After 25 years since its compilation, the Government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to discuss the controversial Batalanda Commission Report, a long-contested document detailing human rights abuses and alleged political involvement in torture and extrajudicial killings during the late 1980s and early 1990s, at this week’s Cabinet meeting, according to Minister of Health and Mass Media and Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.

The report, which implicates former President and United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in the abuses at the Batalanda Housing Scheme, has resurfaced in public discourse following a recent interview with Al Jazeera and political developments calling for his accountability.

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Dr. Jayatissa acknowledged the allegations against Wickremesinghe, stating: “We all know that Wickremesinghe was involved in the Batalanda case, so it is a common truth. We cannot deny the allegation.”

However, he refrained from specifying the precise actions the Government would take, noting that a decision would be made after the Cabinet discussion.

When asked whether Wickremesinghe’s civic rights could be revoked based on the report’s findings, he confirmed that the report’s existence was sufficient grounds for action.

During the interview with Mehdi Hasan telecast on 6 March on Al Jazeera, Wickremesinghe addressed several allegations including those related to the Batalanda Commission Report.

When confronted about a Government report naming him as a key figure in illegal detention and torture at Batalanda in the 1980s, he denied the allegations and questioned the report’s validity, stating that it was never tabled in Parliament.

Wickremesinghe emphasised that the accusations were unfounded, reiterating his stance that he had no involvement in the alleged activities at Batalanda.

The Batalanda Commission, established in 1994 by then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, investigated allegations of torture, illegal detentions, and extrajudicial killings at the Batalanda Housing Scheme, which was used as a detention and interrogation centre during the Government’s crackdown on the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection.

The commission’s report, submitted in 1997, implicated security forces and political figures, including Wickremesinghe, who was then a senior Minister.

The report alleged that he had knowledge of the activities at Batalanda and had visited the site, although it did not conclusively prove his direct involvement in the abuses. It recommended legal action against those responsible, including revoking civic rights and filing cases in court, but these recommendations were never implemented.

The report’s findings have remained a contentious issue, with critics accusing Kumaratunga of protecting Wickremesinghe by not tabling the report in Parliament or pursuing its recommendations.

Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Propaganda Secretary Duminda Nagamuwa recently highlighted this in a scathing critique of Wickremesinghe’s political career. “Kumaratunga protected Wickremesinghe by concealing the Batalanda Commission Report without bringing it to Parliament or revoking his civic rights,” he stated.

Nagamuwa also accused Wickremesinghe of manipulating the legal system during his tenure, citing the withdrawal of cases against political allies as evidence of his influence over the Attorney General’s (AG) Department.

He further stressed the need for accountability, urging the current Government, which includes members of the JVP, to act on the report’s recommendations. “There is no need for a gazette or new legislation. Simply enforce the report, present it in Parliament, revoke Wickremesinghe’s civic rights, and file a case,” he said.

The one who claimed to have a licence to ride Ferrari vehicles has met with a road accident, Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayke told Parliament today reffering to the issue between former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Al Jazeera.

“The one who claimed to have license to ride Ferrari vehicles has been knocked down by Al Jazeera. He seemed to have gone out of his mind and is uttering various things,” the Minister said.

The National People’s Power (NPP) is fully prepared for the upcoming local government elections, according to Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe.

Speaking to reporters, Jayasinghe addressed the current political climate, stating, “The people of this country made a significant decision in September and November of 2024 for social transformation. We believe that the people will continue to move forward in the upcoming local government elections. Regardless of any alliances formed, it will not be an issue for us.”

When asked if the NPP could replicate its success from the presidential and parliamentary elections, Jayasinghe confidently responded, “We believe we will achieve an even greater victory in this election.”

Regarding the party’s campaign slogan, Jayasinghe stated, “We have not yet finalized our theme, but we need the power of the village. We know that local government institutions are crucial for many daily activities from birth to death. If these institutions operate efficiently, free from corruption and irregularities, the people will be able to fulfill their needs through their local government institutions. Just as the people entrusted us with the presidency and parliament, we believe they will also entrust us with local government institutions to provide better services.”

Sri Lanka Police are in search of their own chief who has been evading arrest after a court order and , the Police Spokesman said, amid a legal battle on the apex post in the island nation.

The Magistrate’s Court in Sri Lanka’s Southern district of Matara issued an order for the arrest of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon over a 2023 shooting incident.

However, Tennakoon who is still the official police chief, has gone missing and yet to be arrested despite the efforts of his own subordinates.

We have deployed several police teams to search him and we have searched places where he usually stays. But he has gone hiding without adhering to the law,” Police Spokesman Buddhika Manatunga told reporters on Thursday (06).

“As Sri Lanka police, there is a process to follow when you arrest a suspect who has not abided by the law or court order. Accordingly, we have been checking his phone records and places he could be possibly staying. We are also treating him similar to a normal suspect.”

