By. Ashoka Peiris
The Batalanda Commission report, a karma that will have severe consequences in this world, the report will be forwarded to the Parliament on the black-collar killings of former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was driven by his lust for power. Recently during the interview with Mehdi Hasan telecast on 6 March on Al Jazeera, Wickremesinghe addressed several allegations including those related to the Batalanda Commission Report.
This sequence of events was discussed again, 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’s validity, stating that it was never tabled in Parliament.
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’s crackdown on the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection.
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’s Cabinet meeting, according to Minister of Health and Mass Media and Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.
Mass Media and Cabinet Spokesperson 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.” However, he refrained from specifying the precise actions the Government would take, noting that a decision would be made after the Cabinet discussion.
When asked whether Wickremesinghe’s civic rights could be revoked based on the report’s findings, he confirmed that the report’s existence was sufficient grounds for action.
Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Propaganda Secretary Duminda Nagamuwa recently criticized Wickremesinghe’s political career, saying, “During the Chandrika Kumaratunga regime, the Batalanda Commission report was protected by not bringing it to Parliament or abolishing Ranil’s civil rights.”
Even now, some government officials are taking steps to take action against the former President Kumaranatunga, who released Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was being considered a criminal, on a political contract.