HISTORY OF TAMIL GENOCIDE .... IF WRITTEN WILL SURPASS HORRORS OF NAZI HITLER

ACTORS AND ACTRESSES AND DIRECTORS CAN ONLY ENCASH GENOCIDE STORIES IN SILVER SCREEN.... NONE WOULD HAVE FOUGHT FOR JUSTICE, 

56. Sammanthurai massacre 10.06.1990

Sammanthurai village is situated in the Sammanthurai Assistant Government Agent Division in the Amparai district. The village has large paddy fields. Ancient temples like the Kannagi Amman temple and the Kali temple are located in this village.

10.06.1990, Muslim groups with help from the Sri Lankan military attacked the people of this village. When the people attempted to escape by running away, the military opened fire at the people. 37 people were killed and many more were

injured.

57. Xavierpuram massacre 07.08.1990

Xavierpuram, Amparai is the name of the settlement where the 'Kurawar' tribe lived from 1950. On the 7th of August 1990 the community of Kurawar were attacked, their homes burnt and their youths shot dead. Men and women were tortured and the church, school and community hall were burnt. There was no provocation for such an attack on the Kurawar. Later the attackers were identified as Muslim home guards. They carried out the attacks following an allegation that the LTTE had established contact with the Kurawar. In her sworn statement, Miniakkah describes the attack on Xavierpuram in the following manner:

“It was about 11o'clock in the forenoon of 7th August 1990, when some people were having their first meal for the day while others were preparing it when the attackers arrived. Along Neethai Road 18 tractors came one behind the other, carrying a large number people armed with guns, knives, sticks, clubs and axes. They stopped at the centre of the village, and called out the people - men, women and children- to assemble before them. The attackers, carrying guns, were in military fatigues. Their appearance foreboded evil. The people of Xavierpuram became excited. The men, who were eating stopped eating, washed their hands and rushed to the place where men with guns stood. Together with my husband and two children, my son and daughter, I went to the place where we were asked to assemble. We were able to identify the men in uniform as home guards (Muslims) and the others from the Akkaraipattu area who had accompanied the home guards.

An eyewitness said:

“While we stood before the Muslim home guards and the hooligans who accompanied them, they (home guards) seized my only son and began torturing him. Another seized Jayaraja who was also a youth from my community and continued torturing both. My husband could not bear to see his only son being brutally tortured. He sprang up and protested and I too raised cries. Thereupon, one of them armed with wooden pestle dealt a blow on the chest of my husband he fell down unconscious; he fell down like an uprooted tree. I rushed to my husband and lifted his head. Another person struck me on my head with a weapon. I remember blood gushing from my head before I fell unconscious. Those who survived the attack fled to Thirukovil carrying the injured. They carried nothing with them and ran with the clothes on their back. Some of them had had no meal from the previous day. Later when I opened my eyes, I found myself on a hospital bed, along with several others from my village. It was late in the afternoon, around 4 p.m. I tried to recollect what had happened but could not. Anxious relatives came to see me and Iasked for my family members. I was told that a number of people were killed by the home guards and the Muslims and our houses were set on fire with petrol and kerosene. All the people had fled from the village, but some were preparing to go back to Xavierpuram to perform the last rites for the dead whose mortal remains were lying scattered. Something urged me to return with the crowd to Xavierpuram. Despite my weak condition, I left the hospital ward, traced my husband who was equally in pain, and together with about 20 men, traveled in a tractor belonging to one member of our tribe. I was petrified when I saw my son's body lying near the channel with bullet wounds. There were two other bodies beside his strewn around. The eerie calm of the destroyed village with the burnt houses sent terror through me. The charred remains of the houses reminded me of ghosts. We made a quick return to Thirukovil.”Massana, another victim of the attack is an ageing woman of the Kurawar tribe living in Xavierpuram. A grandmother, she said that she knew most of the attackers. Some of them were paddy cultivators in the area around where she lived. They not only killed, maimed and injured people, but also destroyed the church, the school and homes of a peaceful community, many of whose members worked on the paddy fields of the Muslims. After homes were lost, and lives brutally taken, some survivors could not bear to live with what they had seen or with what they had lost and later committed suicide.

58. Siththandy massacre 20, 27.07.1990

Siththandy village is situated 8 Kms north of the Batticaloa town. The village has an ancient and famous Hindu temple. On 20.07.1990, Sri Lankan military rounded up the village and took all the people into this temple. Eight of the people were taken blindfolded with their hands tied to the villager next to him. There they were attacked and killed. In the same month, again, the Sri Lankan military took 57 young men after rounding up the village. The young men were taken to the adjacent villages where they were shot and killed and put in mass graves and burnt. In total 137 people were killed over these two days. The arrests and killing continued for several months after on a daily basis.Nallaiah Kamalanathan says,” We thought that if everyone stood in one place the Army would not kill us. So, all the villagers ran for safety into the temple. Within one week we had run to the temple twice. First it was on the 20th of July of 1990 and then again on the 27th.

