An appeal was launched for the World Day of the disappeared. The women are asking the government to investigate a case without looking at nationality or religion. With over 12 thousand missing persons, Lanka is the second country with the highest number of disappearances in the world.
“Help us to find our children, without looking at our ethnicity or religion.” This is the appeal launched by mothers, mostly Tamil on the occasion of World Day of the disappeared. A collective of various civil society groups, has organized a commemoration in Colombo, to demand the government of Lanka investigate and reveal the truth about the disappearance of the children of these women, during the long years of national liberation conflict. CID , committee for investigation into disappearance, helped to bring Tamil mothers and wives from the affected area. Mahendran speaking on behalf of the CID said “we have campaigned against disappearances during the repressive war both in the south as well as in the north. we have organised more than 5000 women from bereaved families.To day, we are happy that others are willing to help and promote funds to take these cases of disappearances to the UN.” Mahendran is a member of the central committee of the Nava Sama samaja Party. organising secretary of the NSSP, Jenakan also participated.
Fernando Brito, human rights activist and president of the Families of the Disappeared, was said at the meeting: “In the past, we did great things for the missing youth in the south of the country. Now, however, our President Mahinda Rajapaksa marginalises us as if we were people who do not love our land. We’ve had enough of seeing these mothers crying for their loved ones, be they Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim ... Whoever they are, they are mothers of this country. We should do something constructive.”
Tamil MP, M.A. Sumanthiran, denounced that “there is no change in reality, the emergency measures have been removed but the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) is still in place”.
“We appreciate the determination of these women,” said human rights activist Nimalka Fernando. “Their group – she adds - asks the government of Sri Lanka to investigate quickly and efficiently each disappearance on an individual case basis, to implement a directive requiring security forces to operate within the Constitution and laws; to identify, investigate and prosecute organizations and individuals responsible.”
Correspondent