News

Post-war reconciliation: Civil society group tells govt. how to proceed

Published

3 years ago

2023/07/20

A group of civil society activists yesterday (19) underscored responsibility on the part of the government to take into consideration key factors before it undertakes a fresh post-war reconciliation effort.

The following is the text of the statement issued by the grouping in response to the proposed establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the support of the international community: “We have learned of processes being undertaken by the government of Sri Lanka to establish mechanisms for truth and reconciliation with support from countries such as South Africa, Japan and Switzerland. Together with the mothers, wives, siblings and children whose loved ones had been forcibly abducted and disappeared over a span of 40 years, and as friends of the families of the disappeared, we wish to outline a few concrete actions from the Sri Lanka government that we consider to be essential to rebuild trust after the failure of every single successive state commission, inquiry or reconciliation mechanism we have witnessed or participated in over the past several decades.

We call for the following steps to be fulfilled before any further mechanisms are set up by the government for ‘Truth and Reconciliation’.

1. Fast-track a process of giving every affected family member copies of the key documents that relate to the incidents or losses they have experienced.

a) This includes copies of police reports, records at different public commissions, complaint records made to HRC, etc.

b) If the original police complaint cannot be found in the Police station records, new complaints-linked to the original complaint should be recorded under this fast-tracked process.

c) In the absence or death of the family members who originally had made complaints, recognise the right of the next of kin in that family who is continuing the struggle for truth and justice to claim these documents.

d) The documents issued under the fast-track process must be guaranteed to have the same credibility for legal and administrative purposes as a police report made at the time of the event.

2.Follow-up on the already-established findings related to a number of emblematic cases in Batticaloa, which were presented to Presidential Commissions on numerous occasions with clear and credible evidence, including eyewitness accounts. Thorough inquiries and investigations must be conducted within one year, and results of these must be made public. The cases to be considered include the following:

a)The enforced disappearance of 158 persons from the Eastern University on the 5th September 1990.

b)The enforced disappearance of 184 persons taken from 4 villages surrounding the Saththurukondan army camp on 9th September 1990.

c)The enforced disappearance of 4 boys (teenage and early 20s) on the 5th May 2009 from Batticaloa Town as an extrajudicial retaliatory response to a case where a schoolgirl was abducted and killed.

3.Many families have already identified to numerous commissions which camps their loved ones were taken. A list of all military camps including those of the Army, STF, Navy, Airforce and all paramilitary camps, as well as the names of the officers-in-charge of these camps over the previous 4 decades must be made public. This way, families can make specific demands with regards to the whereabouts of their loved ones, and for overall accountability for enforced disappearance.

4.Make public all relevant documents concerning military tribunals conducted over a period of the past 4 decades with regard to human rights violations.

5.All documents collected by the government during the war with regards to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and all other armed groups, including details of those with command responsibilities for these, should be made available to the public.

6.Credible inquiries must be initiated into the role and culpability of all armed groups in abductions and enforced disappearances, including by groups like PLOTE, EPDP, Karuna Faction and TMVP that worked alongside the government forces. Government documents related to their role and finding of the inquiries must be made public.

7.Credible inquiries to be initiated and made public into all armed groups that were responsible for child abduction and recruitment as child soldiers, including those that acted under active government protection or complicity.

8.The collective and continuing impact of physical, psychological, social and economic trauma on the lives of affected families cannot be quantified or put in words. Nevertheless, a meaningful monthly allowance must be paid to each affected family – NOT as compensation or in exchange for acceptance of a death certificate, but as a form of recognition of the ongoing impact of this loss in their lives. This should be recognized as a form of ongoing reparation.

9.Directives must be issued to protect the democratic right of affected people (and indeed all citizens) to gather to have peaceful protests, memorials and remembrances in any form without intimidation and surveillance.

10.Repeal the unjust PTA which has been the main cause for state human rights abuses with blatant impunity, as well as withdraw the proposed equally-draconian ATA.

All of the steps outlined above can be undertaken by the government unilaterally before they once again request family members to tell their painful stories to yet another mechanism for the sake of ‘reconciliation’. If the government is sincere about truth-telling, justice or reconciliation, let it first demonstrate this by taking these first steps.

The trust of affected people must be earned. Without this, there will be no reconciliation.”

The following were the signatories: Batticaloa Peace Committee, Batticaloa Justice Walkers and Family Members of the Disappeared

a) Amara Hapuarachchi

b) Sarala Emmanuel

c) Vijayaluxmy Segaruban

d) A. Sornalingam

e) T. Sharadha Devi

f) S. Ariyamalar

g) P. Jeyatheepa

h) Anuratha Rajaretnam

i) M. Sitralega

j) T. Jayasingam

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News

Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation

Published

15 hours ago

2026/09/14

Priyan

The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.

The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.

Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.

Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.

News

CIABOC member’s appointment: Controversy over Speaker under probe heading selection process

Published

17 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.

Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.

The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.

Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.

Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.

Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.

The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.

Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.

The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.

The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.

SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.

Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.

The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.

News

GMOA: Countrywide cadre revision not done since 2015

Published

17 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

Dhammika

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.

GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.

Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.

(SF)