தமிழ்த் தேசியம்

"To us all towns are one, all men our kin.
Life's good comes not from others' gift, nor ill
Man's pains and pains' relief are from within.
Thus have we seen in visions of the wise !."

- Tamil Poem in Purananuru, circa 500 B.C 

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Home > Tamils - a Trans State Nation > Struggle for Tamil Eelam >Indictment against Sri Lanka: Introduction & Index  >  Genocide'83 > Sri Lanka's Genocidal War '95 to '01 >  Sri Lanka's Undeclared War on Eelam Tamils in the Shadow of a Ceasefire '02 todate > Disappearances & Extra Judicial Killings > Rape & Murder  > Torture >  Sri Lanka's War Crimes > Censorship, Disinformation & Murder of Journalists > Patterns of  Impunity  > Sri Lanka Accused at United Nations > Rajiv Gandhi's War Crimes
 

CONTENTS OF
THIS SECTION

Last updated
14/11/07

இனம் ஒன்று அழிவதா,  இதை நாம் பொறுப்பதா...
Massacres of Tamils by Sri Lanka: a Consistent Pattern - the Record Speaks...
Muthur Massacre, 2006
Vallipunam School Girls Massacre, 2006
Pesalai Massacre, 2006
Vankalai Massacre, 2006
Mandaithivu Massacre, 2006
Massacre in Trincomalee, 2006
Bindunuwewe Massacre, 2000
Ayithiyamalai  Massacre, 2000
Kalutara Prison Massacre, 1997
Kumarapuram Massacre, 1996
Navali Massacre, 1995
Jeyanthipuram Massacre, 1995
Kokaddicholai Massacre, 1991
Saththurukondan Massacre, 1990
Kannapuram Massacre,1990
Kokkadaicholai Massacre,  1987
Akkaraipattu Massacre, 1986
Iruthayapuram Massacre, 1986
Tiriyai Massacre 1985
Kumithini Massacre 1985
Chunnakam Massacre 1984
Organized Progom, 1977
Welikade Prison Massacre, 1983
Genocide '83
Genocide'58
Massacres: 1956 - 2001 (in PDF) - NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights, 29 July 2007
Mass Graves & Massacres - Yahoo Group Documentation
"...In recent decades, Sri Lanka has had one of the worst records in the world concerning forced disappearances... Past experience dictates that forced disappearance in Sri Lanka entails the killing of persons following arrest. The arrests are performed secretly, so as to circumvent legal safeguards and to prevent any traces of evidence being left concerning the abduction and any further ill-treatment..." Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges Sri Lanka to prevent 'forced disappearances' by security forces
 ... the Working Group wishes to stress that Sri Lanka remains the country with the second largest number of non-clarified cases of disappearances on its list.... many of the earlier recommendations of the Working Group have not been implemented... the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency Regulations...have not been abolished or brought into line with internationally accepted standards of human rights..." Report of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
 

INDICTMENT AGAINST SRI LANKA
- ETHNIC CLEANSING OF TAMILS....
 Disappearances & Extra Judicial Killings


ஓ....எங்கள் குரல் கேட்கிறதா ?

"....More valuable by far than common customs posts and frontiers conforming to strategic ideas is the fact of having suffered, enjoyed, and hoped together... and, indeed, suffering in common unifies more than joy does. Where national memories are concerned, griefs are of more value than triumphs, for they impose duties, and require a common effort. A nation is therefore a large-scale solidarity, constituted by the feeling of the sacrifices that one has made in the past and of those that one is prepared to make in the future..."  What is a nation? - Ernest Renan, 1882

"...what has taken place in Sri Lanka in terms of mass disappearances is a crime against humanity. The local commissions have concluded that most disappearances that occurred in Sri Lanka were killings after arrest; they have further concluded that disappearances were carried out as part of a plan approved by the highest political authorities..." Statement  by Asian Legal Resource Centre

Mohamed Ali Nanthakumar, Kandasamy Manoharan, Lawrence Mariyaselvam, Jeyachandran Prathap, Maiyoor Chandramohan, Devadas Christy Prasanna, Balasingham Surendran, Jesuthasan Jeyasuthan, Paramsamy Visaharan, Marimuththu Kumutharaj, Amirthalingam Alaheswaran, Pon Ganeshamoorthy, Manaval Claramma Leela (75), Jesuthasan Jude Nixon (23), Cyrilappar St.Jude (22)  Turairaja Vijekumar (39), Kodalingham Linganathan (20), Abdul Raheem Latheep (28) Mary Medaline (27), Moorthy Martin (35), Ann Nilxon (7), Ann Luxica(9), Ketheeswaran Yathursan (4 months), Ketheeswaran Thanushkanth (4), Palachamy Ketheeswaran (25), Ketheeswaran Anex Ester (23), Abraham Robinson (28), Sellathurai Amalathas (28), Kanesh Navaratnam (50) , Joseph Anthonymuttu ,(64) Sinnathurai Sivanesan (46, Murugesu Shanmugalingam(72), S Kantharoopan (29), Shanmugalingam Parameswari (65), Ratnam Senthuran (38), Somasuntharam Maheswary, Vanniasingham Vigneswaran..Thanuskodi  PreminiKasinather Ganesalingam, ThangarasaShanmuganathan Sujendram, Thambiraja Vasantharajan, Kailayapillai Ravindran, Arunesarasa ,  Satheesharan, .Ramanathan Ratheeskumar, Thanuskodi  Premini, Kasinather Ganesalingam, Thangarasa, Shanmuganathan Sujendram,Thambiraja Vasantharajan, Kailayapillai Ravindran, Arunesarasa  Satheesharan, Thambiah Jeyarajah, Major Kapilan, Thambipillai Selvarajah, Ramalingam Suntheralingam, Kandasamy Vaikunthan, Anthonippillai Soosainather, Thevasahayampillai Jeyakumar Soosainather Subramaniam Sugirtharajan, Chandrakanthan Vijayatharson. Chandragajan Krishnagobi, Illayathamby Ramakrishnan, Thurairajah Ravichandran, Kanapathy Murugesu, Mariyanayagam Maruthanayagam, Suppiah Murugan, Sithambari Ganesaratnam, Visuvar KrishnanBojan Renuka, Bojan Shanuka, Bojan Arthanageswary, Tharmarasan TharmaseelanN Kandeepan ,T Tharmasri, Soosaithas K MarinthiranSebastiampillai P RubanSelvarajah Uthayarajah, S. Thanabalasingham, Balakrishnan Rajeevmohan, Parimalarajah Robinson, Iyathurai Baskaran, Thangathurai SivananthaLogithasan RohanthShanmugarajah Sajeenthiran,  Manoharan Rajeehar, Yogarajah Hemachandran, Thambirajah Arulajanthan, Joseph Pararajasingham, Jude Sugathy (Theresa) Croos , Jude Arokiyathass Fernando, Emmani Croos, Emmani Anthonikkam Croos, Nadararajah Sivakadadcham , Dharmaretnam Sivaram, Aiyathurai Nadesan, Kumaravel Thambaiah and, over the years, thousands more....

