The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) said that the number of complaints filed by citizens in the North and the East regarding the enforced disappearance of their loved ones stands at nearly 6,850 since the year 2000. The Office said that transparency in resolving cases has been proven to be higher, and that the number of people approaching the OMP has increased over the past two years.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (1 April), the Chairperson of the OMP, Mahesh Katulanda said that 12,578 number of complaints have been received by the OMP from citizens from the North and the East, and noted that 6,850 cases have been received after 2000 and 5,728 cases have been received before 2000. He added that together with the cases from the South also, there are 16,988 cases of civilians and 3,742 soldiers that have been missing in action that have been lodged with the OMP.

"The transparency of these cases is always secured and within the past two years, we have been seeing more people tending to come to complain to us," he said. "Overall, there are 20,730 cases in the active category," he added. According to him, out of these cases, 6,700 families have already met the OMP officers and 4,676 families have already received the revival payment. The revival payment is a monetary grant provided to families of missing or disappeared persons as a temporary financial measure intended to support the families while they await final reparations.

Activists, journalists, and international organisations have repeatedly questioned the transparency of procedures carried out by domestic institutions including the OMP, regarding cases of enforced disappearances, pointing to what they describe as 'a conflict of interest' given the involvement of military and top Government officials in the alleged disappearances. The OMP, however, rejects any interference from the State in its ongoing operations.