Sithandi villagers and Mavadivembu villagers all ran to this temple. The SLA surrounded the temple. They came along with Sinhala mobs. Everyone in the temple was asked to stand in line and they picked out the young boys. Everyone stood trembling. As each one of the boys were picked, their families, mothers and fathers, all screamed. They begged for mercy with their hands. They pleaded saying their difficulties. Nothing went into the ears of the Army. On the 20th, 80 people were taken away in their vehicle. On the 27th, 57 people were taken away. 2 days after this, all their parents went to all the Army Camps in search for them. Everyone denied taking the boys. Only a week later, we found out that they had killed everyone that they had taken away. We thought they would leave them after investigation. The 137 people that were taken away were taken by bus to a

Sinhalese village. There they were asked to stand in a line.

The Army announced to the Sinhala people that they had caught LTTE members. Then they were shot dead. Their bodies were never returned to us. Till this day, their mothers still cry not knowing what had happened to their children. The SLA, who denied without batting an eyelid that they did not catch or kill anyone, will one day be destroyed.”

59. Paranthan junction massacre 24.07.1990

Paranthan is in the Kilinochchi district on the A-9 highway. This town hosted a chemical factory in the past. The people main occupation is farming. This town was badly affected by the military activities in the 1980’s. On 24.07.1990, SriLankan army was dropped by helicopter in Suddaithivu near Elephant Pass to rescue the military in Elephant Pass. This military was moving forward through Paranthan towards Elephant Pass. The military began attacking the people living near the Paranthan junction.

The people killed were burnt inside their homes. More than 10 civilians lost their lives in this incident. Many more were injured. This incident took place at 9.00 am. People had displaced from the place and were unaware of what has happened to their relatives. They returned to their homes only on 07.09.1990. People recovered the half burnt bodies of their dead relatives.

 60. Poththuvil massacre 30.07.1990

In 1990 hostilities between the Sri Lankan military and the LTTE resumed. In the east the Sri Lankan military, Sinhala thugs, and their homes guards started to attack Tamil civilians.

On 10.06.1990, as a result of attacks by the military and Muslim groups, people displaced to the Komari refugee camp. People returned to their homes on 30.07.1990, trusting the promises made by the Sri Lankan military and government officials. Returning people found that their homes were broken into and many valuables were stolen. Homes were also destroyed.

 As a result the people displaced again to Poththuvil Methodist Mahavidyalayam. Young men and women among the refugees at the Pothuvil Methodist Mahavidyalayam were forced to go out for work to support their families. 12 of them were arrested by the military and the Muslim groups and taken to the Poththuvil Police Station. Those arrested were taken to the open space near the Police Station few at a time and were burnt alive. Except for a few who escaped all the rest of those arrested were burnt alive by 01.08.1990. 125 young people died in this atrocity by the military and the Muslim groups.

61. Tiraikerny massacre 06.08.1990

Tiraikerny was originally a coconut estate of about 300 acres in the idyllic region of Amparai. The ownership at the time sympathized with the hardships of the landless peasantry, both Muslims and Tamils, at Palamunai, Oluvil, Meenodaikattu and Addalaichenai, and the estate was given to the people at a very nominal price of Rs.200/ - per acre. Various community figures, such as Nagappar Subramaniyam and Periya Kanapathipillai Upathiyar of Karaitivu, worked hard in developing the village and making it into a successful agricultural area.

 On the 06.08.1990, the peace and hard work of the villagers was destroyed. Hundreds of Muslims stormed into the village and set ablaze the homes of the Tamils and attacked the Tamil villagers and threw their mutilated bodies into the near by Hindu Temple. Statements recorded from victims and witnesses to this outrageous crime reveal that there was no provocation from the Tamils for such an attack. A woman witness revealed the background of the events, the intention and purposes leading to the attack and how it was executed:

“I was married in 1976 and had three children - two sons, and a daughter. Around 6 0' clock in the morning, on the 6th August 1990; I heard the cries of women from the direction of my Muslim neighbour's house. Since we had maintained a friendly relationship with our Muslim neighbours, I rushed to the house from which the Muslim women raised cries.

I found several women in that house and every one was in tears, weeping over the death of some member of the family. The women said that their men who went to the paddy field at Alimadakadu had been cut to pieces and slain. No one knew who the killers were. I spent about half an hour with the grieving family; I shared their sorrow but returned home to attend to the household chores before the children left for school.

A few minutes after I returned home, and was busy with my work, I heard people shouting. Together with my husband I rushed to the gate to see what was wrong. We found men, women and children moving away from their homes in a state of excitement. They were in a state of great confusion, agitated with fear and worry. They told us that they were running away from an angry mob composed of Muslims who had vowed to destroy Thiraikerny. They were going to the Pillaiyar Temple as it is dangerous to remain in homes. The Tamils who were running away, warned us saying “do not stay here; the mob is heavily armed according to information received from friendly Muslims”. My husband was shaken by the news. When the entire population in the village was moving out, we saw no wisdom in staying at home. Leaving all our possessions in our house and keeping the doors open, we left home with the children and took refuge in the Pillaiyar Temple. Soon the Muslims appeared on the road at a distance.