"...What is needed is not impotent breast-beating, however cathartic it may be, over past atrocities. What is more important and urgent is to reveal the past within the present. The need of the hour is to condemn the continuing Holocaust, the draconian war against the Tamil people and to expose the genocidal intent of the Sinhalese-controlled State. On 16th  Anniversary of Genocide'83 - S Sathananthan & Sabiha Sumar, 28 July 1998

உண்மைகள் ஒருபோதும் உறங்குவதில்லை, உறங்கவும் கூடா...
Truth never sleeps - and it should not....

14 November 2007 "Disappearances and killings will continue" - Sri Lanka’s Army commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka in UK Channel-4: Unreported World Killing for Peace
3 November 2007Five People are Killed or Disappear Daily
15 March 2007Mutilated body in Punguduthivu
15 March 2007Mohamed Ali Nanthakumar murdered and dumped in Jaffna town
14 March 2007Kandasamy Manoharan murdered in Vavuniya
12 March 2007Lawrence Mariyaselvam shot dead in Manipay
11 March 20074 disappearances, 4 abductions in 48 hours in Jaffna

" Jeyachandran Prathap, Maiyoor Chandramohan, Devadas Christy Prasanna, Balasingham Surendran, Jesuthasan Jeyasuthan, Paramsamy Visaharan, Marimuththu Kumutharaj, Amirthalingam Alaheswaran"

11 March 2007 87 Tamil youths abducted or disappear in Jaffna in 2007
10 March 2007 55 civilians killed in Mannar in 14 months
10 March 2007 3 youths missing in Jaffna
2 March 2007Five Tamil fishermen missing in Mannar Sea
8 February 2007Three Tamil civilians abducted in Mannar
13 January 2007Two Tamil brothers shot dead in Mannar
8 January 2007Two Tamil young men abducted in Mannar
20 November 2006Tamil youth missing in Mannar
3 November 2006Father of five shot dead in Mannar
22 October 2006Two Tamil fishermen shot dead in Mannar
14 October 200629 reported missing in Colombo - Civil Monitoring Committee
 "The Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC), formed recently in Colombo by involved Tamil and Sinhala politicians, to monitor extra judicial killings, abductions and disappearances, based on the records registered so far, reported Friday that 29 persons were still missing in Colombo. Six persons were reported killed. Eight persons were released, according to the list compiled from the details become public and from the people who are willing to talk. There are many acts of Disappearances, Abductions, Killings and Extortions occurred in capital city Colombo, suburbs, that have gone unreported due to reasons of fear and logistics, said the CMC chaired by Srithunga Jayasooriya..." more
6 September 2006Extra-judicial killings escalate in Jaffna
 "...62 individuals including Newspaper Manager Sivamaharajah, ex- Member of Parliament and 2 undergraduates were killed, and 53 civilians including a Catholic Priest and 10 students below the age of 18 have disappeared in Jaffna Peninsula in 35 days since August 02. The International agencies present in Jaffna are yet to voice their concerns for the increased dissappearances of children in Sri Lanka Army controlled Jaffna district, according to civil society leaders in Jaffna.
Deans of Jaffna Univeristy have charged that the search operations conducted by the Sri Lanka armed forces inside the Univeristy premises were deliberate attempts to damage the reputation of the University and instil fear in the students..."
more
4 August 2006Massacre of 17 Aid Workers by Sri Lanka Army - President Mahinda Rajapakse's War Crime
4 August 2006Pon Ganeshamoorthy: a Tamil Nationalist, murdered by Sri Lanka Intelligence Operatives
17 June 2006Sri Lanka Navy murders Tamil civilians in Pesalai Church
8 June 2006Sri Lanka soldiers massacre Tamil family of four in Vankalai
 


Murdered: Mary Medaline (27) Moorthy Martin (35) Ann Nilxon (7), Ann Luxica(9)

13 May 2006Baby of four months, 4-year-old child, among 9 Tamils  murdered by Sri Lanka Navy in Jaffna
 


Murdered
: Ketheeswaran Yathursan (4 months), Ketheeswaran Thanushkanth (4), Palachamy Ketheeswaran (25), Ketheeswaran Anex Ester (23), Abraham Robinson (28), Sellathurai Amalathas (28), Kanesh Navaratnam (50) , Joseph Anthonymuttu ,(64) Sinnathurai Sivanesan (46), Murugesu Shanmugalingam (72), S Kantharoopan (29), Shanmugalingam Parameswari (65), Ratnam Senthuran (38)

26 April 2006Sri Lanka Armed Forces Attack Continued For Second Day; 13 Dead; Many wounded.
25 April 2006Tamil Areas In Trincomalee Are Under Non-Stop Aerial Bombardment
15 April 2006Sinhala hoodlums attack and kill Tamils in Trincomalee
 

7 April 2006Vanniasingham Vigneswaran, President of the Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples' Forum (TDTPF)  shot dead by Sri Lanka Para Military
 

"..The assassination of the key Tamil activist has taken place when the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was about to announce the appointment of Mr. Vigneswaran as the national list Parliamentarian to fill the position held by Joseph Pararajasingham MP who was slain in Batticaloa on Christmas eve..."

31 January 2006Disappearance of Chullipuram Student, Ramanathan Ratheeskumar
30 January 2006Sri Lanka Paramilitaries abduct Tamil Staff members of Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) in Welikande/Batticaloa - 'Disappeared 7' despite Sri Lanka Government's undertaking to 'diligently' investigate and Amnesty International's Appeal Campaign "...The 3 released TRO workers reported that when one of the abductors shouted out that there was a police jeep ahead, another of the abductors replied that this would not present a problem to them. Before the 3 TRO staff members were released, they were told by the abductors that they should prepare the funeral rites for the five remaining abductees..."... more

1.Thanuskodi
Premini

2.Kasinather Ganesalingam

3.Thangarasa

4.Shanmuganathan Sujendram

5.Thambiraja Vasantharajan

6.Kailayapillai Ravindran

7.Arunesarasa 
Satheesharan
29 January 2006Thambiah Jeyarajah, a farmer shot dead in Trincomalee
26 January 2006Kapilan killed by Sri Lanka Military in Vadamunai
24 January 2006Kandasamy Vaikunthan, a student from Varani Yakkalai area shot dead by Sri Lanka Para Military
23 January 2006Disappearance of Anthonippillai Soosainather and Thevasahayampillai Jeyakumar Soosainather
24 January 2006Subramaniam Sugirtharajan, Tamil Journalist shot dead by Sri Lanka Para Military
23 January 2006Extra Judicial Killing of Chandrakanthan Vijayatharson in Chavakachcheri
23 January 2006Chandragajan Krishnagobi, shot dead Meesalai, Jaffna by Sri Lanka Intelligence Operatives
22 January 2005Sri Lanka President blames security forces for murder of Joseph Pararajasingham and five Trincomalee Students
21 January 2006Thurairajah Ravichandran shot dead in Kayts by Sri Lanka Security forces intelligence operatives
21 January 2006Tamils accuse the army of killings and abductions: All along the Tamil-dominated coastline, joining the Tigers has become a common cry reports BBC
21 January 2006Nadarajah Yogeswararajah, shot dead in Puthur, Jaffna by Sri Lanka Para Military
20 January 2006Arbitrary Killing of Kanapathy Murugesu
18 January 2006Jaffna Displacement caused by Sri Lanka Military's Extermination Drive - NESHOR
 

