DEMOCRATIC STRUGGLES BY SVJ SELVANAYAGAM AND TAMIL LEADERS COULD NOT STOP TAMIL GENOCIDE

 TAMIL GENOCIDE IN SRILANKA 

24. Trincomalee massacres in 1985

On 03.05.1985, 50 civilians were killed by Sinhala mobs and the Sri Lankan military in Mahindapura and Dehiwatta.On 03.06.1985, 13 civilians were killed in a bus in Trincomalee. Thankathurai, a former Member of Parliament, aged 70 at that time, was an eye witness and the only survivor of this massacre. On 23.05.1985, eight civilians were shot dead by the Sri Lankan military in Nilaveli. More than ten people, from Anpuvalipuram, who went to collect fire wood in different directions, in May 1985 never returned home. Their bulls and carts were found later.  They are suspected to have been killed by the home guards and the Sri Lankan military.

On 24.05.1985, 9 civilians were shot dead in Pankulam. Two civilians who went to Thehiwaththa to purchase items were also killed on the same day. A father and his 12 year old son who went to visit relatives in Kankuveli were hacked to death by the Sri Lankan home guards and the bodies were buried the Kankuveli tank. On 26.05.1985, 40 houses and property belonging to Tamils in Poonakar in Echchilampattu were set fire. Two civilians who went hunting on the same day did not return home. Home guards in Allai-Kanthalai road are suspected to have killed the pair. On the same day, three fishermen from Kunikuda were shot dead by the Sri Lankan Military while they were fishing.

On 27.05.1985, a bus of belonging to the State bus service, CTB, was stopped at 52nd Milepost in Mahinthapura and 7 Tamil civilians including driver Pushparaja were shot dead and their bodies were burnt by the Sinhala home guards.Krishnapillai who worked at Echchilampattu Village Council escaped with gun shot and burn injuries.

25. Valvai massacre 10.05.1985

Valvai is situated in Point Pedro region in the Jaffna district. On 10.05.1985, Sri Lankan military rounded up Valvai and arrested 24 young men. They were locked up in a community hall. A grenade was thrown on the building and all 24 young men died. At the temple water tank a further 12 civilians were shot dead. Another 34 civilians were also killed that day. The number of people killed that day in Valvai is 70

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26. Kumuthini Boat massacre 15.05.1985

For the people of Deft Island, located off the coast of Jaffna, the boat “Kumuthini” provided an indispensable service. People had to travel to Jaffna using the boat service to obtain many essential services and items. On the 15.05.1985, about 72 people were traveling in the boat from Delft Island to Jaffna. Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) soldiers from the camp in another islet, Nainativu, boarded the Kumuthini and massacred the people in the boat with knives. Many died during the violence.  Some died as the boat sped to the Jaffna coast. It was evening by the time the Kumuthini reached the Jaffna coast. Injured people were admitted to hospital. The people of Delft Island heard the fate of their relatives only through the news media.Kumuthini is today a symbol for all Jaffna islets. She symbolizes the insecurity that people in the islets feel by the Sri Lankan Navy occupation. Her sight today reminds people of a lone mother who had lost her children.

(a) Saro Rasaratnam, a survivor, recounts her experience,” We were traveling on Kumuthini boat for about 30 minutes when we stopped at mid-sea. Navy men climbed up into the boat. They took all of us to the front of the boat while they sat at the entrance. One of them had a gun. They asked if there was anyone who knew how to speak Sinhala and Jesuthasan knew. They asked us where we were going.

There was a big noise at the back of the boat. Jesuthasan and the five who worked in the Kumuthini were the first to go toward the back. We didn’t know what was happening, but the Navy men ordered us to shout our names and our villages. We shouted in vain hope. Then people were called one by one by the Navy men. First all the men went, then the women started going. I was the last one to go and Nirmala was with me till then. Nirmala told me that they won’t do anything and to just go. She said they would just look at our ID card. I looked behind me and there was no one. I didn’t want to go, but I was forced to.