Riotous gangsters numbering more than 150 men, armed with knives, swords, sickles and clubs and seemingly possessed by wild and violent anger, shouted slogans against the Tamils, and called out the Muslims to unite to fight the Tamils. We were in bewilderment and spent every minute in fear. People prayed for Divine intervention to save the people from the apparent danger. As we looked up we saw clouds of smoke rising up the sky. The smoke came from the burning houses of the Tamils. As the goons were approaching the Temple, the people ran towards the Periyathambiran Temple and the mob followed. The people having resigned their fate watched with fear every movement of the menacing crowd of attackers. In a split of a second - no sooner the mob reached the Temple premise, an armored car, drove into the temple premise. There were six soldiers in uniform in the vehicle.

The soldiers acted differently. They did not themselves take part in the attack. The behavior of the soldiers gave some courage to the Tamil youths to approach the armored car. With hands raised above their heads, they walked up to the soldiers and sought to plead with the soldiers to prevail on the Muslims to prevent any attack on the poor innocent Tamils who had sought refuge in the temple. The soldiers, I was told, had to stop the Muslims. The soldiers were alleged to have told the young men that the Tamils had killed Muslims and therefore the army cannot intervene.

The soldiers waved their hands, telling the Tamil youths to go away from them, and that waving of their hands was taken as a signal for the attackers to begin their assault. First they began desecrating the Temple. Some went to damage the wall while some others broke the door. Yet the Tamils did not say a word to the attackers. Some of the Muslims entered into the sanctum and came out with the Sacred Trident and the spear that were firmly fixed to the ground. Some took away the tools like knife, axe and crowbar, used in the Temple by the priests. The Tamils were later attacked with the Trident, the spear, and the tools taken away from the Temple. The attackers first assaulted the men seated on the ground with knifes. Those who were in the rear escaped. In the melee that followed the attack, even some of the injured ran away, but did not return alive. My husband was attacked with knife and he died there. The people wondered whether it was a joint attack of the Army and the Muslims - such attacks had occurred in the Tamils areas previously. The arrival of the soldiers at the Hindu temple premises had an impact. The goons appeared very happy and they shouted in jubilation. As the attackers were busy mauling the innocents, sharp reports of fire-arms were heard from the main trunk road. The soldiers who had come over to Thiraikerny to witness the annihilation of the Tamils fled in their armored car. When the armored vehicle left, the attackers too fled, crying out. 'Tigers are coming to attack us'. When they had all fled, I looked around, and found several of my people dead and among those killed was not only men but also women and children. A very young mother known as Vijeyaluxmy and her infant too were killed.

A contingent of the police - the Special Task Force (STF) came in a number of vehicles. They had come there firing all the way. We realized that it is their firing that drove away the soldiers and the attackers. They saw the large number that had been murdered and injured. The women, who had been frozen from shock and fear, were unable to speak. There was blood and flesh strewn all around. In the midst of piercing shrill cries and screams of the injured, the chief of the STF promised protection and help to all victims.” **According to a sworn statement, a little girl was seized and raped, and thereafter, thrown into the fire. Rescuers recovered the half-burnt body and buried it.

62. Kalmunai massacre 11.08.1990

Kalmunai is situated 40 Kms from the Batticaloa town. Pandiruppu, Natpiddimunai, Chenaikudiyiruppu, and Nilavanai are villages surrounding Kalmunai.On 11.08.1990, villager’s fromPandiruppu, Kalmunai and Chenaikudiyiruppu were gathered in homes in fear as the Sri Lankan military rounded up these villages and began shooting. The military was shooting into the homes forcing people to come out.

Young men carried their national identity card in their hands. Mothers held tight onto their babies. 25 young men were taken by the military from the Kalmunai village to the Karaithivu military camp. Mothers who followed the young men being taken by the military were attacked with gun butts and many mothers fainted and fell down. Next day relatives of the young men walked to the Karaithivu camp through the Kalmunai town. The military in the town stopped them and made them stand by the road side.

Large number of military arrived at the scene and selected the young women among the relatives. They were taken to a building near by where they were gang raped and killed. Men were tortured on the road and killed. All together 37 people were killed in two hours in this manner.

None of the 25 young men taken to the Karaithivu military camp have been seen since. In total 62 people were killed in these two days by the Sri Lankan military.

63. Thuranilavani massacre 12.08.1990

Thurainilavanai village is situated in the Batticaloa district. On 12.08.1990, morning, Sri Lankan military from the Nilavanai-Kallaru camp rounded up the Nilavanai village and opened fire on the people. More than 60 people were killed.

64. Eravur hospital massacre 12.08.1990

On 11, 08.1990, Sri Lankan military rounded up the villages of Chenkaladi and Kiran and opened fire on the villagers. More than 10 civilians who were injured were admitted in the Eravur hospital. On 12.08.1990, the hospitalized civilians at the Eravur hospital were hacked to death by the Sri Lankan military and Muslim groups between 11.00am till 12.00 noon.

65. Koraveli massacre 14.08.1990

Koraveli and Eechaiyadithivu villages are in the Batticaloa district. These villages are blessed with natural beauty and resources. Most of the people were farmers in these villages. In the beginning of 1990 violence against civilians by the military and the Muslim groups were on the increase.

On 14.05.1990 at noon, military came from the Chenkalady and Kallady military camps and rounded up the Koraveli and Eechayadithivu villages. The military opened fire on the villagers at home and working in the fields. 15 civilians were killed and 25 were injured in this attack by the military.

