The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham of Sri Lanka, assassinated on 24 December 2005, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/186/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 185th session (October 2009); referring also to the report on the on-site mission to Sri Lanka carried out by the Committee in February 2008 (CL/183/12(b)-R.2),

Taking into account the police report forwarded by the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 18 March 2010,

Recalling that Mr. Pararajasingham, a member of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), was shot dead on 24 December 2005 during the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Mary's Church in Batticaloa by unidentified gunmen in the presence of some 300 persons; the investigation has remained at a virtual standstill despite the fact that St. Mary's Church was located in a high-security zone between two military checkpoints and that, at the time of the murder, additional security forces were on duty, so that the culprits could have escaped only with the complicity of the security forces; during the on-site mission, it transpired that there was no agreement on whether or not President Rajapakse had been given the name of a possible suspect, a certain Ravi; that, however, the delegation provided the name of the person in question to President Rajapakse and to the Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights, Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe,

Recalling that, according to the information provided by Minister Samarasinghe in October 2009, one of the main problems is the question of witnesses as the priest playing the organ had been unable to identify any suspects and that, in the absence of a witness protection law, witnesses were afraid of coming forward; that the police had been unable to establish the bona fide of the information suggesting that a certain "Ravi" was the killer as the TNA parliamentarians who had provided the name were unable to give an address; recalling in this connection that, according to the sources, Ravi was a member of the Karuna group and well known in the region; noting that, according to the police report of March 2010, the case corresponding to the investigation pending before Magistrate Court Batticaloa has been laid-by with the proviso to reopen it should fresh material be revealed, which so far has not happened,

Recalling also that, according to Mr. Samarasinghe, a witness protection bill, providing inter alia for video-conferencing of witnesses living abroad, has been prepared in a long consultative process and is pending before parliament and that, before its consideration in parliament, the party leaders would have to fix a date,

Bearing in mind finally that, since the defeat of the Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), presidential elections were held in January 2010 and President Rajapakse was re-elected; that he dissolved parliament on 28 March 2010 and announced elections for 8 April and the convening of the new parliament for 22 April,

1. Thanks the parliamentary authorities and the police for the report on the current stage of the investigation;

2. Deplores the fact that in the five years since the murder of Mr. Pararajasingham in a church among about 300 persons in a high-security area at the time, the investigative authorities have made no progress in this high-profile case, although their work should have been facilitated since the end of the conflict in Batticaloa and the holding of elections in that province in March 2008; deeply regrets also that no effort has been made to take serious account of information that a widely known person in the region, "Ravi", was behind the murder, the authorities failing to interrogate him on the grounds that the TNA parliamentarians had not provided his address;

3. Recalls that the Sri Lankan authorities have a duty to elucidate the murder of Mr. Pararajasingham and that an investigation in a case such as this one can only be successful if the authorities follow every lead, make every effort and take the necessary initiatives to discover the truth; considers that the assistance of foreign investigative authorities, as in the case of Mr. Raviraj (SRI/53), might help the Sri Lankan investigative authorities to fulfil this duty;

4. Earnestly hopes that the new parliament will take up the debate on the witness protection bill as one of its priorities and will, in addition, monitor the investigation into the murder of Mr. Pararajasingham;

5. Requests the Secretary General to inform the new parliamentary authorities as well as the competent governmental authorities accordingly;

6. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 123rd IPU Assembly (October 2010).

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