“There are no special privileges as the IGP. There is a court order against him. If somebody has been helping him to hide, we will take actions against that person as well. Also if there is any information related to this, you can inform our criminal investigation department.”

Manatunga said the Police investigation considers Tennakoon as a usual suspect evading arrest after the court order and the latest information show that he has not left the country.

The Supreme Court in July last year issued an interim order restraining Tennakoon from functioning as the IGP after nine Fundamental Rights Applications challenged his appointment as the police chief.

Tennakoon, is born the 36th IGP of Sri Lanka with a 26-year police career. In November 2023, he was appointed Acting IGP and subsequently confirmed as the permanent IGP on February 26, 2024. But his appointment was marred by controversy due to a prior Supreme Court ruling that found him guilty of torturing a suspect in 2010.

He still remains as the official IGP as he has neither resigned nor been removed from his post amid the court case over challenging his appointment.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka continues to withhold the publication of its report on the seven-years-old violence unleashed by state-sponsored Sinhala Buddhist mobs targeting Muslims in the tourist city of Kandy and its suburbs.

At least twice last year, senior officials of the Commission had told victims and the media that the findings of its investigation would be published ‘within the next few months’.

Continuing failure to deliver

Following the release of the documentary “Six Years since Digana Anti-Muslim Riots: Whither Justice?” in July last year, based on credible accounts exposing complicity of state-sponsored political thugs and security forces in the violence unleashed against Muslims in the up-country, Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), Dr. Gehan Gunatilleke had told the media that the relevant report would be published within the next few months.

However, in December, in response to a written query by M.I.M. Musadiq, a journalist from the area, the Commission said that it would work towards publishing the report in January 2025.

Evidence concealed for seven years

Following the violence unleashed against Muslims in Kandy and suburbs, a high-level investigative team headed by the then Chairperson of the Commission, Dr. Deepika Udagama, summoned diverse parties, including affected Muslims, to the Kandy Postal Complex auditorium to obtain evidence, pledging to deliver justice to victims.

The public including Muslim victims, emphasizes that written, oral, photographic and video evidence was provided to the commission about gangs that physically and mentally abused the Muslim community in the area, burned down properties, and the security forces, including the Police Special Task Force (STF), who provided protection and cover to those gangs.

During the tenure of Dr. Deepika Udagama, the commission told the media on several occasions that the investigation report would be published “in the future”.

After Professor Udagamage, retired Judge Rohini Marasinghe became the Chairperson of the Commission and no specific explanation was given during her two-year tenure regarding the delay in making the relevant investigation report public.

The Commission had failed to publish the report under the current Chairperson, retired Supreme Court Judge L.T.B. Dehideniya, despite multiple pledges.

Rights that enjoyed by others, but denied for Muslims

Senior officials of the commission have cited various reasons, most of which were technical, for the delay in publishing the HRCSL report no Kandy anti-Muslim violence.

The main ones were corrections, publishing it in three languages simultaneously, and the review of the report by successive chairpersons and the board of commissioners.

However, over the past seven years, HRCSL has published several reports. Most of them were based on case studies and field investigations.

But surprisingly, technical and administrative issues that did not affect any of those reports seem to have hindered the investigation report on the violence unleashed on Muslims.

Cover up to protect security forces and high-level political connections?

Later, the Parliament was also provided evidence that the violence of several days in March 2018 was carried out under the protection of the Police Special Task Force by politically sponsored thugs, Sinhala extremist outfits including Mahason Force, and groups called in from outside.

It has also been documented in Parliamentary Committee reports that the police and security forces did not play an effective role in suppressing the violence.

The report of the Parliamentary Special Committee of Experts, “To Ensure National and Religious Coexistence in Sri Lanka” established in 2019 under the chairmanship of former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, states the following regarding anti-Muslim violence:

“The Police Department has shown inexcusable delays in enforcing the law in relation to the recent incidents in the Kalutara, Galle, Ampara and Kandy districts, as well as the Attorney General’s Department has failed to prosecute those responsible for the violence.”

Top posts for those who led the mob

The Senior Deputy Inspector General in charge of the central province, S.M. Wickremesinghe, who was accused of having prior knowledge about the violence and protecting perpetrators, was later appointed as the Ombudsman to investigate public complaints and grievances.

Later, he was also appointed as a member of the “Presidential Commission to Investigate All Forms of Property Damage and Loss of Life, Including Arson, Robbery, and Murders in the Island” by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa between March 31, 2022 and May 15 of the same year.

This appointment took place at a time when the individuals who led the Kandy anti-Muslim attack and the Buddhist monks themselves were publicly claiming the DIG’s involvement in the attack.

Watch the documentary from a year ago about the unpublished report of the HRCSL investigation into the Digana attack here.