66. Nelliyadi market bombing 29.08.1990

Nelliyadi is a small town in the Vadamaradchi region of Jaffna district. It is 3 Km from the Point Pedro town. Nelliyadi market served the 25,000 families living in this area.

On 29.08.1990, two bombers and an Avro belonging to the Sri Lankan military dropped bombs on this market at 9.30 am when the market was busy with people. 16 civilians including children were killed by this bombing. Another 24 civilians were injured.

67. Eravur massacre 10.10.1990

Thankarasa Iyanar says, “On 10th August 1990, from 10 am that morning, Doctor Shanmuganath and his wife Rani and I, went to see my son who had been captured at Karathivu Shanmuga School. In town they stopped many people and left. They returned after some time and told us to separate into Muslims and Tamils. The Muslims left soon after.

They called the men in one direction. We were wondering where they were taking us. They told us to go into a room. We were scared. The Doctor’s wife ran into the room and pleaded with the army to not hurt the Doctor. She was dragged away. There was a man standing there with a knife. – But I did not know this. He grabbed my hair – because I had oil his hand slipped. He had tried to cut my head, but because his hand slipped, he cut my neck. I fell to the floor. I thought I would die, that’s how badly I was hurt.

Dr Shunmuganathan and a few others were cut and killed. As I was lying there, I could hear all the screams and violence. It was unbearable. But I had no other choice. After some time, a lady was brought in shouting. She seemed young. Her sari had already been removed in another room. An army took her inside a room and raped her. She pleaded to be let go and that she would not tell Lest we forget – Massacres of anyone what happened. Another army ordered that she be cut. I don’t know what they did - but I heard no sounds thereafter. Then he left. I could not bear to be there. I kept hearing awful noises of people being tortured. As I was thinking what I was going to do – the army returned with weapons and killed anyone who was breathing or making a slight noise. They put oil or it may have been kerosene on everyone and burnt them. The fire jumped to my legs. I tried to pat the fire out but couldn’t. I could not stand up or lift my leg. Eventually I lifted my head up with my hands and managed to crawl into the room where they had taken the girl. I just sat there thinking for some time. I could hear all the plane sounds. I saw the ladies sari just on the floor. I tore it in half. I tied it on my head and covered my face and neck. Outside the fire was burning above my head. There were arms, legs and heads everywhere. But I had to keep going. So I just climbed over all of them and left.”

68. Saththurukkondan massacre 09.09.1990

Saththurukondan is a village in Batticaloa district. Sathurukoddan is not very far from Batticaloa town. This village comprises Pannichaiaddy, Pillayarady and Oorani.On the 10.09.1990, military arrested several people and took them to the military camp. Among those arrested were 85 women and many children. The arrested people were taken to the Sri Lanka army camp at the Saththurukondan.

There, the women were raped, and their breasts were cut off. 68 children, among them five babies were also tortured and murdered. 205 people were killed in this massacre.Only one man, 21 year old Kanthasamy Krishnakumar escaped being killed and informed the others about what has happened.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 military also threatened and forced the President of Citizens Committee, Arunakirinathan, to sign an affidavit saying no such incident took place. Arunakirinathan resigned from his pots following this forced affidavit.

Mrs. SS lost 35 blood relations, almost her entire family. Her account of the massacre is as follows,

 “On a Sunday evening, the army and the Muslim thugs rounded up our village and took thirty-five people including three handicapped teenagers. The Muslim thugs started assaulting the people. On the previous day, some of our people knew that the army was going to round up Pannichaiaddy and Pillayarady. In order to escape from this round up, many people went to Kuddyeruppu. Then the soldiers took 10 people from Kuddyeruppu.They brought everyone near Pillayarady. There were about 185 people. They took everyone to a covered area in Vincent Depot. Then we couldn't see anything. But we heard people shouting and screaming with firing in between. After a few minutes we saw the flames blazing. Bodies were burning till the morning. They had shot and hacked 184 people to death. Those who were taken on a pretext that they would be released after an inquiry were in flames. For a few days, no-one was allowed to go near the depot. After a week, we went to the army camp and enquired about the whereabouts of the members of our family. They said that they never came to our village and they never took anyone. What else can we do other than ask the army? There is no guarantee that this will not happen again. So I decided to move to Karadianaru for my safety. There is only one survivor - Kanthasamy Krishnakumar. He saw everyone being cut with big knives and thrown into the fire. When he was cut with a knife by a soldier, he fell down and pretended to have died. But before he was thrown into the fire, he got up and ran away. They couldn't catch him.”

69. Natpiddymunai massacre 10.09.1990

Natpiddymunai is a village in the Amparai district located 3 Kms from the Kalmunai town.  On 10.09.1990, the Special Task Force of the Sri Lankan police, surrounded this village, forcefully entered the homes and arrested 23 young men and took them to the Kalmunai STF camp. The bodies of these young men were found in a mass grave in the Thampuluvil village on 12.09.1990.

