Chathusika Wijesinghe, Daily Mirror, August 2018: “Interview with one of the commissioners of OMP Mirak Raheem who touches on challenges this institute faces and the way forward with regard to serving families whose members have gone missing”
The Office on the Missing Persons (OMP) was established by the Government of Sri Lanka in order to end the suffering of victims and their families. Mirak Raheem, one of the commissioners of OMP, in an interview with the Dailymirror said that OMP possesses significant power and that it is open to the advice of others. However, he said that the number one challenge the council faces is the lack of trust people have in this organisation. Raheem also noted that the OMP will be releasing an interim report. Following are excerpts of the interview.
Q The Office of missing Persons was established five months ago. Since then what is the progress you have made so far and what sort of work have you done?
Yes the commission was set up in February and we have been engaged in a number of areas. On one hand we were working in terms of putting the office into operation. Because at the end of the day this is a permanent office, so we have to set it up in a manner that it will be durable and responsive. We have been careful and cautious not to be ad hoc. We also ensure that we follow the state processes, which at times is lengthy and demands time to obtain approval in terms of securing approvals for staff.
We are also employed during consultations, particularly with the families of the victims, who have disappeared. We have met with 2147 people, including family members, representatives of civil society and also government actors. What we sought in the process is basically to share the plans of the Office of missing persons and obtain feedback from the representatives and also make our presence felt. With regard to some cases people have no idea of the presence of an Office of Missing Persons. Simultaneously we also try to begin initial inquiries into specific cases. August 30 was the day set aside to commemorate the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances. After that we hope to release an interim report.
The OMP has a wide mandate and there is no time bar in terms of when the disappearance took place. Its mandate covers a broad sect of context including the war civil and political disturbances which captures insurrections in South in 1971 and late 1980s
Q What are the challenges the Office of Missing persons is faced with and how did you face them?
The number one challenge for us has been the lack of trust in us and the suspicion about the Office of Missing Persons. This has been an inherited problem, largely because of the previous experiences of families in dealing with the state. Also very few individuals received answers from the state institutions they dealt with, including the Courts . They see OMP as yet another state institution. In that sense they visit us with years of cynicism and distrust. So that itself is a huge challenge we face. We have recognised and appreciate their experiences. We try to acknowledge that.
In some cases we have encountered protests where groups of families have voiced their disapproval outside our office. With regard to them what we have stressed is that we are not asking them to stop their protests. What we wish to say is that we are one institution and a key one that is tasked with the responsibility of tracing. Even if they don’t want OMP to engage in their individual cases we are open to conversation, open for advice on what we are doing right or wrong and we continue to remain engaged with them.
This is why during consultations we try to clear our mandate and misperceptions and also deal the complaints we have not taken up immediately. We also understand the need to ensure public transparency
The other issue is that we are starting from scratch. To set up a State institution from scratch is quite challenging. But we are confident that over the next few months we would be able to accelerate in terms of setting up offices outside of Colombo. We do not have the luxury of setting up a fully functional office due to the urgency in which families need answers. We will be rolling out the OMP office while commencing inquiries in specific cases. We also have to learn from the mistakes that we might make. We also try to ensure that we are open to technical advice from both national and international actors. We wish to deal with state and non-state institutions (abroad) which have similar roles to play.
Q You got some of the families of the victims to attend regional meetings. What sort of meetings were they and what category do they belong to;i.e war victims or any other category? Was their participation positive?
The OMP has a wide mandate and there is no time bar in terms of when the disappearance took place. Its mandate covers a broad sect of context including the war civil and political disturbances which captures insurrections in South in 1971 and late 1980s. There is also a category of enforced disappearances, which includes incidents like white van abductions. It doesn’t matter if the perpetrator is the state or a non state institute so long as it meets this issue of the context. In some cases people have suggested the kind of cases we should take forward. There was much suspicion and pain expressed at these meetings as people recounted their individual experiences. In some cases complainants focused on just one act of violence and with regard to some others they included multiple acts of violence, such as the abduction and the violations suffered by family members when they attempted to report the disappearance. People also raised questions about how we are going to proceed when other institutions were unable to do so and how we are going to be different from previous efforts by the state?
Q What was the outcome of the regional meetings and what is the impact?
We hope it has increased the awareness of the OMP. It’s not just about the fact that people attended the meeting, but also the coverage in the media. Whether you approve OMP or not whether you work with it or not it is there. Secondly we try to make people aware of what we are meant to do and should not to do. For us, even though we may have spent years working on this issue this whole experience is a learning curve; for example the experience of the families of the victims and kinds of expectations they have. Some of the toughest questions were asked not by the media, but by these families.
