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Wijeyadasa slams OMP’s lack of progress

01 Sep 2022

BY P. Waravita    Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs, and Constitutional Reforms Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe PC said that he is unsatisfied with the progress of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), noting that documentation has been completed for only 65 of the 14,968 cases for which the OMP is responsible.  “The OMP was set up in 2016. I am not happy with its progress. It has the responsibility for 14,968 cases, but has only completed the documentation for 65 of them. We are trying our best to finish this work within the next two years,” Dr. Rajapakshe PC said, addressing the media on the International Day of the Disappeared on Tuesday (30 August).  He observed that the disappeared include former members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), officers of the Sri Lankan armed forces, those who were conscripted to the LTTE, and those who disappeared and are now living abroad.  “The relatives of victims of enforced disappearances have a right to find out what happened to them or to have an investigation into their cases. The certificate of disappearance is given for compensation purposes,” he said.  Rajapakshe said that Sri Lankan Tamil persons living abroad, commonly referred to as the Tamil diaspora, also have a keen interest in the matter of disappearances, and added that he had held several discussions with diaspora leaders both via Zoom and in person.  “Some of them did not want to have these discussions out in the open, but I am of the stance that they should be done in the open. President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s blessings are there for that,” said Rajapakshe.  Relatives of enforced disappearances have raised several concerns about the matter of investigations into the fate of their loved ones, noting delays and a lack of will by consecutive governments. On 12 August, hundreds of Tamil mothers marched in Kilinochchi, marking 2,000 days of the longest-running protest on the island, seeking justice for their loved ones. On Tuesday, hundreds of people joined the Families of the Disappeared protests in Mullaitivu, calling for justice for their loved ones.  Meanwhile, Resident Co-ordinator to the United Nations (UN) in Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said that the UN continues to encourage the authorities to take steps to urgently determine the fate or whereabouts of the victims, provide reparations, and bring perpetrators to justice.  “I have met with many families of the missing from across Sri Lanka. For them, the uncertainty as to the fate of a loved one continues to be a painful reality that is raw and fresh. They relentlessly ask for answers as to the whereabouts of their loved ones. Without answers, they suffer every day, wavering between hope and despair. In their search for truth and justice, they too have often been victimised,” said Singer-Hamdy in a statement made on Tuesday.  Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung tweeted that on the International Day of the Disappeared, they stand in solidarity with the families and victims, while commending efforts made by the civil society working to end enforced disappearances.  “Sri Lankans deserve transparency and answers from their Government as to the fate of their loved ones.”  


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