By M.C.M. Iqbal

For more than two decades, the Batalanda Commission report has languished in the archives of our nation’s history, ignored and forgotten by those who should have cared most [MI1] . But recent events, including President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s appearance on Al Jazeera’s Head to Head has once again shone a spotlight on this painful chapter in Sri Lanka’s past. With a parliamentary debate on the Batalanda Commission scheduled for this Thursday (10 April), we stand at a crossroads: will the government at last act on the findings of the Batalanda Commission, or will we once again allow the cycle of impunity to continue?

As someone who served as the Secretary to two Presidential Commissions of Inquiry into the Disappearances of Persons (COID) from January 1988, I can speak with authority about the weight of such reports and the consequences when they are buried. The Batalanda Commission, established to investigate the horrific abuses during the 1987–1989 insurgency, uncovered grave human rights violations committed by Sri Lanka’s security services personnel. Its report detailed how Batalanda, a housing scheme, was used as a clandestine detention and torture site where individuals were unlawfully imprisoned, tortured, and, in many cases, killed.

The commission’s findings were clear. Those responsible for the atrocities included high-ranking police officers, military personnel, and political figures – yet, despite strong evidence, none of the perpetrators have been brought to justice. The commission’s report made recommendations for further investigation, legal action, and the revocation of civil rights for those implicated. These recommendations were never implemented. For years, Batalanda’s survivors and the families of its victims were left with nothing but unanswered questions. The report was swept under the carpet and locked away in a filing cabinet, effectively buried by those in power.

The situation surrounding Batalanda is not an isolated case. Over the years, many other commissions of inquiry have unearthed disturbing truths about Sri Lanka’s violent past – but those truths have also been similarly ignored. The Disappearances Commissions in the mid-1990s, which examined thousands of cases of enforced disappearances across Sri Lanka, similarly identified perpetrators and recommended legal action. Yet, most of the individuals named in those reports continue to walk free. The same has happened to the Reports of the COIs into Disappearances of Persons appointed in the 1990s by President Chandrika Bandaranaike. A culture of impunity has taken root in Sri Lanka, where state agents, politicians, and security forces believe they are above the law, their actions shielded by the government’s unwillingness to pursue justice.

As someone who has worked within this system, I can tell you that the failure to act on these reports is not a coincidence. It is a systematic problem, one that runs deep within Sri Lanka’s political institutions. Successive governments have failed to confront the truth. They have shielded the perpetrators, not out of ignorance, but because they feared the consequences of exposing those in power. Time and again, Sri Lanka has witnessed commissions come and go – with their findings discarded, forgotten, or ignored. It has become clear that the state, by not pursuing the recommendations in these commissions’ recommendations, has perpetuated a culture of impunity that has harmed every Sri Lankan, whether Tamil, Sinhala, or Muslim. When those in power are not held accountable, it erodes the very foundations of justice.

In many ways, the current debate around the Batalanda Commission findings marks the breaking point for this pattern of impunity. For years, the victims of Batalanda – people who were tortured, disappeared, or killed – have sought justice. Their families have been left in limbo, their pain unacknowledged, their suffering unaddressed. Now that the report is back in the public sphere, and with a parliamentary debate around the corner, there is a moment of reckoning. It is time for Sri Lanka to confront its past, not just through words but through real action.

This is not about political retribution. This is about ensuring justice for the victims and putting an end to the unchecked abuse of power. Justice does not mean punishing people based on political affiliation; it means holding everyone accountable, no matter their position or title. Whether the person is a former police officer, a political leader, or a military official, if they have violated the law, they must face the consequences.

There are clear steps that can and must be taken immediately. The Batalanda Commission’s findings must be fully investigated, and those named in the report should be prosecuted. There should be no more delays, no more excuses. We do not need new commissions to investigate the same crimes. The evidence is already there. The recommendations were already made. What is lacking is political will and a genuine commitment to justice. The same can be said about the findings of the COIDs. During the inquiries these Commissions conducted, evidence was made available to them on the existence of several torture sites in other parts of the country. Some of the victims of torture at those sites have provided vivid information on what had happened in those sites. Such information lies buried in the records of the COIDs, now lying at the Government Achieves. If and when those records are made accessible to the public, it would be seen that what happened at Batalanda were not isolated incidents.

As someone who has lived through this painful chapter, I know how difficult it is to relive these horrors. But we must do so. Not just for the victims, but for the future of this country. The culture of impunity has only fuelled further violence and division in Sri Lanka. It has shattered the trust between the people and the state. But we have an opportunity now to change course, to begin a new chapter where the truth is told, and justice is finally done.

The parliamentary debate on Thursday is crucial. It will be an opportunity for Sri Lanka to break its silence and to show that no one is above the law. I urge the parliamentarians to take this chance, not only for the victims of Batalanda but for all Sri Lankans who have suffered at the hands of the powerful. The Batalanda Commission and indeed other commissions’ reports can no longer be ignored. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the pain and injustice that has been allowed to fester for too long.

Let this moment mark the beginning of a new era in Sri Lanka – one where truth, justice, and accountability are not optional but fundamental to the rule of law. Only then can we heal and move forward together, as a united nation.

M.C.M. Iqbal is a former Secretary to the Presidential Commissions of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or Disappearance of Persons Central, North West, North Central and Uva Provinces) as well as the 1998 All-Island Disappearances Commission.

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[MI1] That is what has happened to the Reports of the Commissions of Inquiry into Disappearances of Persons (COID) appointed by President Chandrika Bandaranaike in the 1990s.