March 17, 2025 – March 23, 2025 | Vol.15, #12
Event: On March 6, Al Jazeera released a one-on-one interview between former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mehdi Hasan.[1][2]
During the interview, Wickremesinghe faced questions on various incidents, including Batalanda, the Central Bank bond scam,[3][4] the Easter Sunday attacks,[5][6] the burning of the Jaffna Library[7][8] and the economic crisis.[9][10]
On March 14, the Batalanda Commission report (Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Establishment and Maintenance of Places of Unlawful Detention and Torture Chambers at the Batalanda Housing Scheme) was presented in parliament by the Leader of the House Minister Bimal Rathnayake.[11][12]
Key insights: Former President Wickremesinghe remains strongly tainted in connection with the Batalanda report – in the aftermath of the Al...