By The Pulseline News Desk
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) President’s Counsel Dileepa Peiris has called for an end to the practice of simply forwarding critical official communications marked “FNA” – For Necessary Action – arguing that officials must be held responsible for taking meaningful action on information received.
Peiris had made the remarks while referring to the handling of intelligence received ahead of the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, which has remained a key issue in investigations into whether authorities acted adequately on warnings received before the attacks.
He had said the experience demonstrated the dangers of treating the forwarding of important information as sufficient action, particularly when communications concern an imminent or serious threat to national security.
According to Peiris, intelligence communicated by the then State Intelligence Service (SIS) chief on 9 April 2019 was subsequently forwarded by then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara to four divisions, including a unit responsible for VIP security.
The communication had been forwarded with the notation “FNA”, meaning that the recipient was expected to take the necessary action.
Peiris had questioned whether simply forwarding such intelligence with an FNA notation could be considered an adequate response when officials were dealing with information relating to a potentially serious security threat.
He had argued that the incident highlighted the need for a change in administrative culture, where officials cannot simply pass important communications down the chain of command and consider their responsibility discharged.
The issue has gained renewed attention amid the legal proceedings surrounding the response to intelligence warnings received before the Easter Sunday attacks.
The Attorney General’s Department had subsequently filed 855 charges against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and former IGP Jayasundara, alleging failures to take adequate action despite prior intelligence warnings.
The Easter Sunday attacks on 21 April 2019 killed more than 250 people and exposed significant failures in the country’s security and intelligence coordination mechanisms.
Peiris had said the lessons arising from the handling of intelligence before the attacks should extend beyond the individuals involved and lead to changes in how official information is processed across the public sector.
He had stressed that officials entrusted with critical information should be expected to assess it, take appropriate action and ensure that necessary measures are implemented, rather than merely forwarding communications with a standard notation.
The call to move away from the “FNA culture” therefore raises a broader question about accountability within the public administration and security establishment.
While forwarding information may formally satisfy an administrative requirement, Peiris’s remarks suggest that responsibility cannot end at the point where a document is passed to another official.
The experience of the Easter Sunday attacks, he had argued, shows the potentially devastating consequences when critical information moves through an institutional chain without clear ownership of the action required.
The challenge for the Government and public institutions will now be to ensure that officials are not only required to receive and transmit critical information, but are also held accountable for assessing risks and taking timely action when their duties demand it.
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