{"id":148385,"date":"2025-03-08T15:14:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T22:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=148385"},"modified":"2025-03-08T15:14:34","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T22:14:34","slug":"batalanda-commission-report-cabinet-to-rule-on-ex-prez-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/03\/08\/batalanda-commission-report-cabinet-to-rule-on-ex-prez-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Batalanda Commission Report: Cabinet to rule on ex-Prez this week."},"content":{"rendered":"

By Faizer Shaheid Courtesy The Morning<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"Batalanda<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Report resurfaces after 25 years<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • RW\u2019s involvement a \u2018common truth\u2019: Jayatissa<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • CBK shielded RW from Batalanda fallout: Nagamuwa<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Calls to revoke RW\u2019s civic rights<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    After 25 years since its compilation, the Government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to discuss the controversial Batalanda Commission Report, a long-contested document detailing human rights abuses and alleged political involvement in torture and extrajudicial killings during the late 1980s and early 1990s, at this week\u2019s Cabinet meeting, according to Minister of Health and Mass Media and Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The report, which implicates former President and United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in the abuses at the Batalanda Housing Scheme, has resurfaced in public discourse following a recent interview with Al Jazeera<\/em> and political developments calling for his accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When contacted by The Sunday Morning<\/em>, Dr. Jayatissa acknowledged the allegations against Wickremesinghe, stating: We all know that Wickremesinghe was involved in the Batalanda case, so it is a common truth. We cannot deny the allegation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, he refrained from specifying the precise actions the Government would take, noting that a decision would be made after the Cabinet discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When asked whether Wickremesinghe\u2019s civic rights could be revoked based on the report\u2019s findings, he confirmed that the report\u2019s existence was sufficient grounds for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    During the interview with Mehdi Hasan telecast on 6 March on Al Jazeera<\/em>, Wickremesinghe addressed several allegations including those related to the Batalanda Commission Report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When confronted about a Government report naming him as a key figure in illegal detention and torture at Batalanda in the 1980s, he denied the allegations and questioned the report\u2019s validity, stating that it was never tabled in Parliament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wickremesinghe emphasised that the accusations were unfounded, reiterating his stance that he had no involvement in the alleged activities at Batalanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Batalanda Commission, established in 1994 by then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, investigated allegations of torture, illegal detentions, and extrajudicial killings at the Batalanda Housing Scheme, which was used as a detention and interrogation centre during the Government\u2019s crackdown on the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The commission\u2019s report, submitted in 1997, implicated security forces and political figures, including Wickremesinghe, who was then a senior Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The report alleged that he had knowledge of the activities at Batalanda and had visited the site, although it did not conclusively prove his direct involvement in the abuses. It recommended legal action against those responsible, including revoking civic rights and filing cases in court, but these recommendations were never implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The report\u2019s findings have remained a contentious issue, with critics accusing Kumaratunga of protecting Wickremesinghe by not tabling the report in Parliament or pursuing its recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Propaganda Secretary Duminda Nagamuwa recently highlighted this in a scathing critique of Wickremesinghe\u2019s political career. Kumaratunga protected Wickremesinghe by concealing the Batalanda Commission Report without bringing it to Parliament or revoking his civic rights,\u201d he stated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Nagamuwa also accused Wickremesinghe of manipulating the legal system during his tenure, citing the withdrawal of cases against political allies as evidence of his influence over the Attorney General\u2019s (AG) Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He further stressed the need for accountability, urging the current Government, which includes members of the JVP, to act on the report\u2019s recommendations. There is no need for a gazette or new legislation. Simply enforce the report, present it in Parliament, revoke Wickremesinghe\u2019s civic rights, and file a case,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Faizer Shaheid Courtesy The Morning After 25 years since its compilation, the Government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to discuss the controversial Batalanda Commission Report, a long-contested document detailing human rights abuses and alleged political involvement in torture and extrajudicial killings during the late 1980s and early 1990s, at this week\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148385\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}