Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers has approved the controversial Commission for Truth, Unity, and Reconciliation (CTUR) bill by incorporating certain amendments to it.
The Government Information Department in its weekly cabinet briefing announced that that due to the submission of amendments to this bill, it is yet to be tabled in parliament. The Legal Draftsman was requested to prepare a bill that would take into account these amendments and similarly issue a gazette notification which was issued earlier stating the previous draft bill.
The CTUR bill was presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of Defence. In December 2023, the Cabinet approved publishing the Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka Bill in the Government Gazette.
Sri Lanka’s Interim Secretariat for the Truth and Reconciliation Mechanism (ISTRM), is yet another government initiative that Tamil survivors have slammed as another move to delay international justice. Members of this secretariat itself have been touring the country seeking inputs from Sri Lanka’s military and clergy.
The move has been slammed by Tamils across the North-East and around the world, who for decades have demanded an independent international mechanism to obtain justice for mass atrocities. Members of the
Successive Sri Lankan governments have refused to partake in any international accountability mechanism and instead have delayed for years with repeated “domestic” initiatives.