" During the four years of the ceasefire agreement (CFA), people .... confidently expressed their political views in public gatherings, supporting the Tamil rights to self determination in events like the “Pongu Thamil”, and the “Tamil Uprising” events. The Sri Lankan military has noted the people at the forefront of these events and now appears to be on an extermination drive to eliminate these people. People have commented that those who are terrorising the people are doing so with a list of names. A large number of university students and recent graduates who are yet to find employment are feeling vulnerable by the terror spread by the SLA and its paramilitaries and are displacing to Vanni..."

18 January 2006Abduction & Disappearance of Mariyanayagam Maruthanayagam
16 January 2006Extra Judicial Killing of Suppiah Murugan in Urumpiray
16 January 2006Extra Judicial Killing of Sithambari Ganesaratnam and Visuvar Krishnan in Kaithadi
16 January 2006Three women members of Maaveerar family shot dead in Manipay
15 January 2006Tharmarasan Tharmaseelan shot dead in Kayts by Sri Lanka Para Military
12 January 2006Abduction of N Kandeepan and T Tharmasri by Sri Lankan Army
12 January 2006Amnesty Appeal - Four Disappearances,

Soosaithas K Marinthiran (m), aged 31, laborer ; Sebastiampillai P Ruban (m), aged 24, bus conductor; Balakrishnan Rajeevmohan, age 21, laborer; Selvarajah Uthayarajah (m)

12 January 2006Sri Lanka army beats to death S. Thanabalasingham, a forty year old farmer in Trincomalee
11 January 2006Amnesty International calls for halt to the killings, abductions and "disappearances" being reported daily from the north and east of Sri Lanka.
11 January 2006Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges Sri Lanka to prevent 'forced disappearances' by security forces,
 

"The BBC Sinhala Service revealed today a report by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) stating that enquiries are ongoing regarding 20 complaints of forced disappearances that are alleged to have taken place during the month of December 2005... In recent decades, Sri Lanka has had one of the worst records in the world concerning forced disappearances... Past experience dictates that forced disappearance in Sri Lanka entails the killing of persons following arrest. The arrests are performed secretly, so as to circumvent legal safeguards and to prevent any traces of evidence being left concerning the abduction and any further ill-treatment..." more

11 January 2006Abduction of Balakrishnan Rajeevmohan by Sri Lankan Army - Case Report
10 January 2006North East Secretariat on Human Rights Appeals against Sri Lanka Army Atrocities - Dr N Malathy, NESOHR Secretary General
 

"Over the last six to seven weeks atrocities by the Sri Lankan armed forces and paramilitaries against civilians in Northeast have escalated to alarming levels. Sri Lankan armed forces so far have been responsible for at least 45 deaths and more than 100 disappearances and innumerable shooting/beating and injuring of civilians who were going about their daily lives..."

7 January 2006Disappearance of Parimalarajah Robinson from Vadamaradchi East
6 January 2006Extrajudicial killing of Iyathurai Baskaran
4 January 2006Unarmed civilians need protection against a Vindictive Armed state - International Federation of Tamils
 

"In complete contrast to the statement made by the military spokesman on the killing of five teenage boys in Trincomalee that they were LTTE cadres killed accidentally in a blast while assembling an incendiary with an intent to attack a military installation, the autopsy made by the state medical officers on their bodies, has revealed that they were shot through their ears at a very close range. It was also subsequently revealed that they were all advanced level qualified civilian students from the same school on a normal evening camaraderie at the beach...

...Five were killed instantly while two are in hospital, critically wounded. A spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Helen Olafsdottir, told BBC Sandesaya, that there was evidence that all five students had been shot in the head in a manner she described as resembling “executions.” This is naked State terrorism perpetrated on unarmed school children. The Tamil nation, both in Sri Lanka and belonging to the Tamil Diaspora appeals to the International Community to condemn the barbaric act of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and prevail on the President of Sri Lanka to take immediate and strong action against the perpetrators... Unarmed civilians need protection against a vindictive armed state."

2 January 2006Sri Lanka Army  murders 5 Tamils in Trincomalee, breaches Ceasefire & Lie Again - This Time, the Brazen Lie
 

" Five innocent Tamil youth have been deliberately shot and killed in cold blood by security forces around 7.45 p.m. on 2nd January 2006 on the road close to the beach abutting Dockyard Road and the road leading to Fort Frederick at Trincomalee. Two other innocent Tamil youths sustained serious injuries at the same time and place caused by a grenade explosion..." more

1 January 2006Involuntary Disappearances in Sri Lanka Looming Large Again - International Federation of Tamils
 

"...More than 920 Tamils have been arrested and detained in Colombo alone in one overnight search. Sri Lanka armed forces are descending on Tamil homes in the middle of the night, privacy of the Tamil bedrooms is trespassed, men and women, young and old, in their night-clothes are bundled up in awaiting vehicles and taken away for interrogation and detention. Although the government tells the international media that many are being released after an identity check-up, they are being arrested over and over again, and subjected to an ordeal of being fingerprinted, photographed, and videoed..."

28 December 2005Extra Judicial Killing of Thambirajah Arulajanthan by Sri Lanka Military
25 December 2005Sri Lanka Military shows its Hand in the Murder of  Tamil Parliamentarian & Human Rights Activist Joseph Pararajasingham
23 December 2005Sri Lanka Navy Attacks Tamil Civilians and Kills four in Pesalai
 

Extra Judicial Killing of Jude Sugathy (Theresa) Croos ,  Jude Arokiyathass Fernando, Emmani Croos, Emmani Anthonikkam Croos

12 December 2005Sri Lanka's Special Task Force & Sri Lanka  Ministers complicit in paramilitary operations
10 October 2005Murder of Principal Kopay Christian College, Mr. Nadararajah Sivakadadcham,& Sri Lanka's Disinformation
29 April 2005Tamil Journalist Dharmaretnam Sivaram (Taraki) abducted and shot dead
7 October 2004Amnesty International Calls on the Sri Lankan Government to Prosecute Security Forces Responsible for Disappearances in Sri Lanka,
 

"...AI opposes "disappearances" in all cases. In Sri Lanka, the security forces have been responsible for tens of thousands of "disappearances" ..

