The ITAK (Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi) has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake protesting against an alleged move to appoint some individuals with a defence sector background to vacant posts in the Office of Reparations.
The letter signed by ITAK President CVK Sivagnanam and General Secretary MA Sumnthiram says they they have “reliably understood that four names have been recommended for appointment to the Office of Reparations recently and that two of them have security sector backgrounds. This
is in addition to the fact that the fifth member is a Major General!”
“So if Mrs. Wasantha Perera (who previously held the position of Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Defence) and Joseph Terence Gnananandan Sundaram (Ex Navy Officer) are appointed, three out of five members will be from the security sector, when not even one person should come from that sector into an office such as this,” the letter said.
It noted that the Office of Reparations is generally touted as one of the mechanisms for advancing reconciliation in Sri Lanka after the Civil War in the North and East. Reparations are said to be made to make amends for the violations by mostly the security forces of the country.
“The Tamil People have rejected any internal mechanism for accountability or reconciliation as they do not have any confidence in the impartiality of these institutions. It is in this setting that we write this
letter to point out a very serious issue concerning the above Office,” it said.
“Any person with the security sector background appointed to this position will only go to confirm what our people have been saying all these days and the callousness of the government.
The letter concluded saying “the Central Working Committee of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi which met in Vavuniya on November 5 resolved unanimously to write and urge Your Excellency not to appoint Mrs. Wasantha Perera and Joseph Terence Gnananandan Sundaram to the Office.”