Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya marked 2,700 days of protest over the weekend as their campaign to find out the fate of their forcibly disappeared loved ones continues.
On Saturday 13th July, protesters held photographs of their forcibly disappeared loved ones as they reiterated their longstanding calls for the international community to investigate the disappearances. Tamil families of the disappeared have repeatedly expressed that establishing the truth about the whereabouts of their relatives is crucial for justice and accountability.
Successive Sri Lankan governments have created various commissions of inquiries to "investigate" the disappearances but only a few of their reports have been made public.
Tamil families of the disappeared lack confidence in domestic mechanisms as they have not brought about any meaningful answers or any criminal accountability.
Sri Lanka's security forces forcibly disappeared tens of thousands of people for decades, particularly during the armed conflict. In a recent report, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk highlighted that in the final phase of the armed conflict in 2009, "the scope of those who were subjected to enforced disappearances broadened, to include Tamil men and women of all ages, and boys and girls."
Tamil families of the disappeared have been protesting on the roadsides across the North-East since 2017. However, the Sri Lankan government have failed to acknowledge any of their demands. Instead, Tamil families of the disappeared have been subject to routine harassment and intimidation by Sri Lanka's security forces. Despite the harassment, they have been brazen in their campaign for justice.
