Tamil mother writes to Dissanayake, asking for the truth about her son, missing since 2008
Jeyakumari Balendran writes to the president, the fifth since her son was detained, asking for information on his fate. Conscripted by the LTTE, he was last seen in a picture taken when he was in a rehab camp. For 17 years, Tamil families have been seeking justice for the thousands of missing. Relatives told AsiaNews that they want an “international inquiry” right away.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – Tamil activist Jeyakumari Balendran wrote to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, asking for the truth about her son, Mahendan Balendran, who went missing in the final stages of the country’s civil war, in 2008, when he was 15 years old.
Since then, Jeyakumari has never stopped fighting for the thousands of Tamil people who disappeared while in military custody in Sri Lanka. Her son, who was conscripted by the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was last pictured at a Ambepussa military camp destined for rehabilitation.
“You are the fifth president of Sri Lanka since my son Mahendan Balendran disappeared,” she writes. “We believe that as the current president, you, as a leader who understands the struggles of the common people, will pay attention to our cries and tears.”
In her letter, the activist makes three requests to the president, the first one is to be heard. Many people have died without knowing the truth, struggling for 17 years in search of their missing relatives. Many passed away without a trace of their children and husbands, without any justice.
On behalf of her missing son, Jeyakumari asks the president to receive her and her daughter for a personal meeting, and help her obtain information on the Ambepussa rehabilitation camp, run by the Ministry of Justice in 2009, where her son went missing. This is the second request.
In her third request, the activist asks: “Provide me with updated information regarding the complaints and communications made to the police and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry."
Jeyakumari Balendran, who lost two other sons in the war, still has hopes in the current president.
“I am writing this letter to you in the sincere hope that you will pay attention to finding information about my son and seek justice for the injustice I have faced over the past 15 years. I hope you will respond positively to that,” the letter reads.
Since then, she has been searching for her son, but has received “no answer”. Because of her activism, she was also arrested in 2014 with her daughter Vipoosika.
The secretary of the Vavuniya Families of the Disappeared Association, Gopalakrishnan Rajkumar, said that in 17 years they have talked about their missing relatives with national and international officials, but always in vain, without obtaining any solution.
“Up to now, 19 parents who were in this front line searching their loved ones have died without knowing what happened to their children and husbands," Gopalkrishnan told AsiaNews. “I wonder when we will find a solution to our problem. We are fed up with telling our stories to everyone, every time.”
The group also called on the president to “take the necessary steps immediately for an International Inquiry,” he added. “We only believe that an inquiry into our long years of struggle can do justice to our missing loved ones.”
This effort is meant to prevent the memory of the missing from being erased. “Many might say to forget about this search, but we cannot forget our loved ones who disappeared. We want to know what happened to them.”
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15/11/2019 18:11
