Sri Lanka assures justice over enforced disappearances

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya says the Government is committed to ensuring justice for the victims of enforced disappearances.

However, she said the Government cannot conduct these investigations on a personal basis and such matters must be addressed legally and institutionally.

The Prime Minister made these remarks in Parliament while responding to a question raised by Member of Parliament Shanakiyan Rasamanickam.

“The institutional and systemic failures in the past years mainly caused the delays in these matters. Therefore, such issues are needed to be addressed. This is not about gaining popularity, instead it is necessary to establish institutions and environment to ensure that such incidents do not recur, while addressing the existing injustices,” she said.

The Prime Minister said the public has lost their trust in the Office for Reparations and the Office on Missing Persons because they were merely established in name and lacked adequate strength and were largely ineffective.

“This is what happened in the past, and that is what expected to be corrected. Hence, it must be ensured that the right individuals are placed in positions, that sufficient resources are allocated, and that the institutions are capable of fulfilling their responsibilities,” she added.

The Prime Minister said that there are still pending legal disputes related to the missing persons and some of these cases have been under disputed for the past 16 years.

“It is not an easy task, but the government is committed to ensuring justice.”

Additionally, the Prime Minister stated that the Cabinet has approved a proposal submitted by the Ministry of Justice to appoint a committee to provide recommendations to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act.