International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances Longing for truth, justice and compensation amidst broken promises

The protesters speaking to the media

In the backdrop of exhuming one of the largest mass graves in Chemmani, Sri Lanka, families of victims subject to enforced disappearances are still longing to find out what happened to their loved ones, especially during the final stages of the protracted civil war. 
But enforced disappearances have occurred throughout the course of Sri Lanka’s history from late 1980s during the JVP uprising where tens of thousands of Sinhalese youths were abducted, allegedly by squads linked to the state. Tens of thousands of Tamil civilians went missing during  the height of the war until its end in 2009. Incidents such as the Kurukkalmadam massacre in July 1990 where at least 150 individuals including Hajj pilgrims were abducted and believed to have been tortured, killed and buried in a mass grave allegedly by the LTTE, is one example. 
A walk in pursuit of the truth 
In view of the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances, mothers of the Families of the Disappeared (FOD) walked from office to office to raise awareness about their demands. Starting from the Ministry of Justice, they walked to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Presidential Secretariat, US Embassy, Office of Missing Persons at Temple Trees, United Nations Head Office, Canadian High Commission, Embassies of Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, South Africa, France, the British High Commission and the Prime Minister’s Office. In addition, several programmes were held in Jaffna where mothers staged demonstrations with photographs of their loved ones, demanding truth, justice and accountability from the incumbent government. 
Concerns on non-utilisation of budgetary allocation
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Brito Fernando, human rights activist and Chairman of the Families of the Disappeared,  said that there is no conclusion with regards to ongoing mass grave exhumations. “The government should open a DNA bank, obtain DNA from families of victims subject to enforced disappearances, conduct carbon dating procedures and establish identities of these individuals. But over the past eight months,  there had been no progress made with regards to these issues. During a meeting, the Justice Minister told us that a sum of Rs. 375 million has been allocated to strengthen the OMP and Office of Reparations. But it took one year to approve funds to conduct investigations,” he said. 
Fernando further claimed that not a single penny had been paid to the families of these victims during this year despite an allocation of Rs. 1000 million. “We were told that a list of around 380 individuals has been drafted and that a permanent package would be given to beneficiaries within six months. These families get a temporary allowance of Rs. 200,000, but even a family of a victim who succumbs to an attack by an elephant receives around Rs. 1 million. The government needs to disburse funds from this allocation from the budget and if it is not utilised over the next four months it would have to be given back to the Treasury. So what are they going to do with this Rs. 1000 million allocation?” he questioned from the government. 
Recommendations to the government 
In a letter addressed to the Justice Minister, the families explained that a small number of families who lost their loved ones during the 1989 uprising had been receiving the Rs. 200,000 allowance. “However, under this new Government, what is happening is that families who have received any kind of benefit during the 1989 period are being prevented from obtaining the Rs. 200,000/- allowance. Except for a death certificate and a pittance as compensation paid only in 1996, for 35 long years these families in the South have received nothing at all in relation to the truth, justice or damages. In order to alleviate the injustice they suffered in the past, as they had been denied truth, justice or compensation, these families cherished great expectations that they would at least receive this temporary relief of Rs. 200,000/-,” the letter stated. 
In addition, the families made several recommendations to the Minister including the allocation of Rs. 2000 million as the minimum financial requirement in the 2026 Budget in order to ensure that all families currently registered with the OMP receive the Rs. 200,000/- allowance during 2026. The families also requested the government to publish the full list of all those who surrendered at the end of the war in 2009 on the request of the Government at the time, and to take steps to recommence investigations on the Matale Mass Grave and several other cases of disappearances, and bring about closure to these families. 
Several attempts made to contact Minister Nanayakkara to inquire how the Rs. 1000 million allocation would be utilised for the benefit of these families proved futile. 

Cabinet approval needed to disburse budgetary allocation : Minister 

Addressing the Families of the Disappeared, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said that even though the incumbent government is not responsible for this crisis,  it is this government that would resolve the issue of enforced disappearances. 
“We need to serve justice and it is not only about money. We are in the process of introducing a permanent package which includes income generation and educational opportunities, housing, social services and financial allocations. But this is being done using taxpayers’ money and there’s a process to be followed,” he said. 
Speaking about the budgetary allocation of Rs. 1000 million, Nanayakkara said that it cannot be disbursed sans a cabinet approval. “In order to get the approval I have to submit a list of names of individuals who initially received Rs. 15,000, Rs. 25,000 and 50,000 as compensation and so on. This applies to families both in the North and South. It is only then I can inform the cabinet to release the funds until we decide on the aforementioned permanent package. 
“It is difficult to find how the previous compensation was paid since 1989. While we investigate on these matters we urge you to submit whatever the documents you have as proof to show that you received compensation previously. We have to look after you but there’s a way of disbursing compensation. We will commence investigations on missing persons. You have been patiently waiting for 30 years and it is unfair to ask you to bear with us further. But there’s a certain amount of work that could be done within 9 months. Within six months the permanent package will be given to beneficiaries,” he assured.