Clarifying the Past and Commemorating Sri Lanka's Disappeared

Introduction
The purpose of this report is to analyze, using a combination
of quantitative and qualitative analysis, the disappearances
which have been documented and researched by
Families of the Disappeared and to present these findings
to both clarify the past and also inform future initiatives
and programs developed by Families of the Disappeared.
The analysis presented in this booklet is based on a database
of forced disappearances compiled from interviews and letters
collected from family members of the disappeared. 1
FoD’s database documents disappearances which mainly
occurred in Gampaha, Kandy, Kalutara and Puttalum
during the period from November 1981 to May 1998. Some
disappearances from other districts are also documented in
the database.
The statistical and qualitative analysis contained in this
1 A forced disappearance involves the deprivation of a person’s liberty,
in whatever form or for whatever reason, brought about by
agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with
the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by
an absence of information, or refusal to acknowledge the deprivation
of liberty or information, or concealment of the fate or whereabouts
of the disappeared person.
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