Wednesday, May 23, 2012

When The Rehabilitated ‘Disappear’… Mano Wants Gajadeera To Trace Missing Youth

By Raisa Wickrematunge

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Rehabilitation Minister Chandrasiri Gajadeera, Indian HC Ashok Kantha, US Ambassador Patricia Butenis, Australian HC Kathy Klugman among other diplomats on stage at Temple Trees on Sept/30/2011.

Minister of Prisons and Rehabilitation, Chandrasiri Gajadeera on Friday (18) said that he had not received a letter from Democratic People’s Front leader Mano Ganesan regarding any missing prisoners.
However, the Minister said he would have to double-check to see if any letter had indeed been received.
Ganesan said he had addressed a letter to Gajadeera several days ago on the issue.
The DPF leader said the issue was first brought to his attention when he was contacted by the parents of three rehabilitated cadres who said they had not seen their children return home even after an official ‘re-integration event.’
Kerbert Morino Leon Roxy of Alambil, Mullaitivu, Savarimuththu Anton Hudson Lorantine of Kanagapuram, Kilinochchi, and Murugesu Muruganandan of Murasumottai, Paranthan are the three cadres who never returned home after an event titled ‘Ekvemu Sema; Nagamu Rata’ (Let us come together and build the country).
In a letter addressed to Gajadeera on Monday (14) Ganesan noted that the event was presided over by President Rajapaksa. 1800 former cadres had been released on Friday, September 30, 2011, having received ‘skills development’ and deemed fit to be re-integrated into society. State officials had been quoted as saying that some of the former cadres could not join their parents immediately as there was a delay in printing skills development certificates, adding that however the cadres would be released ‘in a matter of days.’ However Roxy, Lorantine and Muruganandan were not seen since then, and their parents are being denied information on their whereabouts, Ganesan said in the letter.
What’s more, the parents had photographic evidence that their sons had attended the re-integration ceremony; photos which are now in the possession of The Sunday Leader. Roxy’s mother (named as Saroja Devi) said she had not been permitted to attend the ceremony, in an article published in the Hindu. Devi reportedly met with Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Brigadier Dharshana Hettiarachchi who had said that the ‘names do not match’ but had added that he had asked his office to locate the boys in question.
“These youths, according to the parents,
were forcefully abducted by LTTE in year 2008 and within 15 days they managed to escape and surrendered to the army in Mannar,” Ganesan wrote. The three cadres in question have been missing for five years, he said. As a result, he entreated the Minister to take some action and added that he was checking to see if any other similar cases had been recorded.
However, Minister Gajadeera said he did not know about anything about the letter, a copy of which is enclosed below.

From the office of
Mano Ganesan
Leader of Democratic People’s Front
Convener of Civil Monitoring Commission
President of Democratic Worker’s Congress

My dear Minister,

1.    (Mr) Kerbert Morino Leon Roxy of Alambil, Mullaitivu  
2.    (Mr) Savarimutththu Anton Hudson Lorantine of Kanagapuram, Killinochchi
3.    (Mr) Murugesu Muruganandan of Murasumottai, Paranthan  

This is in reference to the reintegration event under the theme titled in Sinhala as ‘Ekvemu Sema; Nagamu Rata’ ( Let us get together and build the country) held at Temple Trees on 30/September/2011.                          Read More »