The Battalanda Presidential Commission Report, which probed alleged torture during the 1988/89 period and had not been presented to Parliament since 2000, was tabled today (14).
Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Rathnayake, while presenting the report, stated that Battalanda, which had been confined to a dark chamber in the Presidential Secretariat, has now come into the light.
The commission was appointed on December 15, 1995, by then-President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and was chaired by former High Court Judge Dharmasiri Jayawickrama, with High Court Judge Nimal Edward Dissanayake serving as Commissioner. The commission submitted its report in 2000.
However, despite 25 years passing, the report had not been tabled in Parliament until now.
The topic resurfaced following a recent interview former President Ranil Wickremesinghe gave to Al Jazeera. During the interview, Wickremesinghe denied allegations regarding the Battalanda torture chambers and claimed that the Presidential Commission Report had never been presented to Parliament.
At that moment, a BBC journalist, who had the report in hand, presented it to the session and questioned why the commission’s recommendations had not been implemented.
The government has now submitted the Battalanda Commission Report to Parliament in this context.
Accordingly, the report has been referred to the Attorney General, and a Presidential Committee has been appointed to decide on future actions regarding commission reports. Minister Bimal Rathnayake informed Parliament that a two-day debate on the matter has also been scheduled.
