{"id":47804,"date":"2016-08-26T01:11:47","date_gmt":"2016-08-26T05:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=47804"},"modified":"2016-08-26T02:42:30","modified_gmt":"2016-08-26T06:42:30","slug":"white-vanning-culture-and-the-lucrative-industry-of-abducting-tamils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=47804","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;White \u2013Vanning Culture&#8221; and the  Lucrative Industry of Abducting  Tamils for Ransom"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fb-like\" data-href=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/archives\/47804\" data-layout=\"button_count\" data-action=\"like\" data-show-faces=\"true\" data-share=\"true\"><\/div>\n<p><b>By<br \/>\nD.B.S.Jeyaraj<\/b><\/p>\n<p>August 11th 2016 was a day of well-deserved pride for the people of Sri Lanka. The Island nation\u2019s parliament  on that day passed legislation to set up an office of missing persons(OMP) in the country. Sri Lanka\u2019s Foreign Affairs minister Mangala Samaraweera hailed the passage of the OMP bill as \u201chistoric\u201d. Addressing a press briefing soon after the Bill had been ratified, Minister Samaraweera said the new law would give relief to the loved ones of thousands from the north and south of the country who had disappeared. &#8220;This is the first step towards rectifying the mistakes during the past 68 years,&#8221;  said Samaraweera<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_47803\" style=\"width: 296px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47803\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/image-8.jpg\" alt=\"President Mahinda Rajapaksa &amp; Foreign Affairs minister Mangala Samaraweera\" width=\"286\" height=\"144\" class=\"size-full wp-image-47803\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-47803\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Mahinda Rajapaksa &#038; Foreign Affairs minister Mangala Samaraweera<\/p><\/div>\n<p>who has a long history of championing the cause of persons made to go missing through enforced disappearances.<\/p>\n<p>In a public statement issued in early August the Foreign Minister explained  basic details about  the envisaged Office of Missing Persons bill.Samaraweera in that statement said \u2013 \u201cThe Bill outlines four main functions for the OMP: (i) searching and tracing of missing persons, (ii) clarifying the circumstances in which such persons went missing and their fate, (iii) making recommendations to relevant authorities in order to reduce incident of missing and disappeared persons, (iv) identifying proper avenues of redress. As such, it is not a law-enforcement or judicial agency but a truth-seeking investigative agency\u201d.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/529969920\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:65.656566% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/529969920?et=41QOtGKRQmVdNhwJJUw5XA&#038;viewMoreLink=on&#038;sig=62kHVtsmaQ2IX7phuhStYrlW7pzNHCyzvYRMV-tpsCE=&#038;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"390\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin:0;\">\n<\/div>\n<p><em>Sri Lankan activists of the &#8216;Dead and Missing Person&#8217;s Parents&#8217; organisation hold placards as they take part in a demonstration outside the United Nations offices in Colombo on May 10, 2016.<\/em><br \/>\n <!--more--><br \/>\nForeign minister Mangala Samaraweera went on to say \u2013 \u201cThe Office of Missing Persons is truth-seeking investigative agency. It does not make judgements on disputes. In fact, the legislation states that \u201cthe findings of the OMP shall not give rise to any criminal or civil liability.\u201d Its primary function is to establish whether a missing persons is dead or alive and, if they are dead, discover when, how and where they died\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The phenomenon of enforced disappearances is a huge problem that has plagued Sri Lanka for many years. Thanks to the advent of the Sirisena \u2013 Wickremesinghe Govt last year the \u201cwhite vanning culture\u201d has virtually ceased in recent times. However there was a time when  Sri Lanka enjoyed  the dubious  distinction of being second only to Iraq in the case of disappearances. The well \u2013known Human Rights Organization \u201cHuman Rights watch\u201d observed thus in a statement \u2013<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTens of thousands of people were forcibly disappeared in Sri Lanka since the 1980s, including during the last months of the war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009&#8230;&#8230; The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances ranks Sri Lanka as the country with the second highest number of disappearances in the history of its tenure. Most of those reported disappeared during the three-decade long conflict between government forces and the LTTE are ethnic Tamils. A short-lived but violent insurgency with a majority Sinhala militant group in the country\u2019s south in the late 1980s also led to many enforced disappearances and other abuses by both sides. Various commissions of inquiry established