Sri Lankan police remove Families of the Disappeared from Jaffna protest

Families of the forcibly disappeared staged a protest outside the Jaffna District Secretariat on Tuesday, condemning an event organised by Sri Lanka’s Office on Missing Persons (OMP) to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. The demonstration rejected what the families described as an attempt by the OMP to promote a biased domestic process while failing to provide answers about the fate of those who were handed over to the military.

The protest was organised by the Association of the Relatives of the Enforced Disappeared in the North and East, as the OMP held its commemoration inside the District Secretariat auditorium. The event, held at 2pm on 25 August, was attended by Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Minister and Jaffna District Coordinating Committee chairman Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Northern Province Governor Nagalingam Vedanayagan, several NPP parliamentarians and OMP chairman Mahesh Katulanda.

Protesters rejected compensation and death certificates offered through the OMP, insisting that such measures could not substitute for answers concerning their missing relatives. They called instead for the fate of those who had been surrendered to the military to be established, while condemning what they termed the OMP’s “deception” and its efforts to strengthen a domestic mechanism.

According to the protesters, the OMP had sought to present the Jaffna event as one attended by families of the forcibly disappeared, while the people brought into the programme included ordinary elderly residents who had been attracted by a free medical camp. Protesters alleged that some of those attending had also been provided with spectacles, arguing that these individuals were not relatives of the disappeared but elderly people who had been drawn into the event through the services provided.

The families further argued that relatives of the forcibly disappeared would not accept money or material benefits in exchange for abandoning demands for truth about their loved ones. Local councillors also joined in support of the protest.

Tensions escalated when police intervened as protesters attempted to display their banner outside the District Secretariat. The police prevented them from opening the banner and dragged it away, while access to the Secretariat was also restricted, with the gate closed and members of the public prevented from entering the premises.

The protest came as the OMP marked the international day with an event presented as part of Sri Lanka’s efforts to address cases of enforced disappearance through domestic mechanisms. For the families campaigning across the North and East, however, the continued absence of answers regarding their missing relatives remains the central issue.

The Association of the Relatives of the Enforced Disappeared in the North and East is also due to hold an international conference on 30 August in connection with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara was also seen watching the protest through Facebook while the OMP event was taking place inside the District Secretariat. Despite observing the demonstration, he did not stop to speak with the protesting families or engage with their demands.

Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar, meanwhile, turned his criticism towards journalists covering the demonstration. Addressing the media, Chandrasekar said, “Journalists, do not play with innocent people.” His remarks came as journalists reported on the confrontation between the protesters and authorities outside the Secretariat.

For the families, the issue was not created by media coverage. It was their unresolved demand for answers over relatives who disappeared after being surrendered to Sri Lankan state forces. By directing criticism at journalists for reporting the confrontation, the minister appeared to shift attention away from the government’s failure to directly address the protesters and their demands.