The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Mr. D.M. Dassanayake, Minister of Nation-Building and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, who was assassinated on 8 January 2008, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/185/11(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 184th session (April 2009),

Referring also to the report on the mission carried out by the Committee in February 2008 (CL/183/12(b)-R.2),

Noting that the Committee met with Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights during the 121st IPU Assembly,

Recalling that Mr. Dassanayake was killed, along with a bodyguard, in a roadside bomb attack in the town of Ja-Ela, north of Colombo, which also left 10 people wounded; although no one has claimed responsibility, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are widely suspected of being behind the attack,

Recalling also that, according to the progress report forwarded by the parliament in August 2008, police inquiries led to the arrest on 10 June 2008 of a suspect with links to the LTTE, who divulged vital incriminating material relevant to Mr. Dassanayake’s assassination; noting that, according to the information provided by Mr. Samarasinghe, the arrest of a key LTTE suspect operating in Colombo led to the arrest of other suspects whose revelations resulted in the recovery of the remote control device used to detonate the explosive device triggering the explosion which killed Mr. Dassanayake; that the investigation has since been completed and that the relevant file will be transmitted to the Attorney General to filing of indictment; the case was to be called in court on 14 October 2009,

1. Thanks the Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights for the information provided and for his cooperation;

2. Is pleased to note that the investigation has been completed and wishes to be kept informed of the ensuing criminal proceedings;

3. Reaffirms the conclusion of the mission report that there can be no better deterrent for violence targeting members of parliament, and indeed the public at large, than combating impunity and ensuring that those responsible for assassinations and other crimes are identified, apprehended and brought to justice, and urges the authorities to take firm action to this end;

4. Requests the Secretary General to invite the authorities to keep the Committee informed of the proceedings;

5. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 122nd IPU Assembly (March-April 2010).

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 121st IPU Assembly and related meetings" in PDF format (file size 583K approximately). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.

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