Daily Newspaper published by Gulf Publishing & Printing Co. Doha, Qatar

Wednesday14/12/2011December, 2011, 02:13 AM Doha Time


A demonstrator shouts slogans during a protest against the abductions of two human rights activists in Jaffna last week, in Colombo yesterday

A human rights organisation has urged the Sri Lankan government to launch an investigation into the disappearance of two activists in the northern city of Jaffna.


The Asian Human Rights Commission issued a statement yesterday highlighting the latest case of Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganathan’s disappearance last week.

They had both organised demonstrations on behalf of the families of missing people.

The group called on the government to ensure that cases of “forced disappearances” are thoroughly and effectively investigated, The BBC reports.

According to the report, for several months Weeraraj and Muruganathan were part of a group that had been organising protests in Colombo, bringing mothers, fathers and wives of missing people from the north to the capital to highlight their desperation.

These families are searching for relatives who disappeared during and after Sri Lanka’s civil war, which ended in 2009 after government forces defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Weeraraj had been detained and questioned about his activities and earlier told the BBC he was being tracked by state security officials.

According to the report, civil society activists in Sri Lanka said they fear for the lives of the men.

Meanwhile, police in Jaffna said they have no information about the whereabouts of the two men and are investigating. Agencies