A protest was staged today calling for justice over alleged atrocities in the North and South of Sri Lanka. 

Protesters were seen holding placards in front of the Fort Railway Station in Colombo. 

The protest was staged calling for justice related to the Chemmani mass graves in Jaffna and murders linked to Batalanda. (Newswire/ Image – Vikalpa)

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Opposition party members have called for Minister K.D. Lal Kantha to be investigated in matters related to the Batalanda Commission.

Addressing the media, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) trade union wing spokesman Ananda Palitha displayed a previous press conference of Minister Lal Kantha, during which the latter had made claims of murder during an armed struggle. 

Ananda Palitha said Lal Kantha and his party’s patriotism ended in the murders of 147 members of the National Services Association and ordinary citizens.

Also commenting on the Batalanda Commission Report, the General Secretary of the United National Party (UNP), Thalatha Athukorala said that the investigations must first summon Minister K.D. Lal Kantha as a witness.

Speaking during a media briefing, Thalatha Athukorala said Minister Lal Kantha has previously claimed that they have killed informants and persons, including monks, who had given evidence against them. 

“A person who has made such claims must be the first to be summoned as a witness. We know that nothing will happen through this Commission. Ranil Wickremesinghe is not in Parliament anymore. Why are they so scared of a single individual?” she questioned. 

The Batalanda Commission Report came to the spotlight after former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s controversial interview with international media, Al Jazeera recently.

Thereafter, the ‘Batalanda Commission Report’ was tabled in Parliament by the government last week.

Addressing the Parliament, the Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Rathnayake said a policy decision has been taken by the Cabinet and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to take action regarding the Batalanda Commission Report.

Minister Rathnayake further said that a decision has been taken to forward the report to the Attorney General for necessary advice and that the President will appoint a special committee to study the Batalanda Commission report.

The Batalanda Commission was established to investigate allegations of unlawful detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings at the Batalanda Housing Scheme in Sri Lanka between 1988 and 1990, during the JVP insurgency. (Newswire)

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Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has rejected the findings of the Batalanda Commission report, claiming it was politically motivated.

Making a special statement, Wickremesinghe said that the commission was established with the sole purpose of discrediting him but failed to achieve its objective.

The report only mentioned his involvement in facilitating housing for police officers during the 1988-1990 insurgency but did not implicate him in any other allegations, he said.

“I was only summoned as a witness. According to the commission’s findings, I was implicated only in the matter of providing housing for police officers, which, as per regulations, should have been done through the Inspector General of Police. The report indicates that both Nalin Delgoda and I were indirectly responsibile for this process. Apart from this, I was not implicated in any other allegations in the commission’s report,” Wickremesinghe said.

The former president further noted that the report was made available in Parliament in 2000, yet no party, including the JVP, requested a debate on it.

The full statement by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe:

In 1987, following the signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) launched a wave of terror across the country.

During this period, President J.R. Jayewardene assigned the responsibility of securing key locations in the country to Cabinet ministers. Several economically significant sites were located in the Biyagama area, including the oil refinery, diesel power plant, the substation supplying electricity from Mahaweli to Colombo, and the free trade zone. The military was deployed to safeguard these locations.

To accommodate security personnel, it was decided to provide them with abandoned buildings and houses owned by the Lanka Fertilizer Manufacturing Corporation. At the time, several employees of the Ceylon Electricity Board were residing in some of these houses.

During this period of terror, the Sapugaskanda police station was attacked, and its officer-in-charge was killed. In response, Deputy Minister of Defence Ranjan Wijeratne contacted me, requesting that the vacant houses in the complex be allocated to military and police personnel for their security. Consequently, the administrator at the time took steps to hand over the houses to Kelani Police Chief Nalin Delgoda.

Several individuals, including a provincial councilor, a cooperative society chairman, and a police sergeant, were assassinated during this period. Additionally, an attack was carried out on the residence of another provincial council member.

The government in power took steps to restore the country’s stability, rebuilding the economy and ensuring national security.

After 1994, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga appointed a commission to investigate allegations of a torture centre in the Batalanda area. Several individuals were summoned before the commission, and I was called as a witness. At that time, I was serving as the Leader of the Opposition. The establishment of the Batalanda Commission was politically motivated, but the attempt to use it for political gain was unsuccessful.

According to the commission’s findings, I was implicated only in the matter of providing housing for police officers, which, as per regulations, should have been done through the Inspector General of Police. The report indicates that both Nalin Delgoda and I were indirectly responsibile for this process.

Apart from this, I was not implicated in any other allegations in the commission’s report. The report also extensively documented the JVP’s terrorist activities between 1988 and 1990, detailing the background and listing numerous violent acts committed by the JVP in Chapter Three. The entire history of those events is included in the report.

Beyond these findings, no other accusations in the report are relevant to me, and I completely reject the report.

