

The ongoing judicial proceedings into the devastating Easter Sunday attacks of 2019 have taken a sharp turn, with Additional Solicitor General President's Counsel Dileepa Peiris raising serious concerns about how critical official communications were handled — or rather, mishandled — in the lead-up to the tragedy that claimed hundreds of lives across Sri Lanka.

The Meaning Behind 'FNA'

At the heart of the latest revelations is a bureaucratic shorthand that has come to symbolise institutional negligence: the notation 'FNA', meaning 'For Necessary Action'. Intelligence warnings bearing this designation were routinely forwarded between officials without any meaningful follow-up, a practice that is now being scrutinised as a key factor in the security establishment's failure to prevent the coordinated bombings.

The former Inspector General of Police is among the senior officials now facing uncomfortable questions about how warnings were received, stamped with the notation, and passed along — with no evidence that necessary action was ever truly taken.

ASG Calls for an End to Box-Ticking Culture

Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, addressing the proceedings, called for an unequivocal end to the culture of merely forwarding important official communications without ensuring concrete action is carried out. He argued that the practice of treating critical intelligence as administrative paperwork — to be noted and passed on — amounted to a systemic failure that had catastrophic consequences.

The forwarding of vital security intelligence without genuine follow-through cannot be accepted as discharging one's official duty, particularly when lives are at stake.

Accountability at the Highest Levels

The Easter Sunday bombings, carried out on 21 April 2019, targeted churches and luxury hotels across the island, killing over 260 people and wounding hundreds more. Investigations have long pointed to intelligence warnings that were available to authorities days — and in some cases weeks — before the attacks, yet failed to trigger a coordinated preventive response.

The examination of the former IGP's conduct represents one of the most significant moments in the ongoing accountability process, as prosecutors and investigators seek to establish precisely where the chain of responsibility broke down within the country's security apparatus.

Broader Implications for Institutional Reform

Beyond the immediate legal proceedings, the revelations carry wider implications for how Sri Lanka's security and law enforcement institutions handle intelligence. Observers and victims' advocacy groups have long demanded not only justice for those responsible, but structural reforms to ensure that bureaucratic habits never again stand between a warning and a timely response.

As the proceedings continue, the nation watches closely — hoping that the exposure of these failures will finally deliver the accountability that the victims and their families have been seeking for more than five years.

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