Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) would investigate the 1983 Black July violence more effectively than a Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI), as TELO Leader and Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA) Vanni District MP Selvam Adaikalanathan urged the appointment of Presidential Commission in a private member’s motion debated in Parliament yesterday (09).
Nanayakkara said that a PSC, with the participation of elected representatives, would help Parliament reach superior decisions.
He said it would also be instrumental in fostering truth and reconciliation.
He added that no one in the country is a minority, and that labelling people as minorities on the basis of ethnicity or birth runs counter to the principles of humanity.
Call for a Presidential Commission
TELO Leader MP Adaikalanathan moved the motion urging the government to appoint a PCoI to establish the truth about the ethnic violence of Black July.
He asked that the commission assess the resulting damage and formulate recommendations to prevent any recurrence.
Four decades without answers
The motion states that more than 40 years have passed since the events, yet those who orchestrated the violence have not been identified.
It says no comprehensive or independent inquiry has been held into the human rights violations and property damage that occurred.
It further says the clashes, violence and mass killings of 1983, including those at the Welikada Prison, have left deep scars on national unity, the social fabric and the economy.
According to the motion, thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands were displaced and became refugees, while homes, business establishments and other valuable assets were destroyed by arson.