Sunday, 25th May 2014
Kathiravel Thayapararaja who was reported murdered by SL Army emerged as ‘refugee’ in Tamil Nadu with his family
by Arthur Wamanan
The story of the disappeared has been a very long, complicated, confusing, and is yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Five years after the war, the issue of missing persons continues to haunt the country.
Thousands have been reported missing over the 30 years of war in the country and it is one of the key concerns expressed by local and international human rights activists. The UN officials, who had visited the country during the post-war period, had also made a note of the issue and urged the Sri Lankan Government to address the issue the best possible way.
The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in its recommendations to the Government had also mentioned the importance of probing into the disappearance of persons during the war. As a result, a Presidential Commission, headed by former justice, Maxwell Paranagama, was appointed last year to probe disappearances that were reported from 1990 to the end of the war in 2009.
The President, however, backdated the commission’s mandate to January 1983 and extended its period by further six months owing to the overwhelming number of complaints received by the commission since its appointment.
The commission has so far received 18,800 complaints out of which 5,000 were of security force personnel who had gone missing during the said period. The commission has so far conducted sittings in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Batticaloa where oral evidence of approximately 480 persons was recorded. The commission intends to hand over its interim report by mid-July.
Paranagama pointed out that the commission was also given the mandate to file legal action against those who have been proven guilty during the investigations.
Issuance of Certificate of Absence
The confusions pertaining to the existence of several of those reported missing had prompted the commission to propose the issuance of a Certificate of Absence. The reason behind such a suggestion was due to the uncertainty of the existence of many of those who have been reported missing, and that many did not wish to accept the possibility of their loved ones being killed during the war. “Many family members refuse to accept the possibility that their loved ones could have died. They want proof. Therefore, we suggested that they be issued a Certificate of Absence,” Paranagama said.
The issuance of such a certificate would also help the families with certain legal hurdles that they face in obtaining services. Paranagama stated that many families of those missing continued to face problems in obtaining insurance, financial assistance and other services as they did not have proper legal documents to show the authorities.
However, Paranagama points out that the issue does not stop with probing the issue of missing persons alone. He stated that the problem had several other aspects that needed to be addressed in a proper and organized manner.
Need for counseling
Hundreds of families were affected by the war and therefore were forced to go through mental and psychological issues. In addition, the families also had to suffer due to the losses they faced due to the war. Paranagama stated that the many families were in need of counseling even now. “What we realized during our sessions was that many of the families were psychologically affected due to the losses they had faced and therefore were in need of counseling,” he said.
The need for counseling was an aspect that was identified soon after the war and several Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) worked in several areas of the North and East to provide psychological assistance to all affected families.
Paranagama however, pointed out that such programs were not coordinated properly, and therefore, a steering committee headed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Health would be appointed to coordinate the process. “Around 25 Ministries and organizations will work in coordination to provide counseling to them,” he said. Another factor that had created a certain amount of confusion was the resurfacing of certain persons who were reported missing during or after the final stages of the war.
Number game
The likes of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had rejected the commission stating that its findings would be biased. Paranagama responding to such allegations said that the commission provided full freedom to the complainants to record their evidence. He also said it was unfair to make such allegations without awaiting the interim report of the commission. “Our numbers tally with those of the humanitarian organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). We are working very close with these organizations on this issue,” he said.
When the missing resurfaced
Investigations into missing persons took a different turn, when an individual who was believed to have been killed by the military in 2009, resurfaced in Tamil Nadu earlier this month. Kathiravel Thayapararaja, a former LTTE member was reported killed while under military custody.
Thayapararajah, along with his wife Uthayakala had fled Sri Lanka by boat along with several others, and were arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police upon arrival. The Military a few days ago stated that such incidents were indication of the possibility of several others who were reported missing, to be alive in other countries.
Military Spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya stated that they were yet to receive information with regard to hundreds of persons who had fled the country and had sought asylum in various countries.
He also pointed out that hundreds had fled to countries such as India, Canada, Australia and Malaysia. “Hundreds of persons fled to these countries by boat, and we do not know who were in these boats. We do know that at least 400 persons fled to Canada by the boat ‘Sun Sea’. We believe that the boat carried several key members of the LTTE. However, we still do not know who were in the boat,” Wanigasooriya said.
Paranagama too admitted that most of the confusion would be solved if the respective countries provided details of those who had sought asylum during or soon after the war. “We have requested these countries to provide details of those who had sought asylum in these countries,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs has also continuously requested details of those who had sought asylum in these countries. “The issue of missing persons will not see the light at the end of the tunnel until and unless these countries furnish the details of illegal immigrants,” a highly placed source at the Ministry said.
The official further stated the reluctance on the part of these countries to provide the requested details questioned their commitment towards fighting terrorism.
