Premier details reconciliation measures

22 September 2015 01:46 pm

The government will soon set up several commissions including a South African-style parliamentary truth commission, a compassionate commission and a permanent office to look into disappearances, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe told parliament today.

Making a special statement in Parliament, he said advice will be sought from South Africa to set up the truth commission but it would not be a carbon copy of what South Africa itself set up in that country.

The Prime Minister said the compassionate commission will comprise leaders of all religions and would be under the purview parliament.

He said permanent office to look into disappearances would be within the precincts of parliament and would be mandated to provide information on the missing and provide compensation to the families of those gone missing.

"For this the government will obtain the advice of the International Red Cross," the Prime Minister said and added that special courts would be set up to provide redress to mete out justice to those who have been affected by the armed conflict.

"These measures are being adopted by the national government not with the intention of satisfying the international community but in an effort to bring about much needed reconciliation and to avoid such conflicts and misunderstandings in the future" he said.

The Prime Minister assured parliament that none of these mechanisms would contain parts brought down from abroad," he said.

He underlined the fact that the reason for the international community to develop a negative attitude towards Sri Lanka because nothing was being done to bring about peace and reconciliation after the armed conflict ended in 2009 in line with the assurance given to UN Secretary General who visited Sri Lanka that year. (Yohan Perera)