70. Vantharamullai massacre 05, 23,09,1990

In 1990, more than 50,000 Tamils from Sungankerny, Karuvakerny and Bandaramulai villages all came to Eastern University, Batticaloa to flee from the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. On the 5th September 1990, the SLA arrived, and arrested 158 innocent civilians and massacred them. On the 23rd of September 1990, the SLA came again and arrested a further 16 Tamils and massacred them. The university lecturers responded quickly and provided the university as a place of refuge for the fleeing people. They raised white flags to ensure that the SLA would not come inside and harm anyone. However, their efforts were in vain. Varnakulasingam is one of the lectures. His account of the incident is as follows,”

People who ran to Vantharamullai University in fear of the SLA were immediately received and consoled. I was one of the people that helped change this place into a refugee camp. Dr Vadivel Mohan also worked very hard to make this possible. The Army had started cutting people in Valaichennai village near Vantharumullai.People all ran to the University for Refuge. In this village 48 people were taken away to Valaichennai Main Road. At the Main Road, there was a bottle shop. Beside this there was a garden which belonged to Selvanayagam. They took the captured people to this garden. They dug up the ground with a bulldozer. They shot these 48 people, threw them in the pit and closed them. If you dig there, many truths will unfold. The bulldozer followed closely behind as they killed everyone. We could not work out where they had thrown the bodies. They went into Sungankerny, Kavuvakerny and Kondayankerny. There they killed, shot and tortured anyone they could. The people who escaped from this all ran and stayed in the University. We believed that the army would not come in here. I was in charge of the hostel at the University. Students from Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, and Mullaitivu helped us. One of the boys who worked very closely with us named Pirabaharan was cut and killed by the Army. I think he was a student from Vavuniya. We knew if we left the University, they would hit and kill us, so we just stayed there with all the people.

Everyone was screaming and crying in fear. We told them not to worry that the Army would not come to the University. Within one week 50,000 people came to this university as refugees. Every building was full of people. It took the Army 7 days to reach Vantharamullai from Valaichennai. Till then, they slowly went into every village on the way and killed and cut everyone they could. We did not know if they would arrive today or tomorrow. We waited trembling in fear. We had heard about what had happened at Vallaichannai. Because of this everyone was very scared. We, the lecturers, closed the gate of the University and stood at the entrance. If they came, they would come by road and we would talk to them and not let them go inside. As we stood bravely, the army approached. Thinking that they were only on the road, we turned around to find that there were many armies inside the university. As the helicopters circled above, our staff all stood on the road. Army superiors who had come by road approached us and spoke to us. We had already placed signs in Sinhalese and Tamil to tell the army not to enter the place of refuge. The army commander asked us where the people inside were from. The people were from 6 villagers from Vallaichennai to ArumuhathanKuddiyirruppu. Whilst this was happening, two buses came. They asked everyone inside to stand in line. Thangamani Chettiyar from Vallaichennai was with me at that time. He was a good man. Two Muslims named Muthalali and Kalil were with the Army. They both knew me and Chettiyar very well. They used to borrow Chettiyar’s vehicle and drive it often. He prayed to them with his two hands. They picked out 138 boys from those that were standing in line and made them get on the bus. Both of the buses left. We knew they were going towards Valaichennai, but nothing else. The mother and fathers all screamed. We did not understand anything. Chettiyar, Dr Jayasingam, head lecturer Manosabaratnam and I took down the names of the 138 boys. Though we had their names, we did not know who we could ask to find out where they had gone. Every camp we asked denied having the boys. Within 4 days, I walked along the sea shore to my house in Vallaichennai. At my house, they surrounded the house and caught me. This happened around 8pm. They took me to Navalladi Army Camp. I later found out that Ratnamalai the person in charge of the camp studied with me. I did not recognize him, but he recognized me.

By the time I got there, they had tied up 13 from my village to the sentry point with one long string. These men had been previously caught. On the 3rd day, they hit them all and killed them. My head started spinning as I watched this torture. Before they killed them, the person in charge of the camp came. He sat on a chair and asked for the rope that was tied around everyone to be removed. He lit a cigarette and told everyone to take turns to smoke it. He asked them if they were tigers. By the time they had finished smoking the cigarette; their hands had been tied up again. A short time after this, one of the Army started playing a ‘baila’ song which made fun of Tamil people very loudly. All the army was in a state of intoxication. Whilst they were dancing, some other army personnel came with sticks, axes, and iron bars. They started hitting all the people randomly. For few minutes, they were screaming and blood was bleeding from their whole body. Some heads were broken into pieces, some hands and legs were cut off – within a few minutes there was no noise. All 13 were hacked to death. Then they put all the bodies in a pit and burned those bodies with tires and firewood. From this incident I presume that the same thing must have happened to all 138 people who were arrested in the campus. In Navaladdy camp, there were a lot of pits. If these pits are excavated the number of people who were killed in this camp could be discovered. Later they asked me and another person to go and sleep in a room. How can I sleep after seeing the cold blooded massacre? I didn’t have a wink of sleep the whole night. During my stay in that camp, I had seen some Muslims coming into that camp with their hats on. Then they removed the hats and went with the army for various activities against the Tamils in those areas.  I was petrified for during the nine days in that camp. Then I was released with a warning that I should not disclose those matters to anyone outside or I would face   the same consequences. Soon after my release, I went along with my colleagues to Kondayankerny camp to find out as to what had happened there. There we saw a pit covered and by the side of the pit, there were ladies cloths including underwear. We also saw children's clothes. Then we knew, what had happened there for the women who were taken into custody. It is believed that forty eight people were buried in this camp.

