The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) published a list of complaints and information regarding missing and disappeared persons to its Head and Regional Offices last week.
In a statement, the OMP said that the list contains information relating to "persons who went missing or were disppeared in connection with the conflict, political unrest or civil disturbances or as an enforced disappearance; and personnel of the armed forces or police who have been identified as missing in action."
The list comes as Tamil families of the disappeared have marked over 1376 days of roadside protests across the North-East, braving heightened surveillance and threats from the Sri Lankan security forces, particularly since the election of accused war criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president. They have been calling on the Sri Lankan government to deliver information and answers on the whereabouts of their loved ones but Sri Lanka has not fulfilled any of their demands.
Tamil families of the disappeared have contiunously urged the international community to establish a mechanism as they lack confidence in the OMP. Several domestic mechanisms have failed to achieve any substanial progress on accountability and justice for Tamil victim-survivors.
Following the announcement of the list, Amnesty International said that Sri Lanka "must now deliver justice, truth and reparation to the families" in a statement.
"The long overdue release of this list is an important first step for the families that have waited years to learn of the fate of relatives they have not seen or heard from since the conflict.The Sri Lankan authorities must now intiate investigations into the circumstances of their disappearance, identify anyone suspected of criminal responsibility for their fate, and, where there is sufficient admissible evidence, prosecute them in fair trials before ordinary civlian courts and without recourse to death penalty," said David Griffiths, Director of the Office of Amnesty International's Secretary General.
Read the OMP's full statement here.
