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SRI LANKA
CASE N° SRI/63 - D.M. DASSANAYAKE

Resolution adopted unanimously by the IPU Governing Council at its 187th session
(Geneva, 6 October 2010)

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/187/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 186th session (April 2010); 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 during the 123rd IPU Assembly with the Sri Lankan delegation, including Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries and former Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights, who has been mandated to continue following the cases the Committee is examining in Sri Lanka; taking into account the communication, dated 9 June 2010, from the Acting Secretary General of Parliament of Sri Lanka, according to which "the Hon. Speaker and members of the Sri Lanka branch of the IPU would be happy to engage further with the Committee to resolve issues that are outstanding" and that "we will endeavour to expedite police enquiries with regard to the deaths of members of parliament",

Recalling that, according to the informationprovided in October 2009 by Minister Samarasinghe, the arrest of a key Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suspect operating in Colombo had 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; the investigation has since been completed and the relevant file was to be forwarded to the Attorney General for filing of an indictment and the case was to be called in court on 14 October 2009; the police report of March 2010 reiterated this information, adding the name of the three suspects (Malcom Tyrone, Sundara Sathies, W.D. Hyacinth) and stating that the case was to be called on 17 March 2010,

Noting that, according to the Sri Lankan delegation, recommendations regarding the indictment of the suspects before the High Court had been submitted to the Attorney General, significant material and witness accounts were being processed and the case was due to be called before the supervising Magistrate of Kanuawana (Ja-Ela) on 13 October 2010,

Bearing in mind that, since the defeat of the LTTE, President Rajapakse was re-elected in January 2010; that he dissolved parliament on 28 March 2010 and that a new parliament was elected on 8 April 2010,

  1. Thanks the delegation and in particular Minister Samarasinghe for their cooperation and for the information provided;

  2. Notes that the Attorney General has yet to take a decision on the filing of an indictment; trusts that he will do so shortly in the light of all available evidence; wishes to be kept informed of the proceedings and to receive a copy of any indictment that may be made;

  3. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the parliamentary authorities, inviting them to continue monitoring the proceedings in this case; requests him further to convey the resolution to the competent governmental authorities and to the source;

  4. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 124th IPU Assembly (April 2011).
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