Eight Tamil Civilians found dead in Mass Grave

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Sri Lanka's Genocidal War - '95 to '01

Eight Tamil civilians in mass grave in Mirusuvil after detention by Sri Lanka army...

Tamil Centre for Human Rights TCHR issued an Urgent Action Appeal on 30 December 2000 (ref: AE/12/12), drawing attention to the discovery of yet another mass grave of Tamil civilians in the Jaffna peninsula, occupied by the Sri Lanka army. The Appeal stated:

"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.

According to our sources the incident took place as follows. The victims had been displaced from Mirusuvil, and were living in Point Pedro. When returning to their homes in Mirusuvil, to collect personal belongings, they were arrested and abducted by members of the Sri Lankan security forces who blindfolded and then assaulted them. The post-mortem revealed that they were murdered on 19th December, the date of arrest.

The bodies had deep stab wounds around their necks. All but two of the bodies were completely naked when discovered in the mass grave. Local residents fear that more bodies are hidden and buried in the surrounding area.

These cases and thousands of other cases of disappearances have been brought to the attention of international human rights organisations and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights...

Again we recall the brutal murders of Sarathambal, Koneswary, Krishanthi Kumarasamy and so many others...

Still no independent inquiry has been made into the massacre at Bindunuwewa (TCHR Urgent Action AE/10/10 25th October 2000).

...TCHR requests all human rights organisations and individuals to appeal to the President of Sri Lanka, who is also the Commander of the Armed Forces. We kindly request appeals to be made also to the Head of State of the country in which you reside."

Address:

Her Excellency President Chandrika B Kumaratunga, Presidential Residence, Colombo 3, SRI LANKA

Fax: 94 - 1 - 333 - 703

British Refugee Council, Sri Lanka Monitor reported in its December 2000 issue:

"Reports say eight Tamil people, arrested on 19 December, were murdered by Sri Lankan soldiers and buried in a grave at Mirusuvil in Thenmaratchy, 16 miles east of Jaffna town. The eight refugees who had earlier fled to Point Pedro, Atchuveli and Udupiddy, further north and north-west, returned to Mirusuvil on 19 December to inspect their houses and to collect firewood, when they were seized by the Army.

According to the evidence of District Medical Officer Dr C Kathirvetpillai, their throats had been slashed. The dead included three teenagers and five year-old Vilvarajah Prasath.

The murders came to light after Ponnuthurai Maheswaran escaped from Army custody with serious injuries and informed relatives. In a letter to President Chandrika, Jaffna MP Mavai Senathirajah says that a woman’s body was seen partially buried in the area, leading to suspicions that there are other mass graves. Mr Senathirajah has urged the President to order further excavations in Mirusuvil. The police arrested an Army officer and six soldiers in late December. Five soldiers were identified in identification parades held in Point Pedro on 3 and 4 January.

More than 700 people disappeared in Jaffna in 1996 and 1997. The remains of 17 people were found buried at Chemmani in 1999. The Sri Lankan government has said that 765 complaints of disappearance had been received. Sixteen people were ascertained as killed in custody and 201 were said to be in prisons. The fate of 548 remains unknown. The UN Working Group on Disappearances urged the government in March, to abolish the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency regulations which facilitate disappearances. The government introduced new regulations in May, increasing the powers of the security forces..."

continued

Mirusuvil massacre case inquiry to resume

[TamilNet, October 28, 2004 02:09 GMT]

The stalled inquiry into the Mirusuvil massacre case is to resume before the Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar (TAB) on the instruction of the Supreme Court that TAB could continue its proceedings although the confession made by one of the accused soldier Mr.R.M.S.Ratnayake was declared inadmissible, legal sources said.

The five member bench of the Supreme Court which held recently the appeal made by the accused Mr.Ratnayake that the confession made by the appellant was inadmissible as the military police officer who recorded the confessions was not a "police officer" within the meaning of Section 23 of the Evidence Ordinance, legal sources said.

However, the Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Sarath Silva and Justices P.Edussuriya, H.S.Yapa, Asoka de Silva and T.B.Weerasuriya instructed the Trial-at-Bar that it could proceed with Mirusuvil massacre case inquiry with other available material evidence including that of an eye-witness to prove the charges against the accused soldiers, legal sources said.

The Chief Justice Mr.Sarath N Silva thereafter directed the Registrar to fill the vacancies created in the three-member TAB of the High Court with the promotion of Justice Mr.S.I.Imam to the Court of Appeal and the suspension of another Justice Mr.Kumar Ekaratna on disciplinary grounds enabling the resumption of the Mirusuvil massacre case inquiry, legal sources said.

The court cited the Rita Sebastian rape and murder case in which all the accused were found guilty for the offence and sentenced to death based on circumstantial evidence despite confessions of the accused were not admitted during the course of inquiry, legal sources said.

The inquiry into the Mirusuvil massacre case commenced before a three member High Court Trial at-Bar during the middle part of last year and all witnesses were brought to Colombo from Jaffna and kept in safe custody.

However the inquiry came to a halt in September last year after some witnesses completed giving evidence. Included among them were a vital eyewitness who miraculously survived the massacre and a military officer who recorded the confession of Mr.R.M.S.Ratnayake of Mahiyanganaya, an accused soldier.

In this case, Sri Lanka's Attorney General indicted five SLA soldiers, Sunil Ratnayake, Senaka Munasinghe, T.M.Jayaratne, Pushpa Saman Kumara and Gamini Munasinghe on 19 charges in the murder of eight Tamil civilians, Gnanapalan Raviveeran, Sellamuthu Theivakulasingham, Vilvarajah Piratheepan, Sinniah Vilvarajah, Nadesu Jeyachchandran, Kathiran Gnanachchandran, Gnanachandran Santhan and Vilvarajah Prasath in Mirusuvil on December 19, 2000.

According to the prosecution, the accused had killed the civilians when they were visiting their houses and lands in Mirusuvil after the military operation of the SLA, legal sources said.

INDICTMENT AGAINST SRI LANKA