During the sittings of Office on Missing Persons (OMP) held in the Ampara District from Monday (28 November) until Wednesday (30 November), 80% of the families that have applied for compensation are mostly women-headed families looking for financial support.
An official from the OMP told The Morning on 30 November that while 160 cases were invited to testify before the Office, 151 had made submissions. Around 42 cases out of the 151 are of former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres who went missing during the war and families who have been looking for their whereabouts, the official said.
“Some families have now identified through others who saw the dead bodies that their missing family members had died during war. Therefore, such families which are mostly women-headed have obtained death certificates already, and have recently applied for compensation to obtain financial support,” the official said.
Around four cases were of child soldiers who were forcibly taken by the LTTE and thereby went missing when they were of the ages of 15 or 16 years, the official said.
The official also noted that most of these families are women-headed and are facing financial difficulties due to unemployment. Thus they are in need of empowerment.
“They have lost their breadwinners and are facing financial challenges in managing their needs. They are in need of livelihood support and empowerment,” the official added.
The OMP is conducting sittings in Kilinochchi since yesterday (1) and will go on till tomorrow (3).
Meanwhile, noting that most of the cases referred for compensation in cases related to missing persons are from the Eastern Province, sources from the OMP stated on 24 November that families have consented to reparation due to the current economic crisis. An official from the OMP earlier told The Morning that so far, 411 cases were referred to the Office for Reparations to pay compensation, among which 241 cases were considered ready to obtain the payment, while some 73 cases were compensated recently.
“The highest number of cases referred for compensation to the Office for Reparations are mainly from the Eastern Province,” the official added.
The official also said that so far, the OMP had concluded inquiries into 1,653 cases.
Source: The Sunday Morning