Tamil families of the disappeared protested in Mullaitivu today as they continue their roadside protests demanding to know the fate of their relatives who were forcibly disappeared at the hands of the Sri Lankan state.
“We don’t need death certificates, we don’t need compensation, we don’t need the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), give us international justice,” said the protesters.
When speaking to the media, Mariyasuresh Eswari the leader of the Mullaitivu Association of the Relations of the Enforced Disappearances, said that the Sri Lankan government needs to explain the disappearances of their relatives at the International Criminal Court.
"We are continuing to protest for justice for our relatives. Just like the international community is helping Sri Lanka to recover from the financial crisis, there is an expectation that the international community will assist in achieving justice for our relatives that have been forcibly disappeared," Eswari added.
The families have lost confidence in domestic mechanisms such as the OMP as they have failed to provide any tangible results.
Last year, Tamil Guardian spoke with representatives of the Tamil families of the disappeared who reiterated that they did not believe that domestic mechanisms would provide justice and accountability.
Leeladevi Anandanadarajah, the Secretary of the North-East Relatives of the Missing Persons Association told the Tamil Guardian that in 2019, the families of the disappeared gave evidence and information relating to five enforced disappearance cases to the OMP. The families told them that if the OMP can investigate and solve one case within three months, then they would trust the OMP. However, the families only received an acknowledgement to the evidence they submitted.
Despite pledges from successive Sri Lankan governments to investigate the disappearances, no action has been taken.
Since the beginning of their protests, over 100 relatives of the disappeared have passed away whilst campaigning for justice. They will never know the fate of their loved ones.
