Families of the disappeared were "very disappointed" by the Sri Lankan president's recent comments rejecting the existence of secret detention camps and missing persons, the Northern Provincial Council's minister of women's affairs, Ananthi Sasitharan said.
"The relatives of missing persons wept while questioning me regarding a solution for their grievances. They were very disappointed at the President’s recent comment denying of the existence of secret camps, and missing persons," Ms Sasitharan told Ceylon Today.
"They were quite confused regarding the whereabouts of their loved ones and what the next step in their struggle is,” she added.
In an interview to BBC Sinhala, the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena rejected the existence of any secret camps under his government and also dismissed protests calling for the release of political prisoners as the work of NGOs.