Finding justice

The passing of the Office of Missing Persons bill in Parliament has all the makings of a historic moment in Sri Lanka’s torrid history. It’s no secret by now that this island bears the morbid honour of having one of the largest numbers of outstanding cases of disappearances in the world. From the JVP uprising to the Eelam War, Governments of all shades and orientations have resorted to enforced disappearances to deal with both violent insurrection and non-violent dissent. The OMP is therefore a significant and crucial step in addressing this legacy.

The OMP Bill, which muscled past the pro-Rajapaksa Joint Opposition’s unabashed fear mongering, is undoubtedly a positive one, but comes with several challenges. One point is the makeup of the OMP, which should be inclusive and ideally time-bound so families already tired of a seven-year wait would not have much longer before answers are found. Allocation of resources and ensuring the OMP is conducted impartially and transparently will be a test to the Government’s dedication towards reconciliation.

Furthermore, despite winning out against the Joint Opposition, the National Government has to deal with the fact that the particular brand of nationalism and chauvinism paraded by the JO is still alive and well, having taken root in the mindset of many ordinary Lankans, particularly in the south. Much awareness raising and grassroots communication needs to be done to win over those in the south and bring disparate communities together.

To that effect the JVP is extremely well positioned as the party knows better than most that enforced disappearances are categorically not an ‘ethnic’ or ‘Tamil’ issue though it is fair to assert that the more recent spate of abductions have heavily targeted minority communities. The JVP’s support of the Bill combined with the stirring speech by Bimal Ratnayake articulating the JVP’s historic experience of mass abductions has set the stage for solidarity between the north and south in combating the profound injustice of disappearances.

A National Government the likes of which we have today has never before been seen in Sri Lanka and odds are may not reappear again in the near future. As we have seen such a government has serious teething pains in terms of handling policy on a number of issues pertaining to the economy. However, with the SLFP, UNP, JVP and TNA in unison there exists the potential to finally advance reconciliation and put to bed the pain and suffering of families who have lost loved ones to abductions over decades of war.

The OMP Act has now got the ball rolling in the right direction, but serious work needs to continue to ensure that the final goal is reached. We have seen countless times how public inquiries, committees and all manner of mechanisms have only lead to frustration and middling results for victims. With around four years left for this Government, the time is now to unearth the truth about our missing.