Tamil families of the disappeared protest Sri Lankan justice minister's visit to Jaffna

Tamil families of the disappeared protested against Sri Lanka's justice minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe's visit to Jaffna earlier today. 

“No OMP needed! We need justice, not compensation” the families chanted as they called on the minister to leave the town. 

The families gathered outside the Jaffna District Secretariat office before moving into the main hall despite being pushed back by Sri Lankan police.

The minister was participating in the justice ministry’s mobile service in the town.   

The Tamil families were protesting his visit as his department has failed to provide justice to those who have been searching for their forcibly disappeared relatives. 

The families later moved their protest outside the Office of Missing Persons in Jaffna where Rajapakshe was expected to visit but he failed to turn up.

Last week, Mahesh Katundala, the OMP chairman said that a genocide of Tamils did not take place and instead claimed the military had “rescued 60,000 civilians” during a 2009 offensive that was littered with massacres. Tamil families have repeatedly reiterated their lack of confidence in domestic mechanisms such as the OMP, as they have failed to produce any tangible results since the office was established in 2017.