by Melani Manel Perera

Since the '80s tens of thousands of disappearances related to the long civil war that " have never been clarified", amid government inaction. The commemoration was held at the monument site at the junction of Raddoluwa in the city of Seeduwa. The 20th year the celebration has been held.

Raddoluwa (AsiaNews) - Yesterday the 20th anniversary of the "disappeared" was held at the junction of Raddoluwa (Seeduwa, Western Province), organized by the movement Families of the disappeared. Hundreds of relatives of missing persons in Sri Lanka, from the north and eastern provinces, gathered at the monument in memory of their sons, husbands and children. The memorial - a sculpture of a human figure - was erected in 2000. Behind the statue, there is a wall where the families of "disappeared" put flowers under the photos of their loved ones.

There were three blessings - Buddhist, Catholic and Muslim. Fr. Fernadopulle Revel, who presided over the Catholic service, prayed to God to give to the families of these people the courage to endure the agony of the absence of their loved ones.

Fernando Brito, president of Families of the disappeared movement, recalled that when the current President Mahinda Rajapaksa was in opposition, he strongly condemned these cases as a terrible crime, and was personally involved in organizations that deal with this. But once elected, "nothing has changed, and these brutal disappearances have also taken place under his government." Brito also recalls that, in recent times, in the north, a group of Catholic priests could not celebrate religious services in honour of relatives who "disappeared", by government "request". During the commemoration, he posed the question: "So who is this society? Today they attack students at universities, and we must stand with our eyes and ears closed pretending not to see. Our society is battered by injustices and disappearances now asks us to stand up for the oppressed and the disappeared. So I ask you all to hold hands and work together to achieve the just society we all long for".

A young Tamil mother came from the northern province to participate in the rally: "We searched for our daughter everywhere, but we have only tears and sorrow." During the commemoration, she showed everyone pictures of herdaughter, asking to be informed if someone had recognized the girl. Fr. Praveen Mahesen, director of the Center for Peace and Reconciliation, accompanied many Tamil mothers and wives: "It is very difficult to teach peace without justice. The Sinhalese people must give voice to the Tamil people, and vice versa, to develop a relationship between them. I think people have the right to ask where their loved ones are gone. " Since the '80s in Sri Lanka, there have been tens of thousands of disappearances. The indifference of the authorities in investigating cases of missing persons is due to the fact that often security forces and other armed groups are involved. Many people have disappeared due to reprisals as a result of attacks by Tamil Tiger rebels against the military, during the long separatist war on the island.

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