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OMP holds first consultation with families of missing people in Mannar
View(s):The Commissioners of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) yesterday held its first regional consultations in Mannar with relatives of missing persons. More than 250 families of disappeared persons along with civil society representatives pointed out the need for justice for those who disappeared or were abducted. The consultation took place while thousands of families of missing persons have been holding protests in various parts in the north.
All seven Commissioners of OMP were present at the meeting yesterday and they told the families that this was a major step in the process to search for missing and disappeared persons. However, some family members held a protest outside the meeting hall saying that they felt that the OMP lacked teeth to investigate and ascertain the truth.
OMP Chairman Saliya Peiris, PC assured to the families that the OMP office would use its powers to the maximum in order to find the truth about what happened to their loved ones. The OMP hopes to conduct consultations with families of missing and disappeared persons, activists, professionals and civil society members in Matara, Trincomalee, Mullaitivu, Kandy, Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Batticaloa and Ampara in the coming weeks.