31 May 2004Aiyathurai Nadesan, Vice-President of the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance shot dead
25 May 2004LTTE demands SLMM inquiry into murder of Eastern University academic, Kumaravel Thambaiah
11 November 2001Presidential Guard orchestrated Kumar Ponnambalam murder says Sinhala owned Sri Lanka Sunday Leader,
29 August 2001Secret graveyards rise to haunt Sri Lanka says New York Times
 

"...The bones of 15 people beaten to death by soldiers in 1996 were unearthed two years ago from hidden graves around this desolate military checkpoint...But no one has been put on trial for the killings. And the skeletons were only recently sent to be identified through DNA testing. Secret graveyards like this one are scattered across Sri Lanka, a small island tormented by violent conflict.Since the late 1980s, more than 20,000 people have vanished after being taken into government custody..."

March 2001Extra judicial executions and disappearances in Kayts..
 

"Punkudutivu Island student V Suthakaran is missing from 25 March. Concern is growing over disappearance of students in Jaffna. The Army denied arresting three youths during a search operation in Varani in early March. A girl student of a Nelliady school is also missing since 27 March. The Army took into custody Jaffna University student M Ketheeswaran on the same day. Fifteen year-old T Yogarajah is currently held at Kankesanthurai military base. Reports say since 1996, six students have been killed by landmines in Jaffna and over 50 students have been injured." British Refugee Council, Sri Lanka Monitor

February 2001Extra Judicial Killing of Kutaalam Muraleetharan
January 2001Extra judicial executions, murder of Tamil detainees and abductions continue with impunity,
 

"...On the night of 9 January 2001, a masked gang of four abducted student S Muhundan from his home at Pandarikulam. Fellow students staged a demonstration against the abduction. Sources say Tamil groups allied to the (Sri Lanka)Army are responsible for a number of abductions and disappearances. Mr Muhundan was found blindfolded the following night in a rice field. Amnesty International says Suppiah Sivalingam, a refugee from Kilinochchi, was ordered to report at the ‘Sanasa’ Army camp on 14 January before he is issued a permit to stay in Vavuniya. He went to the camp and has not been seen since. Amnesty has expressed concern for his safety.

December 2000Arbitrary Arrests, Extra Judicial Killings continue unabated... says British Refugee Council
December 2000Eight Tamil civilians found dead in mass grave in Mirusuvil after detention by Sri Lanka army
 

"According to information received by TCHR sources from Jaffna, eight people,  including two children, arrested by the Sri Lankan Army on 19th December,  disappeared. Our sources informed us later that on 25th December a mass  grave was discovered in the Mirusuvil area, Thenmaradchi. The bodies were  found of Vilvaraj (41), his two sons Prasath (5) and Pratheepan (15),  Thevakulasingham (31), Baskar Gnanabasakaran (19), Jeyachandran Nadesu (21),  Gnanachandran Kathiran (35) and his son Shanthan.

November 2000Tamil detainees in prisons fear for their safety in a climate of impunity,
November 2000Sri Lanka military death squads return again to Vavuniya... says British Refugee Council
21 October 2000Tamil Detainees murdered in custody, yet again - Bindunuwewe Massacre
 

The contradictory statements by the Sri Lanka authorities serve to reveal the hand of the Sri Lanka security forces in the attack on the Tamil detenus. On 24 October 2000, the Tamil detenus, after several months of detention, had informed the authorities that they would go on a hunger strike if they were not released. The Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence runs the rehabilitation centre. The attack came a few hours after the military, which provided protection to the centre was removed.

19 October 2000Tamil journalist, Nimalarajan, shot dead in Jaffna,
September 2000Arbitrary arrests, detentions, extra judicial killings in Batticaloa, Vavuniya and Colombo,
August 2000British Refugee Council reports continuing arbitrary arrests, abduction and disappearances,
August 2000Sri Lanka Army targets Tamil farmers in Batticaloa District & beheads one
31 August 2000Amnesty writes to President Kumaratunga about increase in disappearances in August 2000
 

"In a letter sent to the President of Sri Lanka today (31 August 2000), Amnesty International urged investigations into an increasing number of "disappearances" reported over the last two weeks in northern Sri Lanka.  Seven people who were last seen in the hands of security forces in Vavuniya between 10 and 16 August have "disappeared", bringing the total number of "disappearances" in that city to nine this year. In addition many people have reportedly been held in secret detention for up to two or three weeks and subjected to torture.

21 August 2000Amnesty issues yet another Urgent Action appeal on 'disappearance' of Tamils
 

Ariyathas Vijayakumar and Shanmugasundaram Suyanthan were arrested by members of the Sri Lanka army in separate incidents on 15 August in the Vavuniya area. Their whereabouts are unknown and Amnesty International is concerned for their safety.

July 2000Illegal arrests, extra judicial killings and disappearances continue with impunity
June 2000Amnesty Appeals & Sri Lanka Continues to Torture & Kill
 

Sinnathamby Pradeepan - Poopalaratnam Arulramesh - Gunasekaran Sathiyaseelan - Samithamby Eswaran - Ganesh Chandrakanthan (killed) - The five labourers were arrested on 4 June in Trincomalee district, in the east of the country, and taken to Kantalai police station. The men's parents tried to visit them the next morning, but police chased them away. The next day, Kantalai police were seen taking Poopalaratnam Arulramesh to his house, together with Sinnathamby Pradeepan. Both men appeared to have been badly tortured: Sinnathamby Pradeepan was bleeding from his mouth and had open wounds on his shoulders, and Poopalaratnam Arulramesh had difficulty walking. In the morning of 7 June, police told Ganesh Chandrakanthan's family that he had been killed when he set off a grenade at the time of his arrest.

May 2000Sri Lanka security forces shoot dead 9 children from an orphanage...
 

"...the security forces fired at the van carrying the children, despite the plea of Rev Jeyachandra, “Please don’t shoot the children; shoot me instead”.."

April 2000Sri Lanka's notorious Special Task Force (STF) go on a rampage in Batticaloa.
21 March 2000Asian Human Rights Commission calls for an International Tribunal on disappearances in Sri Lanka.
March 2000Dreaded white vans, the hallmark of Sri Lanka military death squads, reappear in Vavuniya...
March 2000"Disappearances were carried out as part of a plan approved by the highest political authorities" Statement at UN Human Rights Commission
February 2000Amnesty appeals again about disappearances
 

"A young Tamil man, Mahendrarajah Gajamukan, was taken from his home on 30 January by men believed to be members of an armed group allied to the Sri Lankan armed forces. Amnesty International is concerned that he may be at risk of torture..."

January 2000Military backed death squads in Colombo
5 January 2000Assassination of Kumar Ponnambalam
11 January 2000Amnesty continues to be concerned by 'disappearances' ...
 

Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action Bulletin on 11 January 2000 and expressed for the safety of Vinayagamoorthy Vijayarajah, arrested by members of the Sri Lankan army near the Hindu temple at Valaichenai, in the Batticaloa district in the island of Sri Lanka on 3 January and whose whereabouts remain unknown thereafter.

