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OMP slams TNA as mothers converge on Colombo 7

18 Oct 2022

  •  Missing persons’ relatives hand petition to UN, embassies
  •  OMP Chairman says TNA hurting reconciliation
  •  Sumanthiran says no immediate comment  
BY Mirudhula Thambiah While mothers and relatives of missing persons protested outside the United Nations (UN) office in Colombo yesterday (17), Office on Missing Persons (OMP) Chairman Attorney Mahesh Katulanda accused Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs and members of hindering the sittings conducted by OMP officials in Batticaloa on 15 October, claiming that this was an attempt to thwart the process of reconciliation.  Addressing a press conference yesterday, Katulanda noted that the protest staged in Batticaloa was a hindrance to the duties of the officials of the OMP, as well as an attempt to thwart the process of reconciliation and harmony among ethnicities. He also noted that with regard to the OMP sittings held last week in Batticaloa to address 570 complaints, 222 attended on the first three days, while on 15 October, 67 relatives of missing persons were invited to provide details about their disappeared loved ones, but that the protest led by current and former TNA MPs, along with other party members, hindered the duties of the officers.  “On 15 October, around 18 families of missing persons had already recorded statements with the OMP officials while the rest were standing to furnish details about their missing family members,” he added.  He also noted that a group including TNA MP Govindan Karunakaram, former TNA MP Gnanamuttu Sirinesan, Local Government politicians, civil society activists, and relatives of missing persons protested at the location where the OMP carried out its sittings, and thus thwarted the activities. Katulanda also noted that a Police complaint was lodged against them and that it had been informed by the Police that investigations are currently being carried out. When contacted by The Morning, TNA Spokesman and MP M.A. Sumanthiran (PC) said yesterday that he had to speak to MP Karunakaram prior to making a comment in this regard.  Accordingly, the OMP has currently concluded preliminary inquiries on 1,629 complaints. Meanwhile, the mothers and relatives of missing persons yesterday staged a protest in front of the UN, refusing to accept the compensation allocated by the Government and urging them to find the whereabouts of their loved ones who disappeared after being handed over to the Security Forces in Omanthai and from hospitals. Speaking to The Morning, Association for Relatives of Enforced Disappearances in the North and East Consultant Fr. M. Sakthivel said that establishing the OMP in different districts, providing a certificate of absence, and compensating the relatives is just another way of dragging out the process.  “We handed over a petition to the UN, the US Embassy, and the British High Commission. They have to decide on the next step concerning missing persons,” he added. The petition by the relatives of missing persons urged the appointment of an international team to investigate the plight of their loved ones.  “As families of the disappeared, we believe that the only way to find out what happened to our disappeared loved ones is to appoint an international team of eminent persons to independently investigate the plight of our disappeared loved ones. This is the only way we can find out what happened to our disappeared loved ones.”  The petition further noted: “We met successive Sri Lankan government leaders to plead with them to hand over our loved ones back to us, or at least inform us about their plight. Since none of the appeals to the Government were listened to, for over the last five and a half years (2,000 days), we are continuously holding peaceful protests in different places in the North and the East. Our peaceful protests and hunger strikes were brutally suppressed by a large number of Sri Lankan Armed Forces personnel stationed in predominantly Tamil areas.  “Many of the troops who are stationed in Tamil areas are those responsible for the disappearances of our loved ones. Despite this intimidating environment, we are continuing our protests. As of now, 132 of our mothers who participated in our protests have passed away without knowing the plight of their children.” The petition highlighted: “While on the one hand, the Government uses its armed forces to intimidate us, on the other hand, they took steps to deceive us and the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) by establishing the OMP in response to the UNHRC Resolution 30/1. However, since its operationalisation in September, 2017, it has become apparent that there was no honest intention to serve the families of the disappeared.  “The title ‘OMP’ implies that the persons in question went missing, when in fact they were victims of enforced disappearances by the State. In 2018, Sri Lanka established the Office for Reparations. We rejected this initiative and consider this as an insult to put a financial value on the lives of our loved ones. We also consider this as an attempt to bribe us in order to silence us. This is an attempt to evict the justice process and safeguard the perpetrators,”  This petition was signed by Association for Relatives of Enforced Disappearances in the North and East President Y. Kanagaranjini and Secretary A. Leeladevi.  


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