One Navy man was up there, where I went. He pushed me, and another one stabbed me in my neck, chest and head. After that I don’t remember well, but I was pulled and thrown on top of others who were lying on the ground. These are my

wounds on my head and neck.”

(b) Annalatchmi Sivalingam, survivor whose baby was killed, recounts her experience, “I sat with my baby and showed the Navy man my ID card. He told me not to sit and took me upstairs. One Navy man took me by the hand, and stabbed me. I don’t remember what happened after that. The next thing I realized, I was in a hospital and was tied down with chains. I kept asking for my baby. They told me my baby was at home and feeding on cow’s milk. I was unable to open my mouth from my injuries and was on a liquid diet for one year. I only found out that my baby was killed six weeks after the incident”

Kanapathypillai Anandakumar was on the boat at that time. His account is as follows,“When we were stopped, we were on the boat and were told to go inside. As we went inside, we were shut in a room. They asked us if anyone inside knew Sinhalese. A few said yes and went forward. We don’t know what happened to them. Outside our room there were two Navy members standing as sentry with AKs [guns].Outside there were two more people with grenades. They asked all the people inside to say their names loudly. So we all did. They did this so that the sound would hide what was happening in the room. They started asking people to move towards the back. As I walked towards the back, they hit my forehead with a stick. I don’t know what happened after this. Inside this room, there were very small children there under the age of one. They stabbed a 6 month old baby and ripped open her chest. Girls were also raped along with other acts of violation. People were killed. 72 people were in the boat, 36 were killed and 36survived. But the survivors were all tortured. I was taken to the hospital and regained conscious after 4 days. I was unable to go to work. I became very sick and was unable to find work after this.”

27. Kiliveddi massacre in 1985

Kiliveddi is a Tamil village in the Mutur region of the Trincomalee district. In 1977 it was annexed to the Seruwela electoral division. Following this, the people of this village was attacked by the military and the Sinhala leadership forcing the people to gradually leave the village. On 01.01.1985, the SriLankan military, its home guards, and Sinhala thugs entered the Kiliveddi village at2.00 pm. Kanagasabai was working as coroner for the area at that time and he has traveled to neighboring villages on duty. When he saw the invaders he hid in a haystack. He could identify many of the Sinhala thugs from the neighboring Sinhala village of Dehiwatthe among the thugs. On that day 10 people were killed including4 women. Among the dead women were Kamala Rasaih and her daughter and Rajeswary Sharma and her daughter. 125 houses were burnt that day. A further 13 people, eight men and five women, were taken to the Dehiwathe village. The men were murdered and the women were raped. Among these women were Mrs. Sinniah and her daughter. The women were left naked after they were raped. When some Kiliveddi people with the help of the Sinhala people in the Dehiwathe village went to see, they saw one of the Kiliveddi women naked and tied up.

Member of Parliament Thangathurai made a statement about the incident to the Daily Mirror paper. It was reported widely in the international media. Thangathurai was accused of false propaganda for making the statement. The then Minister of Defense ordered his arrest. Thangathurai heard this and escaped to India. The day after the above incident, on 02.06.1985, the bus leaving Trincomalee to Jaffna was shot at and 13 people died and 9 people were injured. On 03.06.1985, the Sinhala home guards with the help of the Sri Lankan military attacked several villages between Mutur and Kiliveddi. 35 people died.

200 people were abducted. The following villages were all set on fire, Menkamam, Kankuveli,Paddithidal, Palathadichenai, Arippu, Poonahari, Peruveli, Mulampodivaththai, Parathipuram, Lingapuram, Eechchilampatrai, Karunkalmuani, Mavadichenai, Muththichenai and Valaithoddam. In total 1000 houses were set on fire. In the fourteen days ending on 14.06.1985, a total of 150 people were killed. People from these villages displaced en masse. About 100 people crossed the Veruhal River and went to Vaharai. Another 2500 went to Mutur.

