OMP head resigns to contest for BASL presidency

Saliya Pieris, PC, said yesterday he was stepping down as head of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) to focus on his campaign to lead the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL).

The letter of resignation, which will become effective from September 30, has already been sent to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Mr Pieris is the first OMP chairman after it was set up in 2018. The body set up by the previous government as a transitional justice mechanism is tasked with determining the status of all missing persons in Sri Lanka and making, inter alia, recommendations to the relevant authorities towards addressing the incidence of missing persons.

In March, the OMP released a statement on the second anniversary of its establishment, calling for the “unstinted cooperation of the Government and state agencies”, so that truth and justice for the missing and disappeared persons and the protection of the rights of their relatives are ensured.

The other members of the OMP are Jayatheepa Punniyamoorthy, Major General (Rtd) Mohanti Antonette Peiris, Nimalka Fernando, Mirak Raheem, Somasiri Liyanage and Kanapathipillai Venthan.