• Mechanism to be established subsequently to handover recovered jewelry to rightful owners 

The process of handing over approximately 150 kilograms (kg) of gold jewelry recovered from former LTTE camps and surrounding areas to the courts is expected to be completed within the next three months, after which arrangements will be made to return the items to their lawful owners, Deputy Defense Minister, Major General (Retired) Aruna Jayasekara said.Responding to a question raised by an Opposition Parliamentarian regarding gold jewelry allegedly obtained from Tamil civilians in the Northern and Eastern Provinces during the war, he said the Army had never taken gold belonging to Tamil civilians. “The Army has never, under any circumstances, taken any quantity of gold from Tamil civilians in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.”  He explained that during military operations conducted in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, the security forces recovered a stock of jewelry that had been stored in LTTE camps and nearby locations. “During operations carried out in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu areas, approximately 150 kg of gold jewellery stored in LTTE camps and surrounding locations was taken into custody,” he said.

Speaking further, he said that the jewelry remained in Army custody and is now being transferred to the courts through an ongoing handover process involving several State institutions. “This is a complex procedure carried out with the participation of the Judiciary, the Criminal Investigation Department, the National Gem and Jewelry Authority, and the Central Bank. We expect it to be completed within the next three months,” he said, and added that a mechanism would be introduced to return the jewelry to its rightful owners once the process is completed.

He also said that in 2014, then Government returned jewelry recovered from LTTE camps and surrounding areas to 2,015 individuals whose identities and ownership claims had been verified. “In 2014, the Government returned recovered jewelry to 2,015 individuals after verifying their identities. Once the remaining stock is formally handed over to the courts, a similar program would be implemented to identify and compensate the legitimate owners.”

He denied that the recovered jewellery had ever been used as an election issue. “At no point have these items of jewellery recovered from LTTE camps been discussed at election rallies or in election-related discussions. Furthermore, no matter relating to this jewellery was included in the National People’s Power’s Election promises or policy statement.”

During military operations that led to the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, security forces are said to have recovered various assets from LTTE-controlled areas, including gold jewelry, cash and other valuables. Tamil political parties and civil society groups have periodically raised concerns about the ownership of some of the recovered items and called for transparent mechanisms to identify and return property to civilians who may have lost valuables during the conflict.