To my knowledge, the killings continued for a week in the villages of Sithanddy, Kondayankerny, Vantharumulai, Iyankerny, Sathurukoddan and Karuvakerny.Hundreds of people were killed. There are a few survivors who are eye witness to these killings. But they are scared to reveal these secrets to outsiders. They were warned by the soldiers not to disclose anything to anyone. If they did so, they would face the same fate. One Lt. Killed was the person who master-minded all these killings. Now he is a Captain. I know how he killed one Jeyaveran who is known to me. That camp was next to a mosque. Jeyaveran's head was hit against the mosque wall. As he was not killed, he brought a big baton and killed him by hitting him on his forehead. At Oddumavaddy Bridge, many were hacked to death by the soldiers with the help of some Muslims. If someone can get hold of Muslims at Oddumavaddy, you can get the whole truth of these massacres. The name of these perpetrators, the names and number of victims, the places where the offences were committed etc.” He concluded by saying that one day all these mass graves will be opened and it will be proved to the world that thousands of Tamils were hacked to death in Batticaloa by the Army.

71. Mandaithivu disappearances 23.08.1990, 25.09.1990

The three villages, Mandaitivu, Allaipiddy and Mankumban (M-A-M), are situated just across the Dutch Fort in Jaffna. From here the Sri Lankan military launched its operations. The majority of the people in the M-A-M villages were farmers, fishermen and toddy tapers. Prior to 1990 it was economically prosperous.  On 23.08.1990, the Sri Lankan military dropped notices from air ordering people not to stay in their homes and to go to churches and temples. People were thus taking refuge in temples, churches and schools. The military entered the villages on 23.08.1990 and killed everyone who did not go to the temples, churches and schools. 20 people were brutally killed in this manner.

On 23th August 1990 close to 500 young men between the ages of 15 and 45 were taken away from the PhilipNeri’s church in Allaipiddy. Hundreds of families had taken refuge in churches, temples and mosques after instruction from the military.

This is the imagery created by the narratives of the families: The entire village took refuge in the church. The army came and rounded up hundreds of able-bodied men and took them away, tied together. The woman screamed and ran behind, begging the army to leave them. The Army threatened the woman with guns, shot over their heads and physically beat them back. Meanwhile, the army instructed the children to recite, “We don’t want Tamil Eeelam”. Most of the men were later released little by little over a period of 10 days or so. Again the army arrived early in the morning on 23rd August 1990 to a school and a Pillaiyar temple in Mankumban where the people were told to go. People were still asleep. The armed men hit the sleeping young men on the head and ordered them to get up. Sisters gave their babies to their brothers to hold in the hope that it will save their brothers. The story repeats. Less than two months after this second roundup the entire military camp disappeared from the villages together with around 70 young men.  What exactly happened to these men is still not known to this day. All the families speak of the presence of Douglas Devananda, the leader of the militant EPDP group that has now become a political party, and the late army commander Denzil Kobbekaduwa at the site. Families also speak of the assurance given by Douglas Devananda to the families that their children will be safe. The Jesuratnam family who are looking for three of their sons have the most detailed story to tell about the role of Douglas Devananda in this disappearance: They met Douglas Devananda in the first week of June 1991. He got the particulars and then told them that he will go to Anuradhapura and will inform the family. The family went to Anuradhapura about ten times between 1991 and 1992 to meet Denzil Kobbekaduwa and succeeded in meeting him five times. When the family contacted Denzil Kobbekaduwa on 17th June 1991, he asked the family whether they have contacted Douglas Devananda about their children. Again on 13th May 1992 Kobbekaduwa told them that he would visit the M-A-M villages and after that he will show the children to the family. They met Douglas again on 25th June 1992 when he assured them that he would speak to the family after a visit to the M-A-M villages. The family was called by the 1995 Presidential Commission of Inquiry. Theirs is the only family from the M-A-M villages that managed to attend the inquiry.

This is because they were in Colombo and managed to get a date in Colombo. All the other families were displaced to Vanni during the period of the inquiry and were not contactable due to the communication and transport difficulties under the war situation. This family’s inquiry was held on 12th June 1996. At the inquiry the three commissioners instructed the family to ask Douglas Devananda about their children. They also promised to inquire from Douglas Devananda and inform the family but the family did not hear anything from the Commissioners after that.

A total of 92 people were either killed or disappeared on these two dates. The bodies of some of them are suspected to be in the covered wells in Mandaithivu to which civilians cannot enter. Locals suspect the actual toll on these days is much higher. Below are some excerpts about the role of Douglas Devananda in this affair from what other families have said:

Ratman Jeyaseelan’s brother-in-law says:

“My mother-in-law (Ratman’s mother) and I went and spoke to Douglas Devananda. We asked him to release Rattu since he is a boy who does not have a father. Douglas said “He is a good child and we will not do anything to him. We are keeping him only to transport water”. ... Rattu’s van is sandalwood colour. After that whenever I see the van at a distance I run towards it. When I go there Douglas Devananda will be there. They will be transporting water. When Rattu’s mother is there she will beg for Rattu’s release. Douglas will say ‘Amma why do I need your boy. I will keep him until we capture the Fort and then I will release him.”

