Families of enforced disappeared vehemently oppose OMP sittings in North

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 July 2018, 19:14 GMT]
The sittings by the deceptive ‘Office of the Missing Persons’ (OMP) held in Jaffna and Ki'linochchi this weekend received strong opposition as the families of enforced disappeared, who have been protesting for more than 500 days, conclusively rejecting the OMP as a farce. The protesters in Jaffna did not stop with their symbolic protest outside the building. They also protested inside the hall where the sitting went on with a few attendees. Finally, the SL police were invited to control the situation.

The protesters called the OMP as a farce and blamed ‘human rights defender’ Ms Nimalka Fernando promoting the OMP as a ‘moneymaker’ on the plight of Eezham Tamils.

Earlier, in June, the families of the enforced disappeared in the three other districts of Mannaar, Vavuniyaa and Mullaiththeevu protested against the OMP blaming it as a farce.

At the sittings held in Mullaiththeevu, the protesters came with acid test conditions to the chairman of the OMP, President's Counsel Saliya Pieris, who later admitted the inability of the OMP panel to stand the acid test.

The protesters in Mullaiththeevu demanded the OMP to either secure the list of those handed over to the SL military at the end of genocidal onslaught in Vanni in May 2009 or to bring at least 100 of those already documented as being held in the secret detention.

The families of the victims in Jaffna and Ki'linochchi said only an international investigation, conducted through a credible mechanism beyond the parameters of the so-called sovereignty of the genocidal state of Sri Lanka, could enforce the SL State to come up with proper responses to establish the fate of their missing kith and kin.





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