Fifteen Charges Leveled Against Deputy Minister Arun Jayasekara
09-Aug-2025.
The main opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, is submitting a no-confidence motion against Deputy Minister of Defense Arun Jayasekara, citing fifteen serious allegations.
The charges include:
He assumed command of the Eastern Defense Forces in November 2018, during what is described as a constitutional coup that laid the groundwork for the Easter Sunday attack. He served in that role during crucial incidents such as the murders of two police constables in Vavunativu and the Sainthamaruthu blast, both linked to the Easter attack.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) obtained foreign travel bans against some army officers involved, based on evidence from these incidents. The suspicious case of Pulastini Mahendran, also known as Sarah Jasmine—alleged to have survived the explosion but later declared dead—was also cited.
Witnesses from the army are reportedly reluctant to testify due to fears of career repercussions, since Jayasekara, then their commander, now oversees the defense ministry. This has allegedly resulted in conflicts of interest.
The government’s failure to deliver justice to victims of the Easter Sunday attack, despite campaign promises, was emphasized. The Catholic Church and Cardinal’s spokesperson, Rev. Cyril Gamini, expressed concern over Jayasekara’s involvement, raising doubts about the investigation’s credibility.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe also stated during a church ceremony marking 50 years of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s spiritual service that investigating the government using its own machinery would be extremely difficult—implying systemic cover-ups.
Furthermore, Jayasekara admitted in Parliament on July 9, that some intelligence officers and officials were used to serve political motives during the investigations. The opposition argued that since investigations are conducted through the ministry he oversees, public trust in the inquiry process has eroded.
They concluded that the Parliament has lost confidence in Arun Jayasekara and that he should be removed from his post for the sake of justice and transparency.
