by Deepa Fernando

Prageeth Eknaligoda is a journalist with an independent publication. His wife and young son took part in a sit-in on behalf of missing people in front of the UN offices in Colombo. Activist claims that more than 5,000 people have disappeared in 'white vans.'

Colombo (AsiaNews) - Prageeth Eknaligoda has been missing for a thousand days. The married father of a little boy is a journalist and cartoonist for an independent online news site. "Our pain has found no answer," his wife Sandhaya told AsiaNews. The authorities "are doing nothing to shed light on cases of missing people," she added. "This way, parents and spouses wear themselves out waiting."

In order to keep alive the memory of Prageeth and others who went missing, representatives of civil society groups, human rights groups and families organised a sit-in in front of the United Nations offices in Colombo. At the end of their action, they presented a letter addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon.

"We know the difference between weeping for a dead person or someone who is missing," Prageeth's wife said. "We want to know who is responsible for these situations, and how many detention camps there are. Why is the government silent? Why does it not answer our questions?"

Prageeth Eknaligoda is not alone. "More than 5,000 cases of missing people have been filed in Sri lanka with the United Nations," said human rights activist Nimalka Fernando. "The government said that it has investigated only 59 cases so far."

These abductions are called 'white van disappearances' because kidnappers use white vans in broad daylight.

"Disappearances have become systemic. They are not just a way to control people and silence them, but have become a way to rule," said Udul Premarathna, another human rights activist.

(Melani Manel Perera contributed to the article)

 

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