by successive Sri Lankan governments in response to pressure from victims\u2019 groups and others have produced reports that have largely remained unpublished and have not resulted in criminal prosecutions of those responsible\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><b>Office of Missing Persons<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Despite the aura of hope and optimism exuded by Foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera ,  it is too early to speculate on how the Office of Missing Persons would function in the future and how it would tackle the prickly issue of missing persons and  disappearances. The undue hurry and controversial manner in which the bill was passed without a vote being taken and the obstructionist tactics displayed by Parliamentarians loyal to Mahinda Rajapaksa give rise to perplexing doubts about the future. An important point to note is that many of the disappearances formed part of the perceived  counter \u2013 insurgency strategy adopted to combat the LTTE. Nevertheless the passage of the bill to set up an office of missing persons is by itself an accomplishment. More importantly it signifies that the Sri Lankan nation  has shed its customary denial mode and  realistically acknowledged the existence of the missing persons\/disappearances problem.<\/p>\n<p>The  issue of enforced disappearances  was  but one in a long list of problems  affecting the Tamil people of Sri Lanka  during the war. People suddenly disappeared or went  missing . Many were abducted by unknown groups travelling in white vans. This led to the usage of the phrase \u201cWhite \u2013vanning\u201d.There have been some incidents where Muslims and Sinhala people  also  went \u201cmissing\u201d during the conflict but the overwhelming cases of \u201cMissing\u201d or \u201cDisappearances\u201d pertained  to the Tamil people alone. Though these incidents  of people going missing were  loosely called \u201cdisappearances\u201d they were  in reality  \u201cinvoluntary disappearances\u201d or \u201cenforced disappearances\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The issue of disappearances  has been a recurring phenomenon in  Sri Lanka. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurgencies of 1971 and 1988 \u2013 89 saw thousands of people mainly youths being killed or made to disappear. Officially sanctioned unofficial abductions and executions were the order of the day. While this method was consciously adopted by the state to defeat the insurrection the JVP rebels themselves were responsible for several killings and disappearances. Quantitatively state repression was much more than the JVP violence in this sphere.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise the long years of an on \u2013 going ethnic conflict also saw   much Tiger terror, counter \u2013 terror, inter \u2013 terror, intra \u2013 terror and state terror. Tamil youths were taken , tortured and murdered in 1979 when Junius Richard Jayewardene declared emergency for Jaffna and sent his nephew \u201cBull\u201d Weeratunga with orders  to wipe out terror in all its forms before Dec 31st.Similiar incidents as well as other types of \u201cdisappearances\u201d took place frequently thereafter. There were many instances in the past  where disappearances and mass executions were  perceived as part of deliberate state policy to quell the separatist threat. The Special Task Force in the East excelled at this type of counter \u2013 insurgency warfare. In 1996 after the security forces took over Jaffna more than 500 Tamil youths disappeared. Some bodies were later  discovered at the Chemmany mass grave.<\/p>\n<p>While the security forces were  allegedly responsible for many disappearances and executions of Tamils in the past , the Tamil armed groups particularly the LTTE  too were  reportedly involved in such activity. The internecine warfare among Tamil guerilla organizations contributed greatly to this situation. There were also a lot of internal killings. Moreover people suspected of being spies, informants and traitors were also victims made to disappear. There were also instances of people being abducted for interrogation or for ransom. Many died in custody and were termed missing.<\/p>\n<p><b>Enforced Disappearances<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The issue of enforced disappearances and persons going missing assumed immense proportions  after  Mahinda Rajapaksa became President in 2005. The war  effort against the LTTE intensified  under the triumvirate of President  Mahinda Rajapaksa,  Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Army Commander Sarath Fonseka. Violence began  escalating from 2006.  So did enforced disappearances. Interestingly most of the enforced disappearances in the 2006 to 2008 period were in areas controlled by the Government. Large scale disappearances took place in Colombo, Negombo, Dehiwela, Puttalam, Chilaw, Ratnapura, Avissawela, Wattala, Ratnapura and Kandy. Persons also  went missing  in Government controlled areas in the  Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Amparai districts.