Former President Maithripala Sirisena says sorry

Former President Maithripala Sirisena has unconditionally apologized to the Venerable Maha Sangha regarding the serious error committed by officials in his office, which led to Venerable Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero having to be re-imprisoned despite being granted a presidential pardon.

Issuing a special statement, the former president points out what the 'technical error' mentioned in the court ruling that led to Gnanasara Thero's re-imprisonment is. He states that this error occurred in the documents submitted to the court by the Presidential Secretariat when granting the pardon to the Thero, and that the decision given by the honorable court in this regard is completely correct, emphasizing that he respects that decision.

To grant a presidential pardon under two cases against Venerable Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, the relevant documents should have first been sent to the Ministry of Justice and Prisons for approval. Although the Additional Senior Secretary in charge of the legal division of the Presidential Secretariat had informed him of this, Maithripala Sirisena has revealed in his statement that the relevant request was not sent to the Ministry.

The former president further stated that only his signature was obtained without any approval from the Ministry, and that it was a misleading act against him.

Mr. Sirisena points out that this legal decision was received based on a complaint filed in court by Mrs. Sandhya Ekneligoda through a non-governmental organization of Mr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, and states that due to this error by the officials who were then working in his staff, Gnanasara Thero has had to be re-imprisoned in this manner.

Gnanasara Thero was sentenced to 6 years in prison on August 8, 2018, during the 'Good Governance' era when Ranil was Prime Minister and Maithripala was President, after the Court of Appeal found him guilty on four counts of contempt in the Homagama incident. Accordingly, he was taken to Welikada prison. About 2 months later, former President Maithripala Sirisena formed a 52-day temporary 'fake' government with Mahinda Rajapaksa, and a favorable period dawned for Rajapaksa loyalists. Accordingly, on May 23, 2019, President Maithripala Sirisena pardoned Gnanasara Thero. The Thero came out of Welikada after nearly nine months. The Easter attacks also occurred a month before he was released on pardon, and during this period, the political environment had created a suitable atmosphere for an anti-Muslim voice to emerge.