The Presidential Secretariat yesterday despatched a directive winding up the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) by the end of July. SCOPP was established in 2002 after then UNF government entered a Cease Fire Agreement with the LTTE. The first Secretary General was Bernard Gunathilake, now the Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourist Board.

The Military staff of the SCOPP comprising 22 has already withdrawn and there are another 25 employees working on contractual basis. They had been informed of the termination. Some of them would be absorbed into the Ministries, sources said.

The present Secretary General of SCOPP Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha said that there was now no need for the institution.

Prof. Wijesinha will continue as the Secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights and Disaster Management.