<\/p>\n<p>A vague pattern  was  discerned in the incidents occurring in the areas controlled by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) . The disappeared and those reported dead could  be divided into four broad categories. One category was that of people suspected to be linked directly to the LTTE. The second category was that of people suspected of being linked indirectly to the LTTE. The third category was that of businessmen suspected of being linked directly or indirectly to the LTTE. The fourth category was that of businessmen, professionals etc being abducted to extract huge sums of money as ransom.<\/p>\n<p>Two important aspects of  the  White Van Culture that prevailed at that time was the deployment of Tamil armed groups in abducting persons or making them disappear and the targeting of affluent Tamils to extract huge sums of money as ransom.  Although  disappearances and killings  began as a calculated campaign to weed out and eradicate  suspected  LTTE elements. There were many instances where such acts were committed to make money alone  and nothing else.<\/p>\n<p>The  LTTE campaign of enlisting \u201ctrained civilians\u201d as the so called \u201cpeoples force \u201d (Makkal padai) to attack the Police and security forces in GOSL controlled Jaffna made the state fully aware of the \u201cenemy within\u201d. The LTTE functioning officially as the \u201cpolitical wing\u201d withdrew leaving the civilians to face the consequences. Many pro \u2013 tiger families also relocated to the Wanni.<\/p>\n<p>During the LTTE\u2019s unbridled \u201coccupation\u201d of Jaffna after the  2002 ceasefire several public demonstrations were held. All of these were videoed by the security intelligence. Later those in the forefront of those demonstrations and those engaged in organizing them  were identified and killed. Students involved in demonstrations were also targeted. At the same time several people trained by the LTTE in combat or planted by the tigers as intelligence operatives were also killed or abducted.<\/p>\n<p>In Jaffna elements linked to the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) were allegedly responsible for many of these acts. The EPDP  maintained  a public political face at one level.EPDP political activists selling the \u201cThinamurasu\u201d  newspaper were unarmed and relied  on Police and army protection to move about. The LTTE often killed  these  EPDP activists  ruthlessly. But there was another killer group of EPDP elements closely connected to Sri Lankan intelligence and security forces. It was this outfit which engaged  in abductions, extortion and killings.<\/p>\n<p>In Batticaloa the Karuna led LTTE breakaway  faction known as Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal (TMVP) was involved in abductions , killings and extortion in the form of taxes. The TMVP  also opened branches in Trincomalee. Tamil traders  were  taxed ruthlessly. Also Tamil community leaders and businessmen  were killed.<\/p>\n<p><b>LTTE Infiltrated Colombo<\/b><\/p>\n<p>In Colombo the situation in the period after the  2002 ceasefire was one where the LTTE was killing suspected informants, para \u2013 militaries and members of alternative Tamil parties like the EPDP. Many Tamil businessmen were also compelled to pay money. The LTTE also infiltrated Colombo by planting its agents in different places. Some businesses were also opened by tiger stooges.<\/p>\n<p>Initially the abductions and disappearances were directed against these  suspected LTTE fifth columnists. The EPDP was of help in assisting  state  intelligence. But soon the Karuna faction overshadowed the EPDP. In fairness to the EPDP it must be said that the party had a definite political program and was earlier reluctant to confront the tigers. But the LTTE forced the EPDP to join forces with the Security intelligence and collaborate actively in anti \u2013 tiger action. The Karuna faction like the mainstream LTTE had no comprehensive political agenda. They were solely dependent on the state and were guided and controlled by the state\u2019s \u201cintelligence\u201d handlers. In Mao Ze Dong\u2019s parlance the TMVP cadres were  like the \u201crunning dogs\u201d of  Imperialism.<\/p>\n<p>The Colombo scenario   began deteriorating after a while. From a stage where only suspected LTTE agents were being targeted the situation  became one where the profit motive  began dominating. Most disappearances through abductions  were enforced to extort massive sums of money as ransom. It was not only Tamils of North \u2013 Eastern origin who were being victimized but many Indian origin Tamils also . Some Muslim businessmen too were  terrorised. Most of the  actual abductions were generally done by the Karuna or EPDP group or in a few cases by both.They were supervised by Sinhala handlers<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cenforced disappearances\u201d of many  affluent Tamils  was  not political or related to counter \u2013 terrorist procedures.  Most  of  these  were nothing but extortion related abductions. It  had become  a lucrative industry. The actual number of incidents were not reported to the Police or even  civil society organizations like the Civil Monitoring Commission. Many people negotiated on their own and got their loved ones released through paying a reduced sum. They later keep silent.