The ruling National People’s Power (NPP) Government’s main constituent party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna’s (JVP) involvement in the killings during the 1988-1989 insurrection is likely to be discussed during the Parliamentary debate on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Establishment and Maintenance of Places of Unlawful Detention and Torture Chambers at the Batalanda Housing Scheme.
The CoI report has considered the alleged youth killings at the Batalanda housing scheme by the Government of that period.
The CoI Report is set to be taken up for Parliamentary debate from 10 April. In light of this, several parties, particularly government critics, including Opposition political parties, are questioning whether the Government will also take steps to serve justice to those killed by JVP members during the same period.
When questioned by The Daily Morning as to whether the NPP would also push for a mechanism to serve justice for the killings attributed to the JVP, General Secretary of the NPP Parliamentarian Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe said: “We have not discussed this yet. The matter will be debated in the Parliament on 10 April, and during the debate, what we are going to do will come up.”
The 1988–1989 insurrection in Sri Lanka was a violent uprising led by the JVP against the then Government. It was alleged to be driven by growing dissatisfaction with economic hardships, political instability, and the Indo-Lanka Accord, which allowed Indian Peacekeeping Forces into the country. It was reported that the JVP launched armed attacks, assassinations, and strikes to destabilise the Government, while the State also responded with countermeasures, including the alleged operation of unofficial torture chambers in the Batalanda housing scheme. It is believed that an unofficial detention and torture centre operated there, targeting suspected members of the JVP during the Government’s crackdown on the insurgency.
The CoI report on it, which was prepared during the tenure of former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, was recently tabled in the Parliament by the NPP Government, and is to be taken up for a two-day debate from 10 April.