The Hon. (Dr.) Nihal Abeysinghe

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, today’s debate is on the Report into the unlawful detention places and torture chambers at the Batalanda Housing Scheme. However, the Opposition has strayed widely. Batalanda was not the only site; many such places existed. Our Government has been in office for only four months. We will, in due course, address crimes committed anywhere—North, South or East—and bring those responsible before the law.

¶ 02 These events did not arise in a vacuum. Responsibility for the 1988-89 terror period lies with the then Government elected in 1977—the UNP administration—which, intoxicated by power after securing a five-sixths majority, suppressed labour struggles, enabled “goon” violence, extended Parliament by referendum, imposed neoliberal policies, undermined public services and altered constitutional norms. Within this context, Batalanda is one among many sites tied to Gampaha, Biyagama, Sapugaskanda, and the roles of named officials and victims whose families still live with the pain.

¶ 03 The Report traces how the JVP, after release of its leaders in 1977, re-entered democratic politics—seeking party registration, contesting Development Council elections in 1981, organizing student movements, and even fielding Rohana Wijeweera in the 1982 Presidential Election, gaining 4.19 per cent. Alarmed, President J.R. Jayewardene extended Parliament via referendum in December 1982. Despite the July 1983 ban on the JVP, NSSP and Communist Party, Wijeweera wrote in October 1983 seeking the lifting of the ban, denying involvement in the riots—the same point recorded in this Report, including that Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed in evidence that there was no proof the JVP or NSSP were responsible for July 1983 violence.

¶ 04 Post-Indo-Lanka Accord in July 1987, widespread protests arose; parts of the police became inactive, as noted in testimonies of senior officers like Nalin Delgoda and Merril Gunaratne. The Government then adopted measures that escalated conflict dynamics; “counter-subversive” units, abductions and enforced disappearances increased. The Report notes that opposition activists beyond the JVP were also targeted under the guise of suppressing subversion, with MPs repeatedly questioning abductions in Parliament.

¶ 05 Our duty is to expose these crimes and identify the real perpetrators, then ensure legal accountability. I myself narrowly escaped abduction in October 1989 when men in a white van with an “STF” identity attempted to seize me at my quarters at the Anuradhapura General Hospital; only neighbours’ intervention saved me. For 35 years, that memory endured. Now, with a people’s mandate for justice and rule of law, we will pursue all lawful measures to hold perpetrators to account.

¶ 06 Thank you.