In Sri Lanka, the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings of 2019 continues to reverberate, influencing not only national security policy but also electoral dynamics. The coordinated suicide attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels left 269 dead, including 45 foreign nationals, and injured over 500 people. The carnage, attributed to the local Islamist militant group National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), shattered Sri Lanka’s relative peace after a 26-year civil war that ended in 2009. Though the attacks targeted Sri Lanka’s minority Christian community, the resulting political fallout has been felt across all ethnic and religious lines, most acutely among the country’s Catholic population.
The bombings raised urgent questions about the government’s response to intelligence warnings, about the capacity of its security apparatus to protect citizens, and about the role of religious extremism in a post-civil war society. In the midst of this tumult, the political fortunes of Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the left-wing Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), have risen. As Sri Lanka’s new president, elected in 2024, Dissanayake has made a pledge to ensure justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings—a commitment that has earned him the backing of a pivotal segment of the electorate: the country’s Catholic community.
Speaking exclusively to The Perfect Voice, Anne Christopher, a Sri Lankan national, said, “The promise to bring the true culprits of the Easter Sunday bombings to justice is a major factor in favour of Dissanayake, helping him secure a large share of the Catholic vote.”
Dissanayake’s promises to reopen the investigation into the 2019 attacks and to hold those responsible to account have resonated deeply among Sri Lanka’s Catholic population, many of whom feel that past governments, particularly those under former presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, failed to act on crucial intelligence. His pledges to fast-track investigations and his direct appeal to the victims’ families at St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, where he laid floral tributes in October 2024, have been hailed by many as a signal of his sincerity. In turn, his candidacy has gained strong support within the Catholic community, a group whose votes could be decisive in future elections.
The Easter Sunday bombings were a stark reminder that Sri Lanka’s ethnic and religious divisions remain unresolved, even years after the end of the brutal civil war between the Sinhala-majority government and the Tamil Tiger rebels. Nine suicide bombers linked to the NTJ, a radical Islamist group with alleged foreign ties, targeted three Catholic churches and three luxury hotels on Easter Sunday. The attacks—on St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, Zion Church in Batticaloa, and hotels including Shangri-La and Cinnamon Grand—shocked the nation and exposed significant vulnerabilities in Sri Lanka’s security.
Initially blamed on local Islamist radicals, the Easter Sunday bombings were later revealed to have been preceded by multiple warnings from Indian intelligence. Despite these alerts, President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe failed to act, allowing the attacks to occur. Sirisena faced heavy criticism for his inaction, and a presidential commission subsequently found his administration guilty of gross negligence, ordering compensation for the victims’ families.
The bombings and the government’s poor response to the intelligence warnings triggered a public outcry. It was a devastating blow to Sri Lanka’s fragile democracy, already scarred by decades of conflict. But it also had immediate political consequences. As the country faced its own security crisis, the 2020 parliamentary elections and the 2024 presidential election would become battlegrounds not only for control of the state but for control of the national narrative surrounding the attacks.
In the wake of the bombings, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former defence secretary and brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, campaigned on a platform of national security and military-led governance. Rajapaksa’s victory in the 2019 presidential election was largely attributed to his promise to restore order and protect the nation from further terrorist threats. His victory also marked a shift toward a more militarized form of governance, a hallmark of the Rajapaksa family’s rule.
Anne Christopher observed, “It’s widely believed that, in an attempt to bring Gotabaya Rajapaksa—an outsider—into power, the attack was allowed to happen, despite warnings from India.”
Rajapaksa’s tenure, however, was marred by further controversy surrounding his handling of the aftermath of the bombings. Critics accused him of using the attacks as a pretext for curtailing civil liberties and strengthening the military’s role in politics. At the same time, the bombings sparked a rise in Sinhala Buddhist nationalism, with some political figures exploiting anti-Muslim sentiment to shore up their support base. The bombings thus played a key role in galvanizing Rajapaksa’s political platform, but they also deepened the country’s religious and ethnic divides.
Rajapaksa’s presidency ended abruptly in July 2022 after mass protests over economic mismanagement and his authoritarian rule forced him to resign and flee the country. Despite his departure, the political fallout from the Easter Sunday bombings remained unresolved.
The failure to hold perpetrators accountable and address the grievances of religious minorities created a void that Dissanayake, an anti-corruption outsider, has sought to fill. Positioned as a counter to Rajapaksa’s nationalist, militarized regime, Dissanayake’s platform focuses on justice, transparency, and economic reform. Central to his campaign is the promise to reopen the investigation into the bombings, which has resonated strongly with the Catholic community, whose votes have become crucial in Sri Lanka’s political landscape.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, one of the most influential figures in Sri Lanka’s Catholic community, has publicly expressed support for Dissanayake. During a meeting at the Archbishop’s House in Colombo, Ranjith congratulated Dissanayake on his electoral victory and praised his commitment to thoroughly investigate the Easter attacks. “Justice for the victims must be delivered,” Ranjith said. The Cardinal’s endorsement, coupled with Dissanayake’s promises of economic reform and anti-corruption measures, has significantly boosted his appeal among Catholic voters, who form around 6% of Sri Lanka’s population. In areas such as Negombo, Chilaw, and Mannar, where Catholics make up a substantial proportion of the electorate, Dissanayake has garnered widespread support.
Dissanayake’s rise also comes at a time when the country is struggling with a range of economic challenges. Sri Lanka’s economy, which has been battered by political instability, high levels of debt, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, requires urgent reform. Dissanayake’s broader policy vision includes empowering marginalized communities, addressing the inequality that fuels sectarian tensions, and promoting social justice.
Sri Lanka’s Catholic population, which now exceeds 1.6 million, is concentrated in key electoral battlegrounds, particularly in the Western, North Western, and Northern Provinces. Catholics are often viewed as a swing vote in Sri Lankan elections, as their loyalties can shift depending on the political promises made to them. In recent years, the Catholic community has become more politically active, particularly in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings. Many Catholics feel that their community has been marginalized by the state, especially in the aftermath of the attacks, when they perceived the government as indifferent to their suffering.
By focusing on justice for the victims of the Easter bombings and pledging to reform the country’s political system, Dissanayake has positioned himself as a candidate who represents change. His appeal to Catholics is not just about securing votes, but also about addressing a deeper sense of injustice and seeking reconciliation in a divided society.
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