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Sri Lanka to expand probe over missing people in war

Xinhua, May 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sri Lanka is to expand the investigations into those reported missing during the war, the government said on Wednesday.

A government statement said that four teams will be appointed to the Presidential Commission Investigating Cases of Missing Persons (PCICMP) to conduct investigations into future deliberations.

The Chairman of the Commission retired High Court Judge Maxwell Paranagama said the four teams will be appointed this week.

He said the appointments were in accordance with the recommendations made in an interim report which was submitted to President Maithripala Sirisena. "The necessity of appointing these groups has been highlighted in this interim report and information relating to the groups has already been given to the president,"the statement quoted Paranagama as saying.

These four teams will investigate about 16,000 complaints, according to the chairman.

The three-member commission, investigating cases of missing persons, headed by Paranagama, had been given the authority to conduct inquiries and investigations into the alleged abductions or disappearances that occurred from 1983 to 2009 and submit a report to the president.

Appointed by the former government, the commission held sittings in the North and East of the country, and recorded statements from several people who reported that their relatives were missing.

Most people were reported missing during the period of the war between Tamil Tiger rebels and the military. The rebels were defeated in May 2009 after nearly 30 years of war. Endi