The Office of Missing Persons (OMP) has rejected allegations that financial allocations for families of the disappeared had been cut, stating that the Government has allocated Rs 370 million this year for operations related to missing persons, apart from annual budgetary and administrative allocations.

The clarification follows claims made by the President of the Families of the Disappeared association Brito Fernando that a previously allocated Rs 10 million fund for affected families had been discontinued.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (27), OMP Chairperson Mahesh Katulanda said that capital expenditure and salaries are provided separately through the budget, whereas the Rs 370 million allocation is specifically meant for operations concerning families of the disappeared.

He further said that the Government has appointed a separate committee to oversee compensation programmes. “The Interim Relief Allowance for Families is just a temporary allowance given for a certain period. A committee has now been appointed to determine a proper compensation amount for each family that lost a loved one,” he said.

Katulanda added that the OMP has so far followed up on 6,700 cases of disappearances reported after 2000 and that 4,700 families are currently receiving the allowance. “Every government has allowed the OMP to continue its work with adequate funding and without interference, and under the current Government too, no such cut-off of allowances has taken place,” he said.