Colombo, Oct 29: A probe by the country's human rights watchdog into the disappearance of over 300 people in northern Sri Lanka has identified 44 military officers who were allegedly responsible for excesses, a member of the panel said. The panel appointed by Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission, which probed 327 cases of disappearance between 1990 and 1998 said they gave the names of the 44 men to Army chief Lionel Balagalle.
Panel member M C M Iqbal said they were also faulting the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), especially for the treatment of Muslims.
The committee was unable to trace a single victim, but found alleged perpetrators were unable to remember anything.
"We have faulted the police and armed forces for institutional racism, we fault the LTTE too on this account for specially targeting Muslim leaders for arrest," the committee's report said. Iqbal said their mandate was to look in to cases of disappearances that had not been covered by commissions appointed earlier.
"Our inquiry was aimed at giving an opportunity to relatives who had no access to previous commissions," Iqbal said adding that a 275-page report was given to Army chief Lionel Balagalle yesterday. Bureau Report