The Office of Missing Persons (OMP) bill was passed in the Parliament with amendments a short while ago, reporters says. Parliament proceedings were also suspended this morning due to a tense situation which had prevailed as a result of a protest staged by a group of Joint Opposition members wearing black headbands against the bill.
The Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration and Discharge of Functions) Bill was passed in the Parliament without a vote.
Parliament discussion on Office for Missing Persons
The bill on Office for Missing Persons will discuss on Parliament today (11th Aug).
The move by the Government to establish an Office for Missing Persons (OMP) is clearly one of the outcomes of the UNHRC Resolution that requires Sri Lanka to hold an investigation into allegations of violations of International Humanitarian Law during the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) back in 2009.
The government, yesterday (10th Aug), decided to advance the date of enactment of the Office of Missing Persons Bill in Parliament to Friday (12th Aug), it is learnt. Earlier it had been scheduled for debate during the third week of August. However, the government decided to have the debate today and vote tomorrow (11th Aug) on its enactment.
The government advanced the date because the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill which was listed for these two days lapsed following a court ruling.
The Joint Opposition said it would vote against the Bill. Its parliamentary group leader Dinesh Gunawardane said he needed more time to study the Bill because it contained dangerous provisions.
Meanwhile, the Sectoral Oversight Committee on the subject has proposed two amendments to the Bill.
