The Chairman of the Office on Missing Persons, Attorney-at-Law Mahesh Katulanda states that justice will be served for the families of Sri Lanka’s missing persons within a period of 06 months.

Joining a press conference held at the Department of Government Information (DGI) today (23), Katulanda emphasized that they have fast-tracked the tracing mechanism with regard to the missing persons and that the process is being carried out transparently.

“I believe that the relevant mechanism is carried out in Sri Lanka faster than any other thing being carried out in the world so far, and is at an optimal level”, he said.

Commenting further, Katulanda expressed that the Office on Missing Persons will end the preliminary investigations of the first phase regarding the missing individuals before December.

“Once the investigations of the first phase are completed, the relatives of the missing persons who are willing to obtain the missing persons’ certificates [“Certificates of absence for missing persons’ relatives”] or death certificates will be provided with the relevant certificates”, Katulanda mentioned.

He further asserted that those relatives, who are willing to obtain revival payments, will accordingly receive the relevant payments through the Office for Reparations, based on recommendations by the Office on Missing Persons.

“On the other hand, we will provide special facilities and consideration for the close relatives of the missing persons”, he said, mentioning that “as an example, some parents of the missing persons are on the waiting lists for kidney surgeries or heart surgeries at government hospitals. In such instances, we will talk to the relevant officials and provide these people with special facilities”.

“If there are children in such families with a passion to learn, we will direct them to suitable institutions in order to obtain further education or to develop their skills as to engage in some sort of self-employment”, the Chairman of the Office on Missing Persons said.

Katulanda also highlighted the mechanism of the Office on Missing Persons includes supporting the rebuilding of the economy of any family that has been broken down due to missing persons.

“The number of missing people in the country is 14,988”.

“We should also work in order to prevent such situations of enforced disappearances of people. We work for it”, he added.

“As a country, we should be glad that no incident of enforced disappearance of an individual has been reported in 05 years”, he claimed.