October 1999Sathasivam Sanjeevan tortured and killed in Batticaloa
 

The Kalmunai Magistrate retuned today a verdict of homicide in the death of Sathasivam Sanjeevan, 19, a student of WesleyCollege in the eastern town. Sanjeevan was shot dead on 15 October 1998, while being held under the detention of Kalmunai police. The court ruled that the student had been tortured and died of gun shot injuries. However, the police claimed that the student was killed when the Liberation Tigers ambushed the police unit which was transporting him to the Ampara.

16 June 1999Corporal Rajapakse implicates Sri Lanka Army Command of murder, rape and torture
May 1999Lessons from Kokkodaicholai  - "Ninaittaal paittiyam varum - Thinking would make me crazy." - Margaret Trawick
11 April 1999Mass Graves discovered in Duraiyappah Stadium in Jaffna.
11 April 1999New Zealand Signature Campaign  - Investigate Chemmani Mass Graves...
 

Remembering Chenmanni - Raj Swarnan

ஓ....எங்கள் குரல் கேட்கிறதா ?
ஓ....எங்கள் குரல் கேட்கிறதா ?
வாழ வேண்டிய வயதில் வாழ்விழந்து போனவர்களின் குரல் இது....

January 1999Fate of 109 Tamils who disappeared in 1998 during Army occupation of Kilinochchi remains unknown.
January 1999Impunity afforded to security forces exposes extent of Sri Lanka Government support, Human Rights Watch
23 December 1998Quisling groups with Sri Lanka army abduct Tamils and Amnesty appeals yet again
25 September 1998International Appeal launched on the Chemmani mass grave investigation.
9 September 1998A culture of impunity has developed says Iinternational Commission of Jurists
 

"Between 1983 and the present day the security forces in Sri Lanka (including the armed forces, the police, and local militia units armed by the Government) have been responsible for thousands of murders and disappearances, the vast majority of the latter involving deliberate killings... a great many murders and disappearances have ... occurred in the course of the struggle against the LTTE. After a welcome decline in 1994 and 1995, there was a significant recurrence in 1996....

The fact is that not a single member of the security forces had at the date of the Mission, been convicted of murder. Changes in procedure to cut the number of killings are not enough. We draw attention the United Nations Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which requires States to bring to justice all persons presumed responsible for forced disappearances. A culture of impunity has developed, with perpetrators of grave violations being convicted of minor offences or in most cases, not at all...."

24 August 1998Chemmani witness assaulted and intimidated in Jail
15 August 1998Chemmani  Mass Graves - US based Ilankai Thamil Sangam suggests action by US Government
July 1998Extra judicial executions of Tamils continue...
13 July 1998The charge is genocide - mass graves in Chemmani, Jaffna
 

Sri Lanka's Tamil political parties on Monday called for an immediate probe into a report of mass graves in northern Jaffna, where international human rights groups have said about 600 people disappeared during a military campaign in 1996... The report comes from a soldier sentenced to death by a court in Colombo for the (rape and) murder of a teenage Tamil schoolgirl (Krishanthi) . "We didn't kill anyone. We only buried bodies. We can show you where  300 to 400 bodies have been buried," Cpl. Dewage Somaratne told the Court July 3.

April 1998Amnesty campaigns against 'disappearance' of children after detention by Sri Lanka security
 

"..Natkunasingam Sivathisini, a three year old girl and Venuraj, her four month old brother have not been seen since 9 September 1990 when they were detained from their village by soldiers front the Boys Town Army Camp. Sixty eight Tamil children "disappeared" after being detained on that day in Batticaloa with members of their families. It is feared that they were subsequently extra judicially executed. As of March 1998 no one has been prosecuted for their "disappearance". Scores of children, aged between several months and 17 years, are among the thousands of people who are reported to have 'disappeared" after detention by security forces and members of armed groups engaged in hostilities, during the last 15 years of civil conflict in Sri Lanka..."

11 March 1998Amnesty appeals yet again on further Tamil 'disappearances'
 

Subramaniam Tharmabalasingham, aged 22; Kathirgamathamby Sentilkumar, aged 23; Ponnampalam Thavarajah, aged 40; Arumugam Mylvaganam, aged 35  - There are serious concerns for the safety of the four above-named men who 'disappeared' after being taken into custody in January and February 1998. Enquiries by the local offices of the Human Rights Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross in addition to appeals made on their behalf to the President of Sri Lanka by local Members of Parliament have failed to reveal the whereabouts or the fate of the men.

15 February 1998Pathmini's agonising ordeal - a 'disappearance' case study
 

"Pathmini was pregnant at the time with her second son. The nine soldiers who visited her house in Chavakachcheri had come in search of a man named 'Sresberan'. They took her husband 'Sreskeran' for he had a name that sounded close to the one they were looking for..... "

3 February 1998Amnesty deplores killing of 8 Tamil civilians by Government forces
 

"Today's report that eight Tamil civilians, including three teenagers,  were deliberately shot at close range by police and home guards at  Tampalakamam on 1 February is deplorable, Amnesty International declared. This incident is reminiscent of the killing by army and home guards of 24 civilians, including 13 children, two years ago in the same area and still the suspects have not been punished," the organization said. "It is important that the alleged perpetrators are taken into custody as quickly as possible so they are not able to intimidate witnesses."

12 December 1997Tamil prisoners murdered whilst in custody yet again
 

Amnesty International today appealed to Sri Lanka's Minister of Justice to order a full and impartial inquiry into the killing of three Tamil detainees on 12 December at Kalutara prison, south of the capital, Colombo. In its letter to Professor G. L. Peiris, the human rights organization expressed concern for the safety of other detainees who witnessed the killings and are currently under guard by prison staff who may have been involved in the act. Amnesty International urges that all necessary steps be taken to protect these witnesses.

10 December 1997Asian Human Rights Commission reports on protests against disappearances...
 

"Though many human rights organisations, committees and subcommittees have been appointed, it is obvious that none of them are doing any active work. Today under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, thousands of youth are arrested and detained arbitrarily for long periods while thousands more are also apprehended nowadays in the name of security and are interrogated ruthlessly. The PA [People's Alliance] government has also not been able to explain the disappearances of 600 people in the northern peninsula so far, which has made us sick of talking about human rights..."

27 November 1997Continuing spectre of "disappearances" in Sri Lanka says Amnesty
 

" An Amnesty International delegation which visited Sri Lanka recently has concluded that of the 600-odd people who have "disappeared" in the last 18 months after their arrest by the security forces, nearly all have died as a result of torture or been deliberately killed in detention....According to the organization, the events of 1996 indicate the need for an active approach to tackling the root causes of human rights violations in Sri Lanka -- the lingering sense of impunity among perpetrators and the legislation allowing for people to be detained incommunicado for long periods of time."In the past, Sri Lanka became a country notorious for "disappearances" -- a country racked by the terrible anguish suffered by relatives who never knew the fate of their loved ones," Amnesty International said.

