Sri Lanka to clear 11,000 disappearance cases by 2027
COLOMBO – The government aims to complete investigations into all 11,000 pending complaints related to enforced disappearances within the next two years, Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said, stressing that the probes cannot continue indefinitely.
Speaking during an interview on current political and public affairs on a private television channel on Thursday (28), Nanayakkara said 15 committees have been deployed island-wide to handle the cases, with a target of resolving 5,000 complaints this year and the remaining 6,000 next year.
The minister said the government came to power on a platform of reconciliation and claimed that communities in the Northern and Eastern Provinces had extended strong support to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
He said Tamil communities in the North now warmly welcome the President during his visits, describing it as a significant shift from the past.
Nanayakkara said the government was committed to ensuring that ethnic conflict would not re-emerge in Sri Lanka, noting that divisions along ethnic lines had caused immense damage to the country over several decades.
Although the nearly 30-year conflict ended in 2009, the minister said its consequences continue to affect the country, particularly through unresolved cases of enforced disappearances.
He noted that several previous administrations had appointed committees to investigate disappearances, but many affected families were still waiting for justice.
Nanayakkara said the disappearance of a child leaves parents in a state of prolonged uncertainty and argued that financial compensation alone could not be considered an adequate solution.
He said the government would take appropriate measures while keeping the future and welfare of affected families in mind.
-ENCL
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