The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) established a special committee yesterday to collect details of its members who had gone missing between the years, 1987-90, in the Matale District and requested the families to come forward with the information, in order to identify the perpetrators.
A team, under the leadership of a former JVP Provincial Council member, Gamagedera Dissanayake, has been appointed to liaise with the families that had lost relatives during the 87-90 uprising.
“We will be conducting house-to-house visits and making inquiries to collect details of those who had gone missing, with the aim of proving that the skeletal remains found in a mass grave in Matale, belong to our members during the uprising,” JVP Parliamentarian, Vijitha Herath, said.
The JVP called on the government to set up a special judicial court to investigate the discovery of skeletal remains in the mass grave, and said it would produce all evidence collected to prove the skeletons belong to JVP members.
The special court, it said, should investigate the crime and have all stakeholders who were holding authority at that time, interrogated.
“In the event the government sets up the Court, the evidence collected will be produced before them to strengthen the case and help them find out who is responsible for these heinous crimes,” Herath said.
He also demanded a free and fair trial, and claimed it has been proven that the skeletons belong to the JVP members, killed during the insurgency. He said, the inquiry should involve all stakeholders, including the army, police and the government that was in power at the time of the crime.
“We have called on the Ministry of Justice to set up a court to investigate, and call the Army Commander, the police and the political party that was in power at that time and to inquire and investigate the mass killings,” he said.
By Chrishanthi Christopher
CT