Over 2,300 Reported Missing

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Over 2,300 people in the North have been reported missing, according to data handed over to the Presidential commission investigating alleged disappearances.

A civil society organisation in Mannar handed over the data to the commission after conducting research on those in the North reported missing.

The report states that in the Jaffna District 904 people are still missing while in Kilinochchi the number of missing stands at 610, Vavuniya 181, Mannar 138 and Mullaitivu 468 people.

Former Judge Maxwell Parakrama Paranagama is heading the commission appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to investigate cases of missing persons from the Northern and Eastern Provinces during the war.

Others in the committee are Dimingu Badathuruge, Priyanthi Suranjana Vidyaratne and Mano Ramanathan.

The Commission which was appointed in August has been given the authority to conduct inquiries and necessary investigations, and submit a report to the President within six months. In President Rajapaksa’s instructions to the Commission, he stressed the necessity to identify the person(s) responsible in cases of abductions or disappearances and take legal action against those person(s).

The President indicated that the inquiries are being conducted in the interest of public security and wellbeing and to determine what measures should be taken to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. (ER)

Common Candidate Mooted 

By Easwaran Rutnam-Sunday, November 10, 2013

The United National Party (UNP) is considering putting forward a common candidate at the next Presidential elections, a UNP parliamentarian said.

UNP MP Lakshman Kiriella said that the party is having discussions on the common candidate and will make a decision on it later.
“We will put forward the best candidate who can win the election,” Kiriella said.

The UNP MP, who had last week visited Kandy with UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya to brief the Chief Prelates of the Asgiriya and Malwatta chapters on the latest developments in the party, insisted that all the powers of the party leader were now vested in the UNP leadership council.

Kiriella said that party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has said he is willing to give more powers to the leadership council to take decisions on behalf of the party.

“We need to look at this as a positive development. If anyone is saying the leadership council does not have enough powers, they must first come and see for about two months what powers it has and then withdraw if they feel the leadership council is toothless instead of withdrawing support even before the council can begin its work,” he said. Meanwhile, UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya insisted that the new leadership council of the party has full powers and that this was confirmed by party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.