<\/p>\n<p>In many cases the ransom paid was so great that continuing  to do business  became impossible. Some were forced to sell off property to collect ransom money. Also some who got released after paying ransom  felt  so insecure that they transferred  their businesses to someone else and left the country. There  were  many businessmen in those days  who  fled to India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Middle \u2013 East and Western nations to escape being victimised.<\/p>\n<p><b>Abducting for Ransom<\/b><\/p>\n<p>It appeared that there was  no  institutionalised corruption or collaboration by the Police or Armed forces in this sordid activity of abducting persons for ransom. There was however  close collaboration by  individual members of the Police and armed forces and intelligence personnel. Some top \u201csecurity\u201d guy was usually at hand to help out if something went wrong. It was also believed that a percentage of the ill \u2013 gained loot was given to these  handlers or accomplices in uniform. In some instances the Tamil groups paid \u201cbribes\u201d to officials to  get things done<\/p>\n<p>Some  abducted persons  later  told families that their abductors simply flashed their ID cards at check points and got clearance. In some cases the abducted persons were gagged and bound and forced to lie down in the vehicle while their abductors placed their feet on them. The security personnel at checkposts were apparently not aware of abductees being in the vehicle.According to versions trotted out by released victims there were  safe houses in Colombo and suburbs where some victims had  been taken. Others were  taken to makeshift camps in Polonnaruwa, Amparai and Vavuniya. Usually they were kept blindfolded and allowed time for meals and ablutions during which time blindfolds are removed. They were allowed to bathe once in two days. Some victims  were  assaulted and badly treated while others were treated well. These vagaries were a result of the personality differences of the respective captors. Victims also said that their captors spoke in Sinhala, Tamil and English in different dialects.<\/p>\n<p>What was frightening about this racket was the  suspected connivance  at very high levels. At least one cabinet minister had demanded and received money for the release of abducted persons. There were also instances of the families and relatives of abducted persons obtaining their releases through contacts at very, very high levels of Government. It was  believed then  that the only sure guarantee of getting one released  was to gain the sympathy of family members of a very powerful, political dynasty.This did  not mean that a powerful \u201cclique\u201d was directing all operations at a centralised level. The abductors had  autonomy in  selecting victims. But if someone was to be easily released without paying up then political help at a very high level was absolutely essential.<\/p>\n<p>There was also the patent lack of interest shown in apprehending the culprits if and when complaints were made. Despite much evidence being available no effort was made to trace the abductors. Some members of Tamil Groups were  arrested by honest Sinhala Policemen  when complaints were made but  they were forced to release them due to high level pressure.  An Up Country  Tamil  Deputy Minister  went public with the telephone numbers of some abductors who openly demanded ransom. Instead of  taking follow up action some Police sleuths summoned  the deputy minister for   an inquiry and interrogated him  sternly about how he got his information. No action was taken.<\/p>\n<p>In spite of the pressure faced by the media in Sri Lanka those days I was able to focus on this issue by writing a few articles  regarding  abductions  and disappearances then. I shall  briefly  mention  a few of the incidents I   highlighted in those articles at that time.<\/p>\n<p><b>Two Tamil Groups<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u2022         A Tamil multi \u2013 millionaire businessman accused of attempting to de\u2013fraud Customs went \u201cmissing\u201d in Colombo after he threatened to expose involvement of people in high places in corrupt activity. Ransom was demanded and distraught family members paid more than three crores of rupees to two Tamil  groups for the return of the man who was a diabetic. But the missing person who phoned last from Polonnaruwa district never returned  home despite the huge amount paid.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022         The vice \u2013 chancellor of an Eastern university was threatened by an armed Tamil group and moved to Colombo. His resignation was not accepted by the UGC. The VC attended a top academic conference in a high \u2013 security area of Colombo. He was last seen around noon at the venue. Many appeals were  issued and representations  made to then President  Rajapaksa himself but the man who went missing  remains in the ranks of the \u201cdisappeared\u201d still.