Forced COVID cremations: President says Govt. had no choice

• In Parliament apologises over decision to enforce cremations for the dead during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Says Govt. was left with no choice after SC upheld recommendation of committee to enforce cremations 
• Acknowledges every person in SL should have a right to decide their final rites
• Announces plans to introduce new legislation ensuring citizens’ rights to choose their preferred final rites

President Ranil Wickremesinghe making a special statement in Parliament yesterday expressed regret over the Government’s decision to enforce cremations for those who died during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, addressing Parliament, acknowledged that at the time a committee appointed by the Government had recommended enforcing cremations during the pandemic. “Unfortunately the committee recommended that we don’t allow burials while the WHO took a different view,” he noted. The President said that this recommendation was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court, leaving the Government with no alternative but to proceed with the policy. 

“The Government had to follow that. There was no choice at that stage,” he said. 

“This house would like to apologise for what happened. During this time there was a lot of pain, mainly felt by the Muslims, but also Hindus, Buddhists and Christians, I know who also like to bury,” he noted. 

Accordingly, Wickremesinghe announced plans for new legislation that would enshrine the rights of individuals to choose between burial, cremation, or donating their bodies to medical institutions.

He acknowledged that every person in the country should have the right to decide their final rites. 

“In this country, any person should have the right to determine whether he or she is buried, cremated or given to the medical faculty,” he said. “We would like to apologise to them on what has happened,” said Wickremesinghe in reference to those who were forcibly cremated and their families and urged the House to support the passage of the new legislation. 

In March 2020, the Government implemented regulations mandating that the bodies of COVID-19 victims could only be cremated, citing concerns that burial could potentially spread the virus through groundwater contamination. This decision faced extensive criticism from the Muslim community, international organisations, and the global community at large.

While the decision was challenged in court, the Supreme Court in December 2020 dismissed the petitions, including those filed by Muslim civil society members. The ban on burials was finally lifted in February 2021.