No one can claim that the Batalanda Commission report was hidden. It was made available as a parliamentary session record in 2000, yet no one, including the JVP, requested a debate on it. Many did not accept the report, which may explain why no steps were taken to debate it in Parliament.

It is also noteworthy that no political party that came to power has attempted to use the report for political advantage. Furthermore, there is no precedent in Sri Lanka or other parliaments for debating a session record 25 years after its publication. (Newswire)

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Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe will deliver a special statement on the Batalanda Commission Report on Sunday (16 Mar).

According to a statement from the United National Party (UNP) Office, the former President will make a special revelation regarding the facts and recommendations of the report.

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s special statement comes after Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Rathnayake tabled the ‘Batalanda Commission Report’ in Parliament today.

Addressing the Parliament, Minister Rathnayake said the report will be forwarded to the Attorney General for advice on necessary action and that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will appoint a special committee to study and make recommendations on the report.

The Batalanda Commission Report concerns the alleged human rights violations, murders and disappearances that occurred during the 1988/90 period.

Upon assuming office as President, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga established the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on September 21, 1995, to investigate these incidents.

Known as the Batalanda Commission, it was tasked with examining the illegal detention, torture, assassination and disappearances of individuals at the Batalanda Housing Scheme.

After nearly three years of gathering evidence, the commission submitted its report to President Kumaratunga in 1998, but the recommendations of the Batalanda Commission Report were never implemented.

The Batalanda Commission Report was brought to the spotlight once again, following former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent controversial interview with international media, Al Jazeera. (Newswire)

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The Batalanda Commission was established to investigate allegations of unlawful detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings at the Batalanda Housing Scheme in Sri Lanka between 1988 and 1990, during the JVP insurgency.

The Batalanda report resurfaced recently following former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s interview with Al Jazeera, where he was questioned about the torture allegations.

Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake, tabling the report in Parliament today, noted that despite its significance, the Batalanda report had never been presented in Parliament since its completion decades ago.

“As the main accused revealed during the Al Jazeera interview, it was never tabled in Parliament” he said.

Commissioned by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the inquiry focused on human rights violations in an unofficial government detention centre. The Commission, chaired by Justice D. Jayawickrama with N.E. Dissanayake, was appointed by a presidential warrant in 1995. The tenure of the Commission was extended on multiple occasions.

“A final Batalanda Commision report and relevant material was handed over to the Director of the National Archives in 1998, May 20th,” Rathanayake revealed in Parliament.

Upon instructions of President Kumaratunga, 750 printed copies of the report including Sinhala and Tamil copies had been printed, he added.

“The astounding fact is that not one of the 750 printed copies were forwarded to the Attorney General. Therefore those who called for this report not only failed to implement the recommendations, but merely used it as a political tool during elections,” Rathnayake charged.

“It is evident that the report should have been handed over to then-President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga before May 1998. However, the reason she did not forward a copy to the Attorney General was unclear at the time—but today, those reasons are clear as day,” Rathnayake said.

Minister Rathnayake said that the Cabinet and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake have decided to seek the Attorney General’s advice on the Batalanda Commission Report.

How does the Batalanda report implicate Ranil Wickremesinghe?

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was implicated in the Batalanda Commission Report due to his role in the allocation of houses at the Batalanda Housing Scheme, which were later used as detention and torture chambers.

As then Minister of Industries and Scientific Affairs, he directed the Liquidator of the State Fertilizer Manufacturing Corporation to allocate these houses to police officers, with the commission concluding that he “abused his authority” in doing so.

Additionally, House A2/2 was noted as his circuit bungalow from 1983 to 1994, with security officers occupying surrounding houses.

House B2, which Wickremesinghe reportedly used as his office, was identified by a witness as a torture chamber.

The commission found that Wickremesinghe chaired unauthorized meetings with police officers at Batalanda and gave “directions pertaining to the conduct of the Police relating to anti-subversive activity,” interfering in law enforcement operations.

Testimonies, including that of his caretaker Vincent Fernando, suggested he had knowledge of detainees being held at Batalanda, with the commission concluding that, given the proximity of these activities to his residence, he “must have known” about the torture chambers.

Furthermore, Wickremesinghe was linked to Sunil Perera also known as ‘Gonawala Sunil’, a known criminal and UNP regional leader, who had connections to violent incidents.

The commission ultimately found him “indirectly responsible for the maintenance of places of unlawful detention and torture chambers” and stated that his actions “facilitated the establishment of places of unlawful detention.” (Newswire)

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Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Sunil Watagala says the government will launch a fresh inquiry into allegations against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Speaking to reporters, Watagala said the government will take necessary steps to investigate accusations related to the Batalanda report, which was referenced in Wickremesinghe’s recent Al Jazeera interview.

He added that investigations will also be conducted into the Central Bank bond scam and the Easter Sunday attacks, both of which occurred during Wickremesinghe’s tenure as prime minister.

Watagala emphasized that the NPP government is committed to transparency and will take action on all accusations, where Wickremesinghe previously received political protection. (NewsWire)

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