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

"....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  Premini,  Kasinather Ganesalingam, Thangarasa,  Shanmuganathan 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 Krishnan,  Bojan Renuka, Bojan Shanuka, Bojan Arthanageswary, Tharmarasan Tharmaseelan,  N Kandeepan ,T Tharmasri, Soosaithas K Marinthiran,  Sebastiampillai P Ruban,  Selvarajah Uthayarajah, S. Thanabalasingham, Balakrishnan Rajeevmohan, Parimalarajah Robinson, Iyathurai Baskaran, Thangathurai Sivanantha,  Logithasan Rohanth,  Shanmugarajah 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....

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

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

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)

"..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..."

" 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..."

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

"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

"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..."

"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."

" 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

"...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..."

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

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

"...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..."

"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

"...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.

"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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

"...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”.."

"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..."

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.

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.

Remembering Chenmanni - Raj Swarnan

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

"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...."

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.

"..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..."

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.

"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..... "

"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."

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.

"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..."

" 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.

"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."

"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. ..."

"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..."

" 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."

"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.

"..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. "

"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

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.

"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.

"..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

"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...."

"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.

"..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

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.

"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

"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..."

"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..."

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...

"..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..."

"'(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. "

"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... "

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. ..

“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”

"..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."

"..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. "

"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."

"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."

"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..."

"..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. "

"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."

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

"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.

''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

"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

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.

"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..."

"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."

"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."