28. Thiriyai massacre 08.06.1985

Thiriyai is situated in the northeast region of the Trincomalee district. On 08.06.1985, around 5.30am in the morning, Sri Lankan Air force helicopters flew at low level and began shooting. Sri Lankan military came in vehicles and told the people to leave the area before they begin shooting.

After people left, 700 houses, 400 houses in Thiriyai and 300 houses in Kallapatrai were burnt down. Stored paddy and farming equipments were burnt with the houses. Following this incident, displaced people stayed in schools. On 08.08.1985, the Sri Lankan military attacked the civilians in the schools. Ten civilians were killed including retired Grama Sevakar, Narayanapillai, President of the Thiriyai Multi Purpose Society, K Thurainayagam, Secretary of Thiriyai refugees rehabilitation centre, K.Ekamparam, and the Principal of Thiriyai Vidhyalayam, P Mahadeva. In addition, on 14.08.1985, 6 civilians were pulled out of a bus and hacked to death.

 29. Sampaltivu 04 to 09.08.1985

A major military operation was launched between 04.09.1985 and 09.09.1985. This operation was aiming to chase away the Tamils from northern parts of Trincomalee. The three forces of the government of Sri Lanka (land, sea and air)were engaged in this attack on the civilians.

The Sri Lankan armed forces and home guards with heavy weapons were deployed in large numbers in the Central road, Ekamparam road, Veeranagar, Thirukadalur, Uppuveli, 3rd Milepost, Navalar road and Uppuveli junction. They started attacking Tamils. 1500 houses including the building of Sivanantha Thabovanam which sheltered 200 children and several shops were destroyed. Fishing equipment belonging to Tamil fishermen was stolen.

More than 25 civilians were killed in this attack. No local or international journalists were allowed into these areas. A report by a local school principal, who was also the President of the Citizens Committee at that time, documented that in June 1985 alone 311 civilian were killed in Trincomalee district and in the month of September 383 civilians were killed. News about this report was published in the 21.12.1985 Saturday Review paper published from Jaffna.

30. Veeramunai massacre 20.06.1990

Veeramunai is a village in the Amparai district. It is a traditional Tamil village. Sammanthurai is the adjacent Muslim village where the Muslim people who were chased away from the coastal areas by the Portuguese colonizers have settled. The Muslims and Tamils have historically lived side by side and together have built a prosperous and peaceful community

On the 20.06.1990, Sri Lankan military rounded up the eeramunai village and ordered the people to go to the Veeramunai Pillaiyar temple. Everyone who stayed at home without going to the temple was shot dead. Later on that day the military arrived at the temple in large numbers. There were more than 1000 people who had gone to the temple on orders from the military. The military selected every male over the age of 15 from the temple. 69 young men, all civilian youths, were arrested in front of their relatives. The arrested men were taken to the Sammanthurai Marjan School where they were tortured. 50 men died and their bodies were taken to the forest nearby and burnt.

The military again took several more people from the temple on 29.06.1990 and all of them have disappeared. Following these two incidents people displaced from the temple to the Karaithivu Mahavidhyalayam School. On 03.07.1990, the military again rounded up this school and took 11 young men. They too have disappeared. Again on 05.07.1990, the military took away a further 13 men. All of them were tortured and killed and their bodies were burnet with tires.

People who went in search of those who were arrested were attacked by the military. Following this people displaced again to a refuge camp near Veeramunai. On 10.07.1990, the military arrested another 15 young men from this Veeramunai refuge camp and took them to the military camp. There they were tortured and killed and their bodies were burnt.

On 16.07.1990, eight women who went from the refugee camp to check their homes were arrested at the Malwaththai checkpoint. They were gang raped by more than 30 SLA men and killed. Their bodies were burnt. On 26.07.1990, the military again arrested 32 young men. 23 of them were school children. All of them have disappeared.

