Three Years And Yet No News About Missing Activists

It is exactly three years since human rights defenders, Lalith Kumar Weeraraju and Kugan Muruganandanwent missing in Jaffna.

December 10, 2014

The two activists were last seen travelling in a motorbike on December 9 evening, as they ran errands in the area to organise a media briefing for some MPs the following day in commemoration of the world human rights day. Since then, no information concerning their whereabouts have surfaced.

The two activists were closely working with the Movement for People’s Struggle organisation and they strongly believe the two activists were abducted by the military as Lalith had already received several death threats from the military in the days leading up to the abduction.

The case on the disappearance of the two activists was heard today at the Jaffna Magistrate Courts to which Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and JVP MP Sunil Hadunnetti were due to attend to make statements with concern to comments they had made on the two activists. However, due to their absence, a further inquiry was fixed for March 15, 2015.

Following their disappearance, when Media Minister Rambukwella was inquired by media concerning the incident he said he is aware of where the two activists were being detained but refused to divulge the information.

Lalith was a non-academic staff member of the Jayawardenapura University. He left his employment to fight for the rights of the war affected families and residents of the North i order to restore their democratic rights.