S Jeyakumar‘s sister Vimaladevi says:

“Douglas came. We begged and cried to him. He told us ‘Amma your boys are not with the army. We are keeping them. We will let them go soon’. His men then gave rice and other dry rations to us at the junction. We told them that we do not want anything and to just give us our children back. To this he consoled us by saying, ‘Amma did me not say that they are with me. Why are you still asking? I will relax when I give them back to you. I will give them before the 24th of next month’. We were confident that our boys would be released. So we took the rations and went back. This happened 2 or three times. ... Army was in the Fort. We heard that when that army came they killed all our boys. Once we asked Douglas at the junction about this and he said, ‘Amma I took the responsibility. They will not do anything to them. Do not worry.” Reetamma, mother of S Selvanayagam shares her account of what happened the day her son was taken away:

“Selvanayagam was 25 years old when he was taken away. He was fishing for his livelihood. They took my son-in-law as well and he was released the next day. He said that he saw Selvanayagam at the Aluminium factory drinking water next day I went with the other parents to see the army. My husband is sickly, therefore I went everywhere to search and complain. Douglas Devananda was at the Aluminum factory. We pleaded, begged and screamed to let our children go. They said they are keeping our children in Mandaitivu. Douglas kept saying that he will release them tomorrow. In reality they had no plans to release our children. My son was 25 when he disappeared and he looked like a prince. When he was young he got sick a lot and I took him everywhere for treatment. It would have been easier to bear it if my son died of illness. I cried to the army that my son is the only one who can take care of my family. My son wanted to give his sister away in marriage and give her a good life. Once he went the entire family was broken and destroyed.”

72. Oddisuddan bombing 27.11.1990

Oddisuddan is a village in the Mullaithivu district and is the centre of the Oddisuddan Assistant Government Agent division.Of the many Thanthon reeswarar temples in the Northeast one is located in this village. There is a dense settlement surrounding this temple. In addition to farming, manufacture of roof tiles is also a major industry in this area. The centre of this village is almost like a little town.

On 27.11.1990, Sri Lankan Air Force bombed the area surrounding the temple killing 12 civilians and injuring many more.

73. Puthukkudiyiruppu junction bombing

Puthukkudiyiruppu junction is located 20 Kms from Mullaithivu town. The junction houses a commercial area that serves the people of the region. The area surrounding the junction has a dense settlement of people.  After 1980, people from several other regions of the Northeast were displaced to Puthukkudiyiruppu. Most of the displaced people were from, Mullaithivu, Manalaru, Kokkilai, Kokkuthoduvai, Karunaddukkerni and Thennamaravadi villages who were forced out by attacks of the Sri Lankan military and Sinhalese settlement supported by the same military. In 1991, more than 1500 refugees were housed in the Subramaniuam Vidhyalayam School near Puthikkudiyiruppu.

On 30.01.1991, at 5.30 pm, Sri Lankan Air Force bombers dropped bombs around the Puhukkudiyiruppu junction. 20 bodies were recovered from the area. 50 people were taken to the hospital with injuries. Because the daylight was ending not all bodies could be recovered the same night. Seriously injured civilians were sent to the Jaffna hospital the same night. However, three of the injured died on the way to the Jaffna hospital. Five more bodies were recovered the next day. In total 28 people were killed in the bombing. 8 of those killed were displaced people. One of the full term mothers who jumped into a bunker to escape the bombing gave birth to a baby with damaged vertebra and is unable to walk.

74. Vankalai massacre 17.02.1991

Vankalai is a coastal village in the Mannar district. Following the blowing up of the road bridge at the main entry point into Mannar as well as the Railway Bridge into Mannar, people from Mannar traveled to Colombo by sea from Thalvuppadu through Katpiddi. In this situation, the people of Vankalai displaced from their village, unable to bear the harassments of the Sri Lankan military. The military forcefully evicted those who have not displaced on their own. The military then removed all the valuable things from the homes and send to their own homes in the south of the island. It was in this situation that the Principal of the Vankalai Mahavidyalayam school, Sebamalai, a teacher from Vankalai, Justin Lambert, and a few others went to Colombo through Katpiddy to purchase some items for their homes.  They were returning from Colombo on 16.02.1991. They arrived at Thalvuppadu and spend the night there. Next day at 10.00 am they started their trip to Kaththankulam through Vankalai on bicycles. When they arrived at the Vankalai junction, Sebamalai, Lambert, another teacher and a boy, were stopped. Their hands were tied with rope and they were blind folded. People who arrived at the junction after them saw this and went and complained to the Bishop of Mannar. Since the travelers did not arrive home even the next day, the Bishop and the relatives of the travelers went to the Thalladi military camp, obtained their permission, and arrived at the Vankalai camp to look for them. The military stopped the Bishop and the relatives from entering Vankalai.Yet, two of the relatives went to the nearby home of a teacher. Since the doors were open they went inside and found blood. They went behind the house and saw the bodies of five people in the well cut into pieces. Yet, given the situation they could not recover the bodies. When in 1993 the people of Vankalai resettled in their homes, they found that the well in the teacher’s house has been filled up. The skeletons of the five bodies were lying in front of the well. The skeletons of the five people were handed to the Mannar hospital by the police. It was sent to Colombo for further investigation. To date no further inquiries were held on the incident.