On 29.07.1990, eight school teachers who were traveling with their family were arrested. All of them have disappeared. On 01.08.1990, 18 civilians who were passing through the Savalakkadai road were arrested by the military and the home guards operated by it. Among them were four women and a baby. They were all killed using sharp weapons and their bodies were put inside the Savalakkadai temple and burnt. On 12.08.1990, Muslim groups that entered the Veeramunai refugee camp began attacking the people. Ten civilians were killed. Many more were injured. Among the dead are the temple manager Thambimuthu Sinnathurai and two babies.

Those injured in the Muslim attack were taken to the Sammanthurai hospital where they were refused treatment. They were then taken to the Amparai hospital. The military came to the hospital and abducted three of the seven victims who were admitted to the hospital. The other four escaped back to Veeramunai.In Veeramunai 600 houses were set alight. A further 1352 houses were set alight in the villages of Malvaththai, Mallihaithivu, Newtown, Kanapathypuram, Valaththapiddy, and Sammanthurai.Between 20.06.1990 and 15.08.1990 more than 200 people were either killed or disappeared from Veeramunal and the adjacent villages. More 2000 houses were burnt.

Some accounts of witnesses to these incidents follows. A resident of Ganapathipuram, who was a witness said:“When the army entered the limits of Malwattai, the soldiers shot people at sight, while houses were looted and burnt. We, on hearing gunshot and seeing flames rising from burning homes, fled with our family to save the women and children. We reached the Veeramunai Temple on foot and found people from other villages had arrived at the Temple earlier. Subsequently, people from Amparai, Mallaitivu and Sammanthurai Tamil division joined us.” A resident from Veeramunai said:” We found the soldiers were creating a climate of terror. People were picked up from their homes, the road and the paddy fields. To escape from possible arrest and death, we went to the Temple that was made a refugee camp. I am aware that persons in the employment of the government on their way to work were seized and killed and burnt at a place called Aandhi junction.”

The operation of the army at Veeramunai was described by a mother who said:” On 20th June 1990 at 2.00 p.m. a number of army vehicles drove into the Veeramunai temple, where thousands of people (Tamils) had taken refuge. The soldiers made an announcement through the loudspeakers requesting all males over the age of 15 to assemble in the temple courtyard. People were agitated since the refugees had left their homes because of fear of the soldiers who had gone on a killing spree there. One by one the men went out into the open space opposite the temple and stood. Women were the most disturbed and stood watching. The soldiers entered the temple and examined the inner sanctum to ascertain whether anyone was hiding inside. They found no one and began to inspect the youths standing opposite the temple. Of the number surveyed, the soldiers began picking some youths and able bodied children and got them to board a CTB bus they had brought.

The women went before the soldiers and asked them what they were trying to do. One of the officers said they were being taken for questioning and would be released after interrogation. The women pleaded with the soldiers stating that their children were never associated with any form of terrorism and that every one of those picked up by the army was an innocent youth. The soldiers ignored the tears of the women and started to leave the temple premises with the youths.

We fell in front of the vehicles and worshiped the soldiers to leave our boys. The officer who led the raid spoke harshly to us wailing women that he would order his men to shoot every man and women who were obstructing the vehicle. The women fearing the worst retreated and the army carried away our children. A few returned later battered and bruised, following severe torture”.

