• Laws of prescription not an impediment

The Attorney General’s (AG) Department is awaiting the Batalanda Commission report, which was recently tabled in Parliament, in order to take the necessary legal steps.

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, AG Parinda Ranasinghe stated that his office was awaiting the formal submission of the report. 

“The report was tabled in Parliament, but there has to be a covering direction from the relevant authorities before it is sent to me,” he explained.

When asked about the potential for legal action based on the report’s findings, Ranasinghe noted that it was too early to determine the next steps.

“The terms of reference for the commission and the need for preliminary investigations by the Police will play a role. Once the report is formally sent to me, we will review it and take the necessary steps,” he said.

When asked about legal limitations that may stall the progress of the investigations, Ranasinghe stated: “The laws of prescription may apply, but it does not pose an impediment to investigations into the crime of murder.”

The long-awaited Batalanda Commission report was tabled in Parliament last week by Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake. 

The report, which investigates allegations of unlawful detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings at the Batalanda Housing Scheme between 1988 and 1990, had been kept from Parliament since its completion.

While tabling the report, Rathnayake criticised past governments for failing to act on its findings, noting that none of the 750 printed copies of the report, including translations, had ever been forwarded to the AG. 

The report was completed in 1998 but was never acted upon, despite being submitted to the National Archives. 

During a recent interview with Mehdi Hasan telecast on 6 March on Al Jazeera, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed several allegations, including those related to the Batalanda Commission report. 

When confronted about a Government report naming him as a key figure in illegal detention and torture in Batalanda in the 1980s, Wickremesinghe denied the allegations and questioned the report’s validity, stating that it had never been tabled in Parliament. 

He emphasised that the accusations were unfounded and reiterated his stance that he had no involvement in the alleged activities in Batalanda.

However, the report alleges that Wickremesinghe had knowledge of the activities in Batalanda and had visited the site, although it does not conclusively prove his direct involvement in the abuses. 

The commission has recommended legal action against those responsible, including revoking civic rights and filing cases in court, but these recommendations were never implemented.

The report’s findings have remained a contentious issue, with critics accusing former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga of protecting Wickremesinghe by not tabling the report in Parliament or pursuing its recommendations.