COLOMBO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to appoint a special commission to investigate a mass grave found in Matale in central Sri Lanka, a spokesman said on Sunday.
Presidential spokesman Mohan Samaranayake told Xinhua that the investigations by the commission will supplement the investigations carried out by the local police.
Over 150 skeletal remains and human bones had been unearthed from the mass grave in Matale since it was first discovered last year.
Forensics had determined that the remains were of those killed sometime in the late 1980s and the area has now been marked as a crime scene.
At least 10 skeletal remains were first found from the site near a hospital last November by construction workers when land near the hospital was dug up to construct a new building.
Following police investigations excavation work began to look for skeletal remains at the site and more remains were eventually found.
A Marxist political party known as the JVP demanded that the government carry out investigations on the mass grave following fears the remains maybe that of JVP members or supporters killed during a 1987-89 insurgency.
Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party, which was in power during the 1987-89 period, said it will back an independent investigation into the mass grave.
In a written statement submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, ahead of the 22nd session held last March, the Asian Legal Resource Center, a non-governmental organization, said that the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances should study the situation and the conduct of inquiries relating to the remains of persons found in Matale and assist the Sri Lankan government to ensure that these inquiries meet international standards.
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