Since there is a history of harassment, people are still nervous about approaching state institutions. Some people may choose to remain silent during public meetings as they weigh the pros and cons, including the risks of speaking aloud
Q Are there instances where people who approached the OMP were threatened during the process of consultations?
From the information we have received so far no one has complained that he or she was intimidated for attending the meetings. We have received complaints that certain families were harassed by protestors hence they found it difficult to enter the consultations. Since there is a history of harassment, people are still nervous about approaching state institutions. Some people may choose to remain silent during public meetings as they weigh the pros and cons, including the risks of speaking aloud. One of the things we try to ensure is building our internal process to ensure that we maintain confidentiality. Families are looking into the future and possible political scenarios hence they are wary of the risks they may personally face.
Q How transparent is the OMP?
From time to time we will be updating the public about our activities. For example we will be releasing an interim report, to announce the progress we have made and challenges we have faced during the first six months since the establishment of the OMP. We are also required to submit an annual report to Parliament regarding our activities.
However, we also have to balance considerations relating to privacy, and security of individuals. We, who represent the OMP, Act duty bound to maintain confidentiality of certain types of information; for instance on issues relating to the details of witnesses, status of complaints and investigations. We hope to strike a balance to ensure that we maintain trust, security and confidence of the families and the public.
Q Any specific measures you have taken to maintain transparency?
This is why during consultations we try to clear our mandate and misperceptions and also deal the complaints we have not taken up immediately. We also understand the need to ensure public transparency. We are in the process of trying to improve our public interface and responsiveness to families to ensure greater information and intend having our own website. Putting out an interim report is one such effort to ensure greater transparency.
Q Do you think the OMP has sufficient power to carry out the tasks which it is assigned?
The Act the OMP is created with significant power; for example the right to carry out searches and demand documents and ensure victim and witness protection. It also provides for significant responsibilities like providing pyscho-social assistance and make recommendations on reparations. Of course we could wish for more but it is a fairly robust mandate. As appointed officers it is our duty to ensure we fully use these powers.
- Secondly we try to make people aware of what we are meant to do and should not to do
- We have met with 2147 people, including family members
- They see OMP as yet another state institution
- We also ensure that we follow the state processes
- We try to make people aware of what we are meant to do and should not to do
Relatives and friends hold photos of their missing loved ones at Galle Face promenade in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on August 28, 2018. – Amnesty International organised the demonstration to draw attention to the plight to tens of thousands of families still looking for their loved ones missing in South Asian nations, including Sri Lanka where over 60,000 people are still listed as missing after decades of internal conflict. (Photo by LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP)
*** ***
ADDITIONAL AIDS from THUPPAHI
Michael Roberts: “The Missing in the War Years: A Cumulative Bibliography as Guide,” 25 April 2016, https://thuppahis.com/2016/04/25/the-missing-in-the-war-years-a-cumulative-bibliography-as-aide/
Cumulative BIBLIOGRAPHY – MISSING & DISAPPEARANCES, 25 April 2016
Gunatilleke, Gehan & Nishan de Mel 2012 “Sri Lanka: LLRC Implementation Monitor,” November 2012.
Fernando, Ruki 2012 “Sri Lanka: When one goes missing every five days,” http://www.jdslanka.org/index.php/2012-01-30-09-31-17/human-rights/212-sri-lanka-when-one-…
ICRC 2009a “ICRC Information [on Evacuees from Conflict Zone, 2009]” http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/interview/sri-lanka-interview-200509.htm
ICRC 2009b “Sri Lanka: ICRC assists thousands of persons in government-run sites for the displaced,” http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/update/sri-lanka-update-090609.htm
Kanagasabathypillai, Dushi 2013 “Sons and Daughters missing, missed, forgotten: LLRC’s Failure in Sri Lanka,” Groundviews, March 2013, http://groundviews.org/2013/03/17/sons-and-daughters-missing-missed-forgotten-llrcs-failure-in-sri-lanka/
Kannangara, Nirmala 2013 “Families of the Disappeared to complain to UNHRC,” Sunday Leader, 15 March 2013.
Kariyakarawana, KK a & D. Yatawara, 2013 “Linking displaced family members in the North,” 11 August 2013, http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/08/11/fea06.asp
[LTTE] 2014 “LTTE War Video recovered by the Government–Revealing Episode,” https://thuppahis.com/2014/02/13/ltte-war-video-recovered-by-the-government-revealing-episodes
Ministry of Defence 2012a “A Factual Analysis of Disappearances and Abductions,” http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=factual_analysis_of_disappearances_and_abductions_20120720_05, last modified 26/7/2012
Ministry of Defence 2012b “Analysis of the Disappearances reported by ‘Groundviews’, ” from October 2011 to March 2012 (updated version)” June 2012, 16 pp.