A youth who escaped from sure death after arrest, made the following statement:” I was one among those arrested on 20th June from the Veeramunai temple. The soldiers having picked up a number of young men, who were refugees at the Temple, took us to the Sammanthurai AI-Matjan Muslim School where we were beaten severely without any reason. The soldiers first attacked us with gun butt sand thereafter kicked us and boxed our faces. The young men picked up at the refugee camp were later paraded before a fair, fat youthful stranger. When I was produced before him, he said "No" and I was taken aside. I found that the stranger saying "Yes" to most of the young men produced before him that evening. Thepeople to whom he said, “Yes” were taken into another building. Those who were taken aside on the pronouncement of “No” were produced before another officer who made a speech in Tamil. I was in no mood to grasp what he said. The torture I had suffered a little while before had robbed me of my strength and vitality. I could hardly keep standing as I was assaulted by around 15 men simultaneously. The officer told us to get back to the Temple from where we were picked up. The others who were separated from us, we learnt were carried to a place called Malaikadu - a rocky place in shrub jungle - in army trucks and killed. Of the many picked up from the refugee camp at the Temple, only around 20 returned. We learnt that half burnt human bodies were rotting at Malaikadu and the Muslims, unable to bear the stench of decomposing human flesh, carried several tractor loads of paddy husks to cover the rotting bodies and burnt them.”

Madasamy Kathirkamamoorthy

I was living in Veeramunai, a village in Amparai. We were very poor. We had no dad. When I did not go to school, I used to go to Amparai for work. One day on the way to work I heard there was trouble. So I returned home. My mother said that it was not safe for us to stay at home - there are beginning to hit everyone.

My sister who was married was living one kilo meteraway. I told my mother to get ready and I went to get my sister. My sister too said that we had to leave with my mother. On the way to get my mother, five hundred meters before her house – an army truck had stopped.No one was in uniform. They were all in civil, but they were carrying weapons. I was living in a small village, with about ten or fifteen families. When I saw this truck I immediately felt scared. I stopped my bike and went into a relative’s house. These armed men started hitting people – they spoke in Sinhala and told me to get into the truck. There were 9 of us that were hit and made to get onto the truck. Some of the nine had blood dripping down them. Two of us were young, the rest were married men with children. When the wives came to stop them – they hit the wives and children that got in the way. In the truck, they told us to lie down and took us to a big forest in Amparai. They made us take our sarong off and used it to tie our hands behind our back. They stood in front of us, loaded their machine guns and shot everyone.

I turned to my side – my leg and arm were hit by the bullets. I have a big scar on my leg. As people tried to get up, they were again shot till they were dead on the floor. So I just laid there with my eyes shut. My leg was badly hurt. I was not even sure I had a leg. I dragged my leg and slowly walked away”.

31. Nilaveli massacre 16.09.1985

Nilaveli is located in the Kuchchaveli Assistant Government Agent Division in Trincomalee district. Nilaveli is 10 Kms from the Trincomalee town. Following the 1983 ethnic pogrom the Nilaveli refugee camp was overflowing with people.

On 16.09.1985, the Sri Lankan army and home guards armed by the military that were stationed in Nilaveli rounded up the Nilaveli refugee camp. They arrested 24 civilians at the refugee camp and shot them dead on the spot.

 32. Piramanthanaru massacre 02.10.1985

Piramanthanaru Village, Kilinochchi is an agricultural area and many people who have settled here came through a scheme set up in the 1950s to provide land for people from poor families. They were innocent people working hard to earn a living. In the early morning on 2nd October 1985, five helicopters landed on the bund of the tank with around 200 SLA personal. Some of the army hid in the bushes until 3pm in the afternoon and captured and tied up passing villagers. Others went into the Piramanthanaru Village and shot people. They destroyed agricultural products and burnt the houses.

