Ranil Wickremesinghe rejects Batalanda Commission report

Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, issuing a special statement today (March 16), categorically rejected the ‘Batalanda’ Commission report, which investigated the unlawful detention and killing of youth in Batalanda.

He pointed out that the commission report also details the heinous terrorist acts committed by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) during the 1988-90 period.

Below is the special statement issued by former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe:

“After the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) launched a terror campaign across the country. At that time, President J.R. Jayewardene assigned Cabinet Ministers the responsibility of securing key locations. Several economically significant sites required protection, including the Sapugaskanda oil refinery, the diesel power plant, the electricity transmission center supplying power from Mahaweli to Colombo, and commercial zones. The military was called in to ensure their security.

To accommodate the security forces, it was decided to allocate a few abandoned buildings and houses belonging to the State Fertilizer Company. By that time, some officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) were already residing in some of these houses. During this period of terror, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Sapugaskanda Police Station was assassinated. Following this, then-Deputy Minister of Defense, Ranjan Wijeratne, contacted me and requested that the vacant houses in the complex be allocated to military and police officers for their safety.

Accordingly, arrangements were made through the relevant authorities to hand over these houses to Kelaniya Division Superintendent of Police, Nalin Delgoda. Meanwhile, a Provincial Councilor, a Cooperative Councilor, and a Police Sergeant were among those assassinated. Additionally, another Provincial Council member’s house was attacked.

While rebuilding the country’s disrupted economic and social stability, the government in power worked to ensure peace and national security. After 1994, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga appointed a commission to investigate whether a torture chamber existed in Batalanda. Many individuals were summoned for this inquiry, and I was called only as a witness. At that time, I was serving as the Leader of the Opposition.

The Batalanda Commission was established purely as a political mudslinging effort. However, this attempt was unsuccessful. The report merely stated that, as a minister, it was improper for me to facilitate police officers’ accommodation through a police official rather than through the Inspector General of Police, who should have been responsible for such allocations.

Due to this, the commission report suggests that both Nalin Delgoda and I bear some indirect responsibility. Beyond this, no allegations in the report are relevant to me.

The commission report also extensively discusses the numerous terrorist acts committed by the JVP during 1988-90. These events are detailed in Chapter 3 of the report, which provides a comprehensive historical account. Other than this, no accusations in the report pertain to me, and I completely reject the Batalanda Commission report.

No one can claim that the Batalanda Commission report was suppressed. It was tabled in Parliament in the year 2000, yet no one, not even the JVP, requested a debate on it. Most people did not accept the report, which is why Parliament did not proceed with a discussion.

It is also important to note that no political party in power has ever attempted to use this report for narrow political gains. Moreover, there is no parliamentary tradition, either in Sri Lanka or elsewhere, of debating a sessional paper 25 years after its release.”

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