District Meeting – Badulla

District Meeting – Badulla

At a meeting held on 18th May 2025 in Badulla, victims of 1987–1993 violence shared testimonies of abduction, torture, and disappearances not documented in the 1996 Presidential Commission. A collective was formed to gather district-level data and push for justice. Plans were made to present proposals to JVP’s Tilvin Silva, urging government action to ensure accountability, compassion, and justice for affected individuals.

“1996 Presidential Commission – List of Returned Detainees” mentioned 384 individuals. However, during this phase, we observed that there are thousands of other victims who were subjected to abductions and torture, yet whose names, villages or complaints were never documented.
Accordingly, following the call to Colombo, an effort was initiated to unite those who were subjected to such violence and to begin forming a collective. Through the National Committee, work commenced to gather district-level members. Over the past two to three months, we have been able to build a network and collect information about many of them.
On 18.05.2025, those who gathered at the Senerath Paranavitana Hall in Badulla shared extensive information regarding the torture, traumatic and llife-threatening experiences they endured during the 1987-1993 period, along with eyewitness accounts and locations where torture camps operated in the Baddulla district at the time.
As a result, a plan was made to discuss these matters with Comrade Tilvin Silva, the General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), and to present proposals with the intention of ensuring justice, fairness and compassion for the victims who were abducted, tortured, murdered and disappeared by the then government and their death squads during the period of 1987-1993. We aim to contribute towards initiating a governmental process in tthis regard.