Missing Persons Commission to hold next public sittings in Trincomalee District

The Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons will conduct its next public sittings to hear cases of missing in Trincomalee District in the East. The Commission's public sittings in Trincomalee District will be held from 28th February to 3rd March 2015. Since the establishment of the Commission on 15th August 2013 by the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Commission to date has received in excess of 20,106 complaints inclusive of approximately 5000 complaints from relatives of missing security forces personnel. The Commission previously held Public Sittings during the months from January to December 2014 in Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya. During these sittings, the Commission has heard oral evidence of 1440 complainants. The recorded evidences of these complainants are being analyzed for further investigations through an independent investigative team. The Commission during the public sittings held so far had registered 3,841new complaints. The Commission says it has held regular meetings with the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has obtained their views and experiences gained in other parts of the world particularly on matters relating to missing persons at the end of a conflict. The Commission has been mandated to inquire and submit a report to the President on the complaints.