Easter attacks: Channel 4 documentary makers admit absence of evidence to support allegations
Posted on September 26th, 2023
Courtesy Adaderana
The makers of British television network Channel 4’s documentary on the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka have admitted that they do not have credible evidence to support the claims made by Azad Maulana, the ‘whistleblower’ who made serious allegations about the complicity of state officials.
This came to light during a recent event in Geneva, attended by the documentary’s Director Thom Walker and Executive Producer Ben de Pear.
On September 06, Channel 4 aired a controversial documentary containing startling accusations relating to the bombings on Easter Sunday 2019 which targeted several Catholic churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. The carnage claimed the lives of more than 260 people and left hundreds of others wounded.
Channel 4’s latest ‘Dispatches’ investigation titled ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings’ is a nearly 50-minute-long videos with serious, yet straightforward allegations about the attacks. It was based on the testimonies of high-placed whistleblowers who alleged that senior governmental officials were complicit in this heinous act.
The main whistleblower Hanzeer Azad Maulana was a spokesman for LTTE’s breakaway group Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) led by current State Minister of Rural Road Development Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan.
According to the documentary, Maulana, who has sought asylum overseas, had witnessed a meeting in Puttalam in 2018, between the suicide bombers and a top Sri Lankan intelligence officer, which was aimed at hatching a plot to create insecurity in the country to pave the way for former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to win the presidential election later in 2019.
However, the founder of UK-based documentary production company Basement Films, Thom Walker has said he does not have any evidence of a prior meeting between Zahran Hashim and Suresh Sallay.
When asked about Azad Maulana’s intentions of making such claims, he said he did not know if Maulana had direct contact with Zahran. I cannot give a clear answer as to why Azad Maulana joined in coordinating the meeting. Frankly, I have no evidence of any such prior meeting between Zahran and Sallay,” Walker said adding that the two could have known each other for years. Walker also mentioned that he did not know if Sallay had necessarily attended the said meeting.