Many of the villagers were injured by the army as they were hit with the butt of rifles or kicked with the army’s heavy boots. Some were even tied upside down whilst water was poured down their nose. Some villagers were interrogated as to their connections with the LTTE.Thurairasa Saradha Devi’s brother, Ponnuthurai Pakiyanathan, was massacred on that day. She says, “Early in the morning at 7am on 2nd October 1985, I was preparing breakfast. My husband had gone to Pulliyampokkani to buy paddy. Suddenly one helicopter came and landed by the side of my house. We ran into the house and hid. The army surrounded my house. They ordered us to come out and kneel. There was another child with us who also knelt on the floor. They captured my brother and tied his hands. They took him by the side of the helicopter and gave him a rifle to hold and took video footage and a photo. Afterwards they brought my brother to the house and asked me if he was an LTTE man. I denied this and said ‘he is not an LTTE man - we are farmers – we are poor people doing farm work here only. We don’t know about LTTE movement.’ But the army said that they had a photo with a weapon – so how could we say that he was not a terrorist.    We were hit by guns and boots. They threatened me saying they were going to shoot us and therefore we should tell the truth. They said that my brother was LTTE and that they had a photo of him with a gun. The army threatened that if we did not   agree with them, they would kill us and all the children. With that they burnt our house down. We were all shouting and begging them for mercy. They took my brother with them. I followed them and cried and asked the army several times to release him. One army member kicked me with his boots and I fell on the floor. After sometime I opened my eyes. I did not see my brother. Our house and other houses were burnt. There was smoke everywhere. My children and I went to Pulliyampokkanai and returned the next morning. We saw so many dead bodies but could not find my brother. We went to Mullaithivu and asked the army commander about my brother. He denied any knowledge of my brother. Finally somebody told us that my brother’s body was in the forest. We immediately went there and saw the body. They had stabbed and pushed him from the helicopter. All his bones were broken. We burnt his body at the site.”

Kathirgamarasa a resident says, “I had many friends in the area where the helicopters were flying low. We wanted to go there, but it was impossible. The helicopters landed a quarter of a mile from my home. My brother-in-law (Sakthivel alias Mahan) was living in a house one mile from my home. For two hours the helicopters were flying and there were gun shot sounds. When the activities of the army appeared to have stopped, a friend and I started walking that way.

We saw another friend, 22 year old Rasan, returning after tapping toddy with his vessel. His home was in the area where the helicopters had landed. I told him it is not safe to go. He did not listen to me and proceeded towards his house. The army shot him on his way to home. He must have been the first to be shot by the army.Rasan is originally from Nunavil and his wife is from Piramanthanaru. I saw Rasan’s vessel by the side of the road. I could also see the shoe marks of the army (no one in the village wore covered shoes like the army). I became suspicious. I saw Rasan’s body in front of a temple among the bushes. We saw shoe marks walking in both directions and we concluded that the army must have gone back. We started to walk towards the 40th Canal. We saw bodies of Sivapatham, Kamini, Sathyalingam, Kanesamoorthy, Selvarasa, Ramasamy, and Yogarasa as we walked. We walked on to inform the families. They would not come out due to fear.

I wanted to go and see my brother-in-law, Mahan, but there was some suspicion that the army may have camped there. I hesitated for a while about what to do next and then I proceeded towards my brother-in-law’s house. I met Anton on the way. Anton told me what had happened. Mahan was working in a joint farm with three others, Nagappar Sathyalingam (Kanna), Vallipuram Ganesamoorthy (Appan) andVallipuram Vivekananthan (Ananthan). Appan and Ananthan are brothers. All four of them were living in one house and doing farming. They were all dead. We both walked on. We saw a house that had been burnt together with the vehicle parked inside. We saw two more bodies. One was that of Sathyaseelan and I cannot remember the name of the other one. The army had arrested a person named Pakyam and was taking him with them. When they had come across Sathyaseelan, they had taken two-thousand rupees from his pocket and his expensive (to Sathyaseelan’s means)

Wristwatch and chased him away. Sathyaseelan being poor and unable to accept the huge loss decided to go back to ask for his possessions from the army. The army shot him dead. They shot Pakyam and left his body in the forest. No one new until people started looking and the smell of the decaying body became noticeable. I took a tractor machine belonging to one of the villagers to move the bodies to their family home. One man Peran was badly wounded. We changed his clothes and gave him first aid. Then Anton and others carried him home to Yakkachchi twenty miles away by foot through lakes. I gave the bodies to the families and finally took the body of my brother-in-law, Mahan, home.”

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