Shanmugarajah, V. 2014 “Dr. Veerakanthipillai Shanmugarajah’s Affidavit Description of Conditions in the Vanni Pocket in Refutation of Channel Four,” 5 January 2014, https://thuppahis.com/2014/01/05/drveerakanthipillai-shanmugarajahs-affidavit-description-of-conditionsin-the-vanni-pocket-in-refutation-of-channel-four/
Sriyananda, Shanika 2009 “At long last they are free!” Sunday Observer, 17 May 2009.
Sumanthiran, M. A. 2013 “untied in Grief,” Sunday Island, 9 August 2013.
Narendran, Rajasingham 2014 “Harsh Ground Realities in War: Decomposing Bodies and Missing Persons and Soldiers,” 28 January 2014, https://thuppahis.com/2014/01/28/11702/
Reddy, Muralidhar 2009f “Final Hours. An eye-witness account of the last 70 hours of Eelam War IV,” Frontline, 26/12, 6-19 June 2009, http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2612/stories/ 20090619261200900.htm
Roberts, Michael 2012 “The Disappeared in Sri Lanka’s War in the Recent Past: What is missing in those “Missing”? 27 May 2012, http://groundviews.org/2012/05/27/the-disappeared-in-sri-lankas-war-in-the-recent-past-what-is-missing-in-those-missing/
Roberts, Michael 2013 “Pictorial Illustrations of the Mass Exodus from the Last Redoubt, 20-22 April and mid-May 2009: Appendix V for “BBC Blind”, https://thuppahis.com/2013/12/11/exodus-from-the-last-redoubt-late-april-mid-may-2009-appendix-v-for-bbc-blind
Thangavelu, Velupillai 2013 “LTTE Cadres Who Surrendered to The Army: Where Are They?” Colombo Telegraph, 18 August 2013, http://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/ltte-cadres-who-surrendered-to-the-army-where-are-they/.
UN Economic & Social Council 1999 “Civil and Political Rights, including Questions of Disappearances and Summary executions,” 21 December 1999.
UNICEF 2011 “Overview of ongoing government efforts to trace and unify missing children in Northern Sri Lanka,” July 2011.
UTHR 2009 Let Them Speak: Truth about Sri Lanka’s Victims of War. Special Report No. 34, http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/Special%20rep34/Uthr-sp.rp34.htm.
Vidura 2009 “The Great Escapes,” Sunday Leader, 17 May 2009.
Watchdog 2012 “A disappearance every five days in post-war Sri Lanka,” 30 August 2012, http://groundviews.org/2012/08/30/a-disappearance-every-five-days-in-post-war-sri-lanka/
Watchdog 2013 “Police detains families of disappeared from Northern Sri Lanka and prevents peaceful protest and petition to the UN,” 3 July 2013, http://groundviews.org/2013/03/07/police-detains-families-of-disappeared-from-northern-sri-lanka-and-prevents-peaceful-protest-and-petition-to-the-un/
Weiss, Gordon 2011 “Sri Lanka faces its ‘Srebrenica moment’,” The Australian, 23 April 2011, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/sri-lanka-faces-its-srebrenica-moment/story-e6frg6ux-1226043466322
Weerasinghe, C. 20 “Operation Discredit Scuppered,” 24 April 2016, http://www.dailynews.lk/local/operation-discredit-scuppered
Wijesinha, Rajiva 2013a “Sri Lanka Rights Watch 84 – Structures to deal with disappearances,” http://www.peaceinsrilanka.lk/press-releases-details/press-releases-details/3061
Wijesinha, Rajiva 2013b “Sri Lanka Rights Watch 96 – Answering allegations intelligently,” 20 March 2013, http://rajivawijesinha.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/sri-lanka-rights-watch-96-answering-allegations-intelligently/#more-6028
Weiss, Gordon 2012 “New Evidence — The Death of Colonel Ramesh,” 21 March 2012, https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/newevidencethe-death-of-colonel-ramesh-warning-disturbing-images/
[White Flag] 2014 5 years On: The White Flag Incident, http://white-flags.org/
Yatawara, Dhaneshi 2009 “Entrapped Civilians seek salvation in Force,” Sunday Observer, 17 May 2009, http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/05/17/fea05.asp