Roshen’s family still waiting for justice

11 March 2013 12:52 am

Family members of 21-year-old Free Trade Zone employee Roshen Chanaka who was killed  when police fired at a protest rally in 2011 yesterday expressed concern over the  failure on the part of the Government to publish the findings of the Mahanama  Tillakeratne Commission on the tragedy.

The FTZ employees were protesting over the setting up of the private sector pension  bill, which they claimed would have been disadvantageous to the workers.

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Sunil Handunnetti took this matter up during question  time in Parliament last Friday. Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardane who replied on  behalf of the Government confirmed that the one-man commission had submitted its report  to President Mahinda Rajapaksa but declined to disclose the findings in Parliament.   

“Normally such reports are meant to be scrutinised only by the President. It cannot be  published,” he said.

However, MP Handunnetti said the Government had given the then Police Chief Mahinda  Balasuriya a diplomatic posting even though he was held responsible for the  circumstances that led to the incident.

“The government sent him to Brazil as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador,” he said.

Meanwhile, Roshen’s brother R.P.A.B.T. Madusan said he was deeply concerned over the  delay in meting out justice to his brother.

“We had a meeting with the government on June 10, 2011.  We were assured that justice  would be done. It more than an year but nothing has been done yet,” he said. (Kelum Bandara)