Peaceful demo in East seeking answers for the missing viewed with suspicion

The President of the Relatives of Enforced Disappearances Association Thambirasa Selvarani speaking to the media in Ampara

People in the North and the East still cannot hold a peaceful demonstration despite the country boasting of 76 years of independence. A peaceful demonstration staged by the families and next of kin in the East to ascertain the whereabouts of their missing family members was looked at with suspicion by the authorities as a subtle move to rekindle the separatist ideology of the now-defunct LTTE in the North and the East.

A week ago a woman leading the country’s longest struggle in Ampara in search of those who were subjected to enforced disappearance during and after the civil war was taken for questioning by the police.

The President of the Relatives of Enforced Disappearances Association Thambirasa Selvarani was called to the Child and Women’s unit of the Thirukkovil Police to make a statement. The Police officer having questioned Selvarani for a couple of hours said that she had to be questioned as per a request by the Navy and Army.
When asked by the media, Selvarani said that the police officer had a report on her personal details and a set of questions to be asked from her.

Selvarani said that she was under mental stress when she was asked how many years she had been serving the LTTE and how many armed force personnel she had killed which irritated her. Further Selvarani said that the police officer was keen on knowing whether the whole exercise of the Relatives of Enforced Disappearances Association was to find the missing LTTE personnel.

In reply she said that cast, creed or race doesn’t matter when it comes to seeking truth and justice.
“Be it Sinhala, Tamil or any other community our effort is to get to the bottom of the matter and ensure justice is meted out to all victims,” Sevarani said. When the police officer interrogating Selvarani said that those responsible for the disappearances should be dealt with severely, she had said no harm should be caused to those responsible for the enforced disappearances instead allow the law to take its course.

Maheshwari Periyaamma, a mother of three whose cousin went missing during the height of the war said that the struggle to find out what happened to him will continue however much  pressure is exerted to stop it.
Office of Missing Persons (OMP) Executive Director J. Thatparan said no one could object to peaceful protest by family members and relatives of missing persons. 

“It is their fundamental right to know what happened to their missing ones,” he said adding that the aggrieved persons will be assisted if a complaint is made to the OMP.

A Catholic Priest from the North Rev. Fr. Sebamalai Ampurasa said every citizen has the right to hold peaceful demonstrations. Parents and siblings have the right to know what happened to their children or family member.
“Anyone obstructing it violates the rights of those seeking answers,” he said. The most recent incident is not the first time peaceful protests by families of enforced disappearances have been blocked by law the enforcement authorities. Fourteen years had lapsed since the disappearance of journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda in January 2010. 

Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said in 2017 that at least 117 journalists had been killed or had disappeared since 1981 and an innumerable number have been subjected to great repression.

As per section 27 of the Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration and Discharge of Functions) Act, No. 14 of 2016 (the Act) a missing person is defined as a person who went missing or disappeared in connection with the conflict, political unrest or civil disturbances or as an enforced disappearance; and personnel of the armed forces or police who have been identified as Missing in Action.

In February 2020, the OMP commenced a process of verification by inviting families of the missing and disappeared to contact the OMP to review the information concerning their missing or disappeared loved ones.
The whereabouts of a large number of those who had disappeared since the 1980’s are yet unknown.
In 2016, the government under President Maithripala Sirisena agreed to issue a certificate of absence to relatives of over 65,000 who went missing during the civil war. 

In 2020, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa confirmed that those missing due to the civil war were dead. 
Various commissions had documented how thousands of people had been kidnapped by armed men and disappeared without a trace. 

As the new government pledged to resume investigations into all stalled criminal acts during the former regimes the country will pin its hopes on the pledge to ensure justice for the families of those who were subjected to enforced disappearances and victims of criminal activities.