The Prime Minister has taken steps to provide new houses to the victims of the Easter Sunday attack, despite strong dissatisfaction with the current legal action against those responsible for the attack.
The government has announced that the Prime Minister has joined the first phase of providing new houses to the victims of the attack on St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade on Easter Sunday, October 28, 2019.
The government has further announced that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has said at the St. Lucia Cathedral in Kotahena that “we will definitely fulfill the duties of the government on behalf of the people affected by the Easter attack”.
The Prime Minister also handed over new houses to 19 beneficiary families from the housing complexes owned by the Urban Development Authority.
The government says that the new houses will be handed over to 33 selected beneficiary families on a rental and low income basis and the value of each house will exceed Rs. 4 million.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has further stated that despite the delays, the government is fulfilling its duties.
“As a government we will fulfill our duty to the people affected by the Kochchikade bombing. We may have had delays, but we are definitely ready to make our commitment for them. Because we know the plight of those affected by terrorism. It should also be reminded that this Government will take steps to ensure that such a situation does not arise in the future. People should have the right to live freely, to travel and to go to temples and churches to practice their religion. ”
Bishop JD Anthony and Bishop Anton Ranjith, State Minister of Urban Development Waste Disposal and Community Sanitation Dr. Nalaka Godahewa were also present on the occasion.
268 human lives
A series of suicide bombings on April 21, 2019, targeting several churches and tourist hotels, killed more than 250 civilians.
Two bomb blasts at Katubawapitiya St. Sebastian’s Church, Kotahena Kochchikade St. Anthony’s Church, Batticaloa Zion Church and at a Hotel in Dehiwala and Kingsbury, Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand Hotels in Colombo have killed at least 268 people and injured more than 500 two years ago.
Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith Thera has strongly criticized the role of the government in this regard and continues to stress dissatisfaction with current legal action against those responsible for the Easter Sunday attack