75. Vaddakkachchi bombing 28.02.1991

Vaddakachchi village is situated in the Kilinochchi district. The land is very fertile and also has good water supply for irrigation. A large acreage of the rice fields in this land is public property. There was a hostel in 3rdVaikal for those who work in these public lands. Five families were living in this hostel and working. on 28.02.1991, as the families were having breakfast in the morning before leaving for work the fields, Sri Lankan Air Force bombers dropped three bombs. One of the bombs fell on the hostel and exploded. 9 people were killed. The relatives of those killed, unwilling to continue to stay in the hostel left the place and went elsewhere.  Rasaih Paramasundaram says,

“On 28.02.1991, we were having breakfast at the Pannai hostel when Sri Lankan Air Force bombers dropped three bombs. One fell on the hostel. Nine people died, three were injured. 26 goats also died. We buried the goats and bodies of those killed in one hole. They were all in pieces”.

76. Vantharumoolai 09.06.1991

On 09.06.1990, Sri Lankan military from the Mavadivembu and Vantharumulai military camps surrounded the area. The military cut to death four people standing at the 1^st Cross Street. This was followed by shooting dead six civilians in Karuvankerni. In total 10 civilians were killed on that day.

77. Kokkadichcholai massacre 12.06.1991

On 12th June 1991, the people of Kokkadichcholai suffered through a second massacre at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army. The military entered a rice grinding mill and burnt the mill together with the 17 laborers. 400 houses were damaged that day. More than 220 people were killed. Their bodies were burnt by the military using tires. 81 year old Karuvalthamby Ayilpodi was in the rice mill, the day of the massacre.  Her account is as follows: “I could hear blasts everywhere.  I told my two sons, that we should run in the direction of the crowd. As I said this, the Army had reached Patha Kullakattal, firing their guns. I was unable bear the pain of watching the army catch and hurt all the people that came their way. They set fire to the houses and pushed people into the fire two by two. Kulasegaram was with me at the time. They pushed me, Kulasegaram and another boy into a burning house.  Even though we pleaded with our hands – they showed us no mercy. There were many sacks of rice in the house. Kulasegaram jumped on top of this and jumped over the fence. He said that he would rather jump and break his legs and die than be burned to death. We jumped over the fence and hid. Having decided there was no where else to run, he said he would rather die there. We were surrounded by firing and crying noises. We ran behind the house and hid with our eyes shut tightly under the tin sheet. We could not forget the fear we felt when they pushed us into the burning house.”

Muthulingam Vimaladevi speaks of the horror and torture that happened that day:” My elder sister’s baby was 12 days old. My elder sister said we should close the door and all stay inside. I said we should take the little baby and go to the mill as that was the direction everyone else was running in. So we took the baby and ran there. The mill was full. People were sitting in the middle, front and back. To stop the babies from crying, mothers but them to their breasts. Next door, we could hear bomb blasts. Everyone started saying ‘arohara’ and praying to god. The men who came inside started rapidly firing. Heads, stomach and necks were all being shot. I too pretended that I had been shot, smeared blood on myself and lay flat without moving. They shot everyone inside the mill. Along with my elder sister, five of us escaped. Because of the amount of the blood splattered everywhere, it looked as if everyone had died and we were able to escape. A little while after the firing stopped, we heard the sound of one mother crying out for her child. We stood up, took my elder sister’s child and ran to our next door neighbour’s house. There we saw people whose hands had been cut off, head had been cut and eyes had been gorged out. There were dead bodies of mothers who were still feeding their child. There was a baby smeared on the wall. The owner of the Mill, Mr. Kumaranayagam and his wife Puveneswary and their four children were all shot.”

78. Pullumalai massacre 1983 to 1990

Pullumalai in Batticaloa is a region immersed in natural beauty where Tamil people have lived for hundreds of years.

Today, it lies barren and lifeless. The remains of the destroyed local school, temple and church have been left untouched as a symbol and memorial to the pain of those died and of those who survived. From 1983 to 1990 the SLA, together with Sinhalese mobs, tried over five times to destroy the village. Houses were burnt, wealth was robbed, and massacres were organized. There are unbelievable accounts of the rapes and systematic killings that took place. Over 400 families disappeared. No international or local body has enquired into the fate of these 400 families.

In July 1983, the cows in the village were killed and wealth destroyed. In 1984, when the Thiruvemba pooja in December was happening at Pillayar Temple, the SLA shot 9 people dead. That same year 300 houses were burnt. On 4th of January 1985, the SLA killed the only Engineer along with 7 others. They also destroyed houses and wealth. One week later on the 10th of January, they shot the temple priest along with 9 others. On 10th of November 1986, they returned to rape, steal, kill and burn the villagers. 103 Tamils were cut and killed that day. In 1986, after they had shot 7 men in the village they used tires to burn the bodies. In 1987, 14 people that were fishing in the pond were shot. On 9th of July 1990, once again people left the village unable to bear the atrocities that were committed on them. Babies were ripped open and thrown callously. Over 40 families were shot; girls were raped, stabbed and ripped open. The witnesses of this torture left and have not returned till this day. Soosaimoththu Thambimoothu talks about unbelievable torture on the day his younