Cardinal responds to Former President’s Accusation over Easter Victims’ funds
Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said in reply to an accusation made by former Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena against the Archbishop of Colombo regarding the Easter victims’ funds that “the accusation made by former President Maithripala Sirisena is a blatant lie and a statement made impulsively without any investigation and as an accusation made with malicious intent”.
“After the attack, people had immense needs to fulfill and we requested aid from Sri Lanka and internationally to provide prompt treatment, specialist treatment, treatment to be carried out in private hospitals, to provide education for orphaned children, to pay rent for the houses due to the loss of the earners of families, and to build houses for the destitute and we have utilized those funds legally accurate.’ explained Cardinal Ranjith.
Cardinal Ranjith also said that the collected 500 million rupees has been handled with accurate audit reports and that anyone can observe the transaction at any time.
He said that so far 460 million have been spent for those people.
“Depending on the extent of the injuries and damages faced by the Easter victims, 2 to 10 million have been helped. There are documents with their signatures that they have received that money and anyone can check it. Therefore, we consider the accusation made by the former president to be completely false and made with malicious intent” explained the Archbishop.
Former President Maithripala Sirisena had seriously accused Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, asserting that the aid received from various philanthropists for the victims of the Easter attack had not been properly distributed.
Speaking at a media briefing in Kandy following a recent function, Sirisena claimed that the funds donated by numerous Catholic organizations, international entities, and high-ranking businessmen in Sri Lanka have not reached the intended beneficiaries.
Former President Sirisena emphasized that despite the numerous lawsuits filed against him, he had ensured that compensation was paid to the victims during his tenure.
“I have gone to the Guinness Book because there are 400 cases. Under the leadership of Cardinal Ranjith, 400 cases were filed—one case for those who died and one case for those with broken limbs… to pay compensation. But as the president, I clearly compensated all of them,” Sirisena stated.
“Catholic organizations, countries of the world, various organizations, high-ranking businessmen in Sri Lanka, etc. gave money to Cardinal Thera after the Easter attack. It would be good if Cardinal Thero would please present what happened to the money they gave… a list. Here is the money I received…as well as what I gave. Those five cents were not given to the victims,” said the former president, who challenged Cardinal Ranjith to provide a detailed account of the aid received and its distribution.
Former President Sirisena reiterated that despite fulfilling his responsibilities in compensating the victims, he continues to face legal action, which he attributes to the lawsuits filed under Cardinal Ranjith’s leadership.
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