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23-04-2023
COLOMBO: Thousands of Sri Lankans have held a protest in the main city of Colombo, demanding justice for the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed nearly 270 people.
The protesters on Friday demanded the government uncover who they said were the real conspirators behind the attacks on three churches two Catholic and one Protestant that included simultaneous suicide bombings during Easter celebrations on April 21, 2019.
Three tourist hotels were also targeted, killing 42 foreigners from 14 countries.
Thousands of people including Catholic clergy lined up for a silent protest on both sides of the main road connecting Colombo with the country’s international airport. They blamed the government for not taking adequate measures to deliver justice for the victims of the bombings and punish those responsible.
The protesters, dressed in white and black, held one another’s hands, forming a human chain. They displayed placards and banners that read “Until justice is meted out, we are watching,” “No justice delivered to victims so far” and “Where is the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attack?”
Two local Muslim groups that had allegedly pledged allegiance to the ISIL (ISIS) group were accused of carrying out 
six near-simultaneous suicide bomb attacks, targeting worshippers at Easter services in three churches and tourists having breakfast at three popular hotels. The attacks killed 269 people and wounded some 500 more.
Officials have charged dozens of people who allegedly received weapons training and participated in indoctrination classes from the two local Muslims groups accused of carrying out the attacks but no one has yet been convicted or sentenced.
“Four years have gone, still no one has been punished for this brutal attack. It is really disgusting. We need to know who are the real culprits and their motives,” said Ruwan Fernando, 47, who protested on Friday.
The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has been critical of the investigation into the bombings. The church’s leaders have repeatedly criticized the previous and present governments for their failure to bring the culprits to justice.
A breakdown in communication caused by a rift between then-President Maithripala Sirisena and then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was blamed for the failure of authorities to act on near-specific foreign intelligence received prior to the attacks. The duo belonged to different political parties. (Int’l News Desk)
