Missing Persons Act to be amended

The newly-certified Office on Missing Persons Act will be amended to include the suggestions the JVP was planning to include during the debate but was unable to due to the disruption of proceedings.

Minister of Higher Education and Highways and the Leader of the House, Lakshman Kiriella, yesterday agreed to the JVP’s request to amend the Act and agreed to discuss matters with ministers.

“Many of us waited for this debate, including those who faced the events of 1971 and 1989 and the recent war. Why was it disrupted if this was an important debate? Instead of coming to the well of the House those MPs should have returned to their seats to talk. Now it is too late to reverse the process. But we will allow the passage of the proposed amendments you had but were unable to present during the debate. Normally the amendment should be read out. We should be able to decide before the 2017 Budget debate,” said Minister Kiriella.

JVP MP Bimal Rathnayake, making his appeal to amend the Act to include three suggestions the Government had agreed to include in principle, said: “We discussed these amendments with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera on the morning of the day the particular debate was held. A copy was sent to the office of the Leader of the House. I have made these suggestions in my speech. But my suggestions went unheard due to the unruly behaviour of certain members. These were important suggestions, which you also have agreed to. Three months are allocated to establish the office so ample time is available to implement the amendment.”