Despite widespread criticism over Sri Lanka's historic lack of judicial process over state crimes committed against the Tamil people, the prime minister on THursday defended the country's legal system, stating that any prosecutions to emerge from the Office of Missing Persons would occur under the present laws.
Stating that "the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) will lead to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission," Mr Wickremesinghe was quoted by the Daily Mirror as saying, "truth should not lead to retribution. We should put the past behind us. We have a future ahead."
“If there is to be prosecution we can do it under our law. We had a system which was trusted. We had cases. The rapes in Jaffna, Kokodichcholai and a few other places. No one complained. Some were acquitted, some were convicted. There were no complaints about the trials. Our systems were not functioning. But now that they are functioning we should not be afraid. Let’s try and strengthen them. Let’s take steps to rectify situations. I am not saying you should conduct a witch-hunt where some young army officers may be tried,” he added.
"There may be a few cases against some who are dead. There can’t be many. A large number of people were killed. So we are opening this missing person’s office."