Relatives of the persons who had disappeared during the years of the war have requested the government to revoke the decision to issue death certificated and pay compensation for the missing persons.

They have stated this to the Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints regarding Missing Persons when it had called for witnesses at Mulankavil Maha Vidyalaya in Kilinochchi on Saturday. The Commission convened at Mulankavil on Saturday and today and will convene at Poonakary Divisional Secretariat on September 29 and 30. It is scheduled to call witnesses on 250 missing persons in the region.

The government had decided to issue death certificates for the missing persons based on the recommendations of the Commission. However the majority of the relatives have expressed their opposition to this mechanism. Asian Mirror reporter inquired about the next step the Commission will be taking, given the opposition of the relatives. The Secretary of the Commission H.W. Gunadasa said that the Commission will be recalling their witnesses and then recommending the government to look into their needs when taking a decision.

Meanwhile, those who are willing to obtain death certificates and compensation will be able to do so through the Divisional Secretaries.

Most of the relatives of missing persons who had arrived to give evidence said that they cannot be sure of the responsible parties for the disappearances of their loved ones. Many of them believe that either the LTTE or the armed forces may have been involved even though they are unable to pinpoint to a certain party.

(Dinasena Rathugamage-Vavuniya)