Fourteen relatives of the “disappeared” TRO staff members gathered at the TRO Colombo Office for a press conference to appeal to the abductors, the Government of Sri Lanka, the media and the public for the release of their loved ones. The press conference was extremely emotional for all in attendance and many of those who spoke had to stop because they broke down in tears (one mother fainted) when speaking of their missing family members.

The mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers of the seven “disappeared” TRO employees described the impact that the abduction has had on their lives. In most cases the abducted TRO staff person was the main provider for the family and there has been a tremendous impact on the families’ lives emotionally, mentally and physically.

The families were all very critical of the lack of any real interest or investigation by the ICRC, the police or the media and pleaded with all too instead actively push for the release of the 7 TRO employees. The families also requested that the abduction of their loved ones not become politicized and that no organizations, governments, or political parties attempt to use the issue for political gain. The families pleaded to anyone connected to this abduction or anyone who has influence over the abductors to release their family members and bring some semblance of normalcy to their lives. They expressed deep sadness and regret that they had not heard from any of the GoSL investigators, the ICRC or the HRC regarding the results of their investigations.

They stressed that their lives were in turmoil and that the past 67 days had been the hardest of their lives. All their energies have been focused on finding their loved ones: some have traveled to the Welikanda area and made inquires of the armed paramilitaries they encountered but have not had any positive results.

The family members in attendance:

If anyone would like an unedited copy of the entire press conference please contact:
Arjunan Ethirveerasingam

Sri Lankan Mobile: 94 (0) 77 674 6594
TRO Media Relations
TRO Colombo
Head Office: 254 Jaffna Road, Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka Ph/Fax: +94 (0) 21 228 3947
Registered Company Number in Sri Lanka: N(PBG) 92 www.troonline.org