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022         The Colombo district organizer of an Up Country Peoples party  went  missing in Colombo. Within 48 hours of his disappearance the party concerned crossed  over from the opposition to the then  Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. One MP became a  cabinet minister and another  MP a deputy \u2013 minister. But the \u201cdisappeared\u201d organizer is still missing.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022        A young Tamil woman working as financial executive of an airline firm was  abducted by unknown persons from her residence in Ratmalana. Nothing was known of her whereabouts thereafter. In a separate incident another young Tamil woman working as an information tech executive in the private sector was also abducted. But she was fortunate in having  former UNP Colombo distict MP Thiyagarajah Maheswaran as her uncle. Maheswaran who enjoyed  close rapport with President Rajapakse pulled  strings at a high level and  got his niece released.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022        Two prominent businessmen \u2013 brothers in law \u2013 in the jewellery trade  were returning home in a car. The vehicle stopped  at a Police check point. Two men got in with arms and the vehicle sped off. One of the businessmen a heart patient i was dropped off soon. A ransom  was demanded for the other. Negotiations took place and a  large sum was paid. The missing man returned home. The family kept \u201cmum\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022        A well \u2013 known Tamil broadcaster was abducted on his way to work. He was taken blind- folded to an unknown destination and quizzed by people. The High Commissioner of a friendly country  exerted maximum pressure to get him released. The  envoy of that time in Colombo spoke  to President Rajapakse directly. The broadcaster was released with the stern warning that he should not open his mouth. He later went abroad<\/p>\n<p>\u2022        A Christian evangelical pastor from Vavuniya district, his two sons and another youth  were on their way to Colombo. They were last seen at the Negombo bus stand. They were reported missing and have been classified as \u201cdisappeared\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><b>Powerful Personality<\/b> <\/p>\n<p>\u2022        Another Colombo businessman and his employee went  missing. His family was informed by his abductors that a hefty amount had  to be paid. They were advised to sell off the business and pay up. Meanwhile some relatives   who had  links to  influential politicians utilised their contacts. Through those connections an appeal was made to a powerful personality in defence circles. The man and his employee were released from a camp in the Eastern province.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022        A Tamil entrepreneur living in a Western Country went  to Colombo because a family member was terminally ill. His vehicle  from the Katunayake airport  was stopped at the Negombo road junction by Tamil youths in a pick-up. The relative driving him home from the airport was told to keep his mouth shut. Later a massive sum  was demanded for his release. The telephone calls were made from Sri Lanka to the foreign country where the family was living. After negotiations to reduce the sum demanded, the money was paid and the man released.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022         a woman teacher was abducted in Vavuniya. Her family was middle \u2013 class and did  not have the ransom demanded for release. But her abductors were well aware of her close relatives abroad and  their financial status. The relatives were asked to pay up. After bargaining an agreed amount was paid and the woman freed.<\/p>\n<p>The above \u2013 mentioned incidents are but a few in a long list of similiar ones  affecting  the Tamil people of Sri Lanka in  those days of rule under the erstwhile Human rights champion Mahinda  Rajapaksa. There was strong evidence that  some members of the Police and armed forces were collaborating in these enforced disappearances. There was also evidence of people in positions of power providing tacit support to this racket.Against that  backdrop the average Tamil victim did  not trust the Police, armed forces or the Government. Those who had high level contacts used that influence to get their loved ones out. Others negotiated with the abductors, paid up and secured releases. After getting out most victims either left the Country or simply kept  quiet.<\/p>\n<p><b>Civil Monitoring Commission<\/b><\/p>\n<p>There were however many who remained missing. They still. Remain missing. There were   a variety of reasons for this.  Chief among them was the inability of family members to pay  the demanded ransom.The families of such people were despondent. The only silver lining in that prevailing  dark cloud was  the Civil Monitoring Commission convened by Mano Ganeshan  who was then the Western Peoples Front leader and Colombo district  Parliamentarian. The efforts of this body  failed to get any \u201cmissing\u201d person released but the awareness created  helped to minimise abductions to some extent. More importantly it provided an avenue for affected families to complain without fear.<\/p>\n<p>On April 9th 2007  the Civil Monitoring  Commission held a conference titled \u201cExpression of grief by families and friends of the disappeared\u201d at the Veeramylan hall on Kadiresan street, Colombo 11. In a welcome development  the then leader of the opposition  and United National Party leader Ranil Wickremasinghe participated along with then  UNP Parliamentarians Lakshman Kiriella, Ravi Karunanayake and John Ameratunga.<\/p>\n<p>It was an emotional atmosphere with family members holding pictures of the disappeared ones and raising cries. When Ranil got up to speak many relatives converged near the stage and requested him to get their loved ones released. They remained sobbing near the stage during his speech. It was like a mass funeral without the \u201cdeparted\u201d loved ones. A visibly moved Wickremasinghe promised to do his best.<\/p>\n<p>Ranil Wickremesinghe then  said  that while the Sri Lankan cricketers were bringing glory to the country the government  was damaging its international reputation through extra judicial killings and disappearances. He also blamed the media for being silent on this matter. \u201cI have to question the editors on this matter,\u201d he said. Wickremesinghe assured the loved ones of those who had disappeared in the recent past that he would do his utmost to find their loved ones. A large number of relatives of persons, whose loved ones had disappeared and were present at the meeting, became uncontrollable at this.They gathered round Wickremesinghe calling on him to find their loved ones. A petition which called for an independent international human rights mechanism was handed over to Ranil during the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after this meeting the proprietor of Veeramylan hall who had let the Civil Monitoring Commission conduct the meeting free of charge was assassinated in Colombo. Mano Ganesan himself was under serious threat and had to seek safety in a neighbouring country for a while. Some top Western diplomsts provided him protection  for some time after he returned to Lanka. In the same year Mano Ganesan was the  selected as first runner \u2013 up of the  first annual Freedom Defenders award  given by the USA. After this the pressure faced by Mano decreased to some extent.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/omp-ppt-600x450.jpg\" alt=\"omp ppt\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-47814\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>Small First Step<\/b><\/p>\n<p>All this was in 2007. Much water has flowed under the Kelani bridge since then. Today  Ranil Wickremesinghe is  the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Lakshman Kiriella, John  Ameratunga, Ravi Karunayake and Mano Ganesan are cabinet ministers.  Despite the  protests of Mahinda and his minions this Govt has taken the bold yet praiseworthy step of passing legislation to set up an office for missing persons. It is only a small step but it is the first step. Even the lengthiest of journeys begin with a small step  first .<\/p>\n<p><em>This article written for the &#8220;DBS Jeyaraj Column&#8221; appears in the &#8220;Daily Mirror&#8221; of August 13, 2016, it can be reached via this link:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymirror.lk\/dbs-jeyaraj-column\">http:\/\/www.dailymirror.lk\/dbs-jeyaraj-column<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>DBS Jeyaraj can be reached at <a href=\"mailto:dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com\"><font color=\"\">dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com<\/font> <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"tweetbutton47804\" class=\"tw_button\" style=\"float:right;margin-left:10px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdbsjeyaraj.com%2Fdbsj%2F%3Fp%3D47804&amp;text=%26%238220%3BWhite%20%E2%80%93Vanning%20Culture%26%238221%3B%20and%20the%20%20Lucrative%20Industry%20of%20Abducting%20%20Tamils%20for%20Ransom&amp;related=&amp;lang=en&amp;count=horizontal\" class=\"twitter-share-button\"  style=\"width:55px;height:22px;background:transparent url('https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-tweet-button\/tweetn.png') no-repeat  0 0;text-align:left;text-indent:-9999px;display:block;\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By D.B.S.Jeyaraj August 11th 2016 was a day of well-deserved pride for the people of Sri Lanka. The Island nation\u2019s parliament on that day passed legislation to set up an office of missing persons(OMP) in the country. Sri Lanka\u2019s Foreign Affairs minister Mangala Samaraweera hailed the passage of the OMP bill as \u201chistoric\u201d. Addressing a &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=47804\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading &lsquo;&#8220;White \u2013Vanning Culture&#8221; and the  Lucrative Industry of Abducting  Tamils for Ransom&rsquo; &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47804"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47815,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47804\/revisions\/47815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}