December 1997Disappearances in the North follow the pattern set earlier in the South says Asian Human Rights Commission
 

"The police and armed forces overstepped the excessive power given to them and lost all control over their actions. Under the emergency regulations, all restraints on law enforcement officers were removed, and the power to dispose of dead bodies was left to the sole discretion of these officers. Judicial supervision was suspended. There were no provisions even to keep records of the disposed bodies. These emergency regulations have been labelled by many human rights organisations as a license to kill."

September 1997Death & Disappearances of Tamils continue unabated
 

"The killing of Rev. Arulpalan is yet an other murder committed by unknown forces (?) in the north. A priest of Konavil in the Kilinochchi district - he was reportedly taken in for questioning by the Sri Lankan army on August 25. He was not seen again until his decomposed body was discovered on September 9 together with two others in a hastily dug grave. Aid workers in the northern peninsula said one of the bodies had its head cut off... Acts of murder and disappearance in the north and east seem to continue unabated while the voice of human rights activists in Colombo seem to have been effectively muzzled by the present political administration. ..."

23 September 1997The Amparai Atrocity
 

"Over 50 policemen and Home Guards descended on the Fourth Colony village in Amparai District on 23 September, shooting and burning houses. When the carnage was over, six Tamil civilians lay dead and 66 houses had been set ablaze. Over 1390 people fled to nearby villages..."

September 1997World Council of Churches appalled by murder of Christian pastor by Sri Lanka army
 

" The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed the murder of Rev Arulpalan of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India whose body was found at Puthumurripu on 9 September 1997.  Rev Arulpalan was taken into custody by the Sri Lankan army on 25 August 1997 while visiting a church farm. The ministry of defense was contacted on 28 August by Church of South India (CSI) officials. This latest atrocity comes in the wake of a bombing on 15 August when two Sri Lankan Kfir bombers attacked a Catholic church killing 9 on the spot (including a 4 year old child) and wounding 15."

29 August 1997Disturbing number of disappearances says UN Special Rapporteur
 

"A disturbing number of people have disappeared during Sri Lanka's 14-year war against Tamil separatists, a senior United Nations (UN) official said on Friday. ``There is still a very painful and difficult human rights issue in northern Jaffna peninsula,'' said Bacre Waly Ndiaye, the UN's Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

28 August 1997Australian MP condemns Sri Lanka's genocide
 

"..I want to read into the record a statement issued by Amnesty International. I am a member of Amnesty International and I know many members of this House are also long-time members. This statement was issued very recently by the international secretariat from the United Kingdom. They say:

The level of "disappearances" in Sri Lanka has hit a new high, Amnesty International warned as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights examined the country's human rights record. Coinciding with the Sri Lankan Government's pledge at the Commission that "full rigours of the law will be brought to bear" on the perpetrators of human rights violations, Amnesty International submitted more than 400 cases of "disappearances" to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga urging her to bring those responsible to justice. Since the security forces regained control over the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka between late 1995 and early 1997, the total number of "disappearances" reported to the organization has reached 648 - the highest number since 1990.

"That more than 600 "disappearances" can occur in one year despite the government's claim that it is addressing the problem is outrageous. This highlights the need for action too be taken now - to prevent these violations from continuing," Amnesty International said. "

July 1997Soldiers on rampage at Puthukudyiruppu
May 1997Fate of 656 Tamils who 'disappeared' in 1996 not yet known but Tamils continue to 'disappear'
 

"Tamil MP A Thangathurai told Parliament in early May that disappearances in Jaffna are continuing and called for urgent government action to end growing fear and uncertainty among the peninsula’s population. The fate of 656 people disappeared in Jaffna last year remains unknown. The Jaffna Organisation of the Parents of the Disappeared says in a petition to President Chandrika Kumaratunge in late May that there are witnesses to the arrests of the disappeared by the Army. British Refugee Council, SriLanka Monitor

2 May 1997Amnesty Urgent Action Appeal on continuing "disappearances"
 

Kandiah Sivakumar and Kanagasabai Ravichandran, two firewood sellers from Rukam village, have been reported 'disappeared' after they were taken into custody by the army near the Black Bridge, Chenkalady, Batticaloa district on 20 April 1997. According to eye-witnesses, they were stopped by soldiers from the Kommadurai army camp at around 2pm. They were on their way home from Eravur where they had gone to sell firewood.

11 April 1997Amnesty warns that "disappearances" in Sri Lanka highest since 1990
 

"The level of "disappearances" in Sri Lanka has hit a new high, Amnesty International warned as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights examined the country's human rights record. Coinciding with the Sri Lankan Government's pledge at the Commission that "full rigours of the law will be brought to bear" on the perpetrators of human rights violations, Amnesty International submitted more than 400 cases of "disappearances" to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga asking her to bring those responsible to justice..."That more than 600 'disappearances' can occur in one year despite the government's claim that it is addressing the problem is outrageous. This highlights the need for action to be taken now -- to prevent these violations from continuing," Amnesty International said.

March 1997Killings and disappearances in Jaffna create deep concern among human rights agencies
 

"..Killings and disappearances in the Jaffna peninsula are creating deep concern among human rights agencies. The Colombo-based Centre for Human Dignity says it has recorded 676 disappearances in Jaffna in 1996. The figure, the centre says includes 271 government officers and 26 students. Twenty two of the disappeared were between the ages of 41 and 61..." British Refugee Council, SriLanka Monitor

August 1996Impunity remains a serious concern says Amnesty
 

"The People's Alliance (PA) government has repeatedly proclaimed its commitment to human rights since it came to power in August 1994 and has introduced a number of safeguards to prevent torture and "disappearances". However, the Amnesty International delegation found that these grave violations of human rights are continuing... Amnesty International is concerned that the government is not living up to its stated commitment to human rights.Impunity for those responsible for human rights violations remains a serious concern. Progress in a few court cases against members of the security forces charged in connection with "disappearances" and extrajudicial executions is slow; as are investigations into many other cases. Relatives of tens of thousands of people who were killed or "disappeared" over the last 13 years or so are still waiting for justice to be done...."

August 1996Hundreds of Tamils 'disappear' in the Jaffna peninsula during 1996 says Amnesty
 

"On 7 March 1996 Kanapathipillai Satheesh Kumar, a young Tamil man originally from Jaffna, northern Sri Lanka, who had recently returned to Sri Lanka from Saudi Arabia, "disappeared" after he was arrested by the army from his home in Colombo. His "disappearance" coincided with an Amnesty International visit to Sri Lanka during which the delegates expressed concern about continuous human rights violations, including torture and "disappearances" taking place in the country. Fortunately, Satheesh Kumar was released two weeks later, on 23 March.

At least 60 others arrested in a similar way since April 1995, however, remain "disappeared" in the custody of the security forces. The evidence gathered during the Amnesty International visit clearly indicates that since April 1995 the security forces have arbitrarily detained thousands of Tamil people and have been responsible for torture as well as dozens of "disappearances" and extrajudicial executions.

June 1996Shadowy para military groups torture and execute Tamils
May 1996Sri Lanka's reprisal killings of Tamil non combatants: May 1996 - December 1996
 

"..The bullet-ridden bodies of Sivarasa Krishna and Palanivel Gunasingham were found at Selvanayagapuram in Trincomalee on 29 May. The two Tamil youths had been abducted in a white van the previous night from Anbuvalipuram. White vans are associated with military death squads and a number of people abducted have disappeared. Tamil MP M Chandrakumar says in a letter to President Chandrika that white vans are creating widespread fear and has called for immediate inquiry. Observers say abductions are the Army's response to Tiger attacks..." British Refugee Council, SriLanka Monitor

11 February 1996Genocide in Kumarapuram
 

On Sunday 11 February 1996, Sri Lankan armed forces arrived in army trucks at the Tamil village of Kumarapuram in the Kiliveddi area of the Trincomalee district. Soldiers broke open the windows of houses and fired at those inside.The initial death toll of Tamils who were murdered at Kumarapuram on that fateful day was 24. They were killed because they were Tamils.

9 August 1995Sri Lanka security forces unleash reign of terror in the East say 18 Non Governmenta; Organisation at UN Commission on Human Rights
July 1995Tortured Tamil bodies float in Bolgoda lake in Colombo
 

"In the capital city of Colombo, a video store clerk named Naresh Rajadurai, 27, is last sighted in the company of an army officer. A week later, Rajadurai's decomposed body is found 100 km north of Colombo with those of four other Tamil youths... corpses of young men, many with faces mutilated to prevent identification, have started showing up in lakes and field outside Colombo." Time Magazine

June 1995Peace Brigades International reports on atrocities in Batticaloa area
 

"Since the fighting resumed between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government in late April, witnesses have reported a wide-range of human rights violations against the Tamil population living near the Morakotanchenai Army Base, including: extra-judicial killings, regular mass round-ups, forced civilian labour for military purposes (eg. clearing land mines and serving as human shields).  Sri Lankan Army troops and the Independent "Motorcycle" Brigade, both stationed at Morakotanchenai in Batticaloa District, Eastern Province, have one of the worst records of human rights violations against the Tamil civilian population, according to local human rights activists..."

23 May 1995Extra judicial killings of Tamils at the Jeyanthipuram camp
 
"The (extra judicial) execution (of 4 Tamils) at the Jeyanthipuram camp is one of the most horrific in a growing list of abuses by the Sri Lanka security forces in the town and surrounding villages... The executions followed a night of terror for people living in the heavily populated area between Jeyanthipuram and the neighbouring police camp at Iruthayapuram. Witnesses say the forces were firing from the camp through out the night..."
October 1993New spate of disappearances & extra judicial killings - 1993
 

Human Rights NGOs fear a new spate of disappearances and extra judicial killings after 2,000 Tamils were arrested in Colombo in October... The arrests continue at the rate of 50-100 a day, with between 1,000 and 2,000 held in detention centres across the city... Tamil MPs and human rights NGOs say the five major safeguards agreed in June to protect Tamils are systematically ignored and there are ominous signs that the unofficial death squads that characterised the previous regime are active. A joint statement from 17 Sri Lankan human rights NGOs says unidentified gangs remove suspects blindfolded in the middle of the night without informing relatives who they are or where they are taking those detained...

12 June 1991Kokaddicholai massacre (2)
 

"..On 12th June, 1991 at 11.00 a.m., the Sri Lankan army stationed in the Kokaddichcholai camp situated in the adjoining village, entered these two villages, terrorised and assaulted all the Tamil people, raped the women , including teachers and students who had taken refuge in the village school. 17 families who had taken refuge in the school were shot and killed. In one incident, a young girl who took protection with an old lady teacher was dragged by these sex hungry soldiers and raped in spite of the old lady offering them instead all the jewellery the girl had. They took the jewellery and raped the girl as well. 49 people who had taken refuge in a rice mill at Makiladitivu were burnt alive along with the rice mill..."

December 1990Thousands of Tamils extra judicially executed says Amnesty
 

"'(During 1990)Thousands of people disappeared or were extra judicially executed in the north-east; many were tortured and then killed in custody. An unknown number of others were detained in the area... Government forces in the northeast were reported to have extra judicially executed thousands of defenceless civilians in areas they had regained... Victims were reportedly shot, bayoneted, stabbed or hacked to death; some were said by witnesses to have been burned alive. "

10 July 1990Hundreds of Tamils 'Disappear' after detention by Sri Lanka says Amnesty - 1990
 

"Hundreds of people in northeastern Sri Lanka have reportedly 'disappeared' after being detained by Sri Lankan security forces since 21 June 1990. Bodies, some of which have been identified as those of prisoners, have been dumped in several places. In Kalmunai, over 70 people were reportedly detained and then 'disappeared' after the soldiers reclaimed the town from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam... "

9 September 1990180 Tamils butchered at Saththurukondan
 
On 9th and 10th September 1990, over 180 Tamil civilians were butchered by the Sri Lanka army at the Saththurukondan Army Camp in the Batticaloa District. At an inquiry into the massacre, the Officer-in-Charge of the camp, Captain. Gamini Varnakula Sooriya said "On that day no search or arrest was conducted by us". He also reiterated that none of his men even ventured out of the camp on the day of the massacre. The sole survivor of the massacre, Kanthasamy Krishnakumar aged 27, however recounted the chilling facts: "On the night of 9 September 1990, Tamil civilians from Batticaloa, Saththurukkondan, Panichchaiyady, Kokkuvil, Pillaiyarady were taken to the Army camp for interrogation. I was the only survivor of the185 civilians taken there. We were stabbed with sharp knives including a one and a half year old child, children and women. ..
14 July 1990Kannapuram Massacre
 

“During the day, on 14 July 1990, we heard that the army was moving into our village. We were having our meal. I did not have time to even wash my hand as my family dragged me and ran for its life, fearing certain death at the hands of the invading soldiers. ... Some people came back a few days after the army invasion to retrieve whatever belongings that may have been spared by the marauding soldiers. They saw the bodies of those who stayed behind, chopped up and thrown in our water wells. Some old men and women were burnt inside the houses in which they had decided to stay, braving the army”

December 1987Police and armed forces continued to kill non combatant Tamils - Amnesty International
 

"..The police and armed forces continued to kill non combatant Tamils... Of particular concern were reprisal killings by the security forces and reports that Tamil suspects taken into custody were shot or tortured to death and their bodies disposed of in secret. By the end of 1987, over 680 Tamils had reportedly 'disappeared' since 1983 and no substantive attempts had been made by the government what had happened to them."

28 January 1987The Kokkadaicholai Massacre (1)
 

"..Within three days of the launching of the Sri Lanka military operation which began on January 28, according to the Batticaloa Citizens' Committee, an estimated 150 to 175 civilians were killed by the STF commandos. The victims included 23 employees of a prawn culture farm run by Serendib Sea Foods Ltd, a fifty per cent American owned Hong Kong based company.The employees were rounded up, herded onto a tractor and trailer, taken to a road junction and shot dead. Seven of the victims were boys aged 12 to 14. Forty others who had sought refuge in the farm were also shot and killed. The bodies were later burnt on piles of old tyres obtained by the security forces from the town's bus depot. Subsequently, the commandos rounded up nearly 83 people from the villages of Mudalikuda, Munaikadu, llupadichenai, Thandiady and Mahiladitivu and deliberately killed them. Another 12 people were reported to be missing and are feared dead. "

19 February1986Akkaraipattu Massacre & Arbitrary killing of Tamils
 

"Upto 80 people mainly Tamil farm workers are said to have been killed and their bodies burned in a massacre in eastern Sri Lanka. The killings happened on Wednesday (19 February 1986), but confirmation of the incident was made only yesterday after community leaders had visited the remote spot near the town of Akkaraipattu, where the farm workers were shot."

19 January 1986Iruthayapuram Massacre: eye witness account
 

"The security forces started working on the innocent civilians lying on the ground. They surrounded the victims and started to thrash, beat and kick them mercilessly. Some of the victims were picked up by their legs and were dashed on other victims lying down. The heart rending cries and screaming of the women and children who saw their sons, husbands, brothers or fathers being tortured filled the whole atmosphere. Some of them fell unconscious. ..This brutality exceeded by far, even the torture of the Nazis. For they - the Nazi's - dared not execute their torture rituals publicly. But here it was not only done publicly in broad day light, but also in the holy precincts of a consecrated church."

16 October 1985Amnesty Reports on 163 Extra Judicial Killings of Tamils in May 1985
 

"This circular contains the texts of letters which Amnesty International wrote on 7 June 1985 to the President of Sri Lanka, J R Jayewardene, and on 10 July 1985 to the Minister of National Security, Mr Lalith Athulathmudali, about allegations of extrajudicial killings and reports of "disappearances" during May 1985.The letters refer to renewed reports that during May 1985 over 100 unarmed Tamil civilians were killed by members of the security forces in reprisal for the killing of their own men, and also to reports of "disappearances" between 16 and 18 May 1985 of 63 young Tamil men who were reportedly taken away from their homes in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka by Special Task Force personnel and allegedly shot dead in custody, although government officials deny their arrest..."

1979-1985Synopsis of extra judicial killings by an independent law group - 1979 to 1985
 

"..As a United Nations member, the Sri Lankan Government is legally obligated to respect and observe fundamental human rights and freedoms. Specifically, the Government must prevent extra-judicial killings by its own agents in order to comply with its international obligations. The Geneva Convention, which embodies binding principles of customary international law unequivocally proscribes extra-judicial killings or summary execution, the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment announced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized people. .. To date, however, no security force personnel have been prosecuted. ...The failure to punish security force personnel implicated in violence and the weak sanctions meted out in rare instances of punishment seriously compromise Sri Lanka's international obligations and its domestic law. "

15 June 1985The Massacre in Tiriyai - the village that died
 

"Infantryman, fully equipped for battle, spilled from the vehicles. Some were carrying jerrycans, others held flaming torches. Systematically, they went from house to house, pouring paraffin on to the grass roofs, lighting them, moving on. They set animals free, and shot them down. They stormed into the tiny library, pulled out all the books - no more than a couple of hundred at the most and made a bonfire of them. They wrecked the half dozen International Harvester tractors, and set fire to their wooden trailers."

15 May 1985Sri Lanka Navy Massacres Tamil Passengers on Kumithini
 

Kumuthini! What a lovely name she bore!
But on that fateful day she had not known,
As she crossed the deep ocean from the Delft shore
That she would create a history on her own!
more

9 January 1985Sinhala army murders Christian priests - 1984/85
 

"The Church is living under siege. Two weeks ago a village priest was one of ten people killed by the army on church premises. His body was never found. The government claimed this week that no witnesses had come forward to testify to his death, but this was contested yesterday by the Bishop of Mannar, Dr.Thomas Savundranayagam.

28 March 1984Chunnakam massacre and extra judicial killings of Tamils
 

''Sri Lankan forces are conducting a harsh and remorseless campaign of intimidation among the islands' Tamil minority. By means of random murder, indiscriminate shootings, beatings, torture and plunder, ill disciplined and trigger happy soldiers keep the Tamils in the North in a state of constant fear.." Trevor Fishlock, London Times

July 1983Genocide '83...
 

"Communal riots in which Tamils are killed, maimed, robbed and rendered homeless are no longer isolated episodes; they are beginning to become a pernicious habit." Paul Sieghart in his  Report of a Mission to Sri Lanka on behalf of the International Commission of Jurists and its British Section, Justice, March1984

July 1983Fifty three Tamil prisoners murdered whilst in government custody
 

Thirty five Tamil political prisoners (held in custody under the infamous Sri Lanka Prevention of Terrorism Act, which was described by the International Commission of Jurists as 'an ugly blot on the statute book of any civilised country') were killed within the walls of the high security Welikade prison, in Colombo, on 25 July. Two days later, on 27 July, 18 more Tamil political prisoners were killed within the confines of the same Welikade prison.

20 September 1977Organised pogrom against Tamils - 1977
 

"A tragedy is taking place in Sri Lanka: the political conflict following upon the recent elections, is turning into a racial massacre. It is estimated by reliable sources that between 250 and 300 Tamil citizens have lost their lives..."

May 1958Genocide '58
 

"As panic spread, doors were closed in Sinhalese as well as Tamil homes. The Tamils closed their doors to escape murder, rape and pillage. The Sinhalese closed their doors to prevent Tamils running into their houses for shelter…Among the hundreds of acts of arson, rape, pillage, murder and plain barbarity some incidents may be recorded as examples of the kind of thuggery at work."

June 1956Tamil Parliamentarians attacked & 150 Tamils killed - 1956
 

"What happened on 6 June 1956 when the Sinhala Only Bill was being debated in Parliament? The members of the Federal Party, exercising their undoubted constitutional right, wanted to protest against the imposition of (the Sinhala Only) Bill. The Members of the Federal Party said that they would sit in silence on the Galle Face Green... It was a silent protest which they were entitled to make. What happened? Hooligans, in the very precincts of Parliament House, under the very nose of the Prime Minister of this country, set upon those innocent men seated there, bit their ears and beat them up mercilessly. ... rowdies and hooligans were given a free hand to assault, humiliate and rob any innocent Tamil walking the roads on that day.. These (hooligans) were instigated by some members of Parliament... they were heading the gang of hooligans. The Prime Minister made a remarkably wonderful speech on that occasion. He came, he smiled and he told the crowd, "Don't do that. Rain is coming down. They will be cooled in no time." That was the type of appeal he made. If Sinhalese men were being thrashed by Tamils and their ears bitten, I wonder whether the Prime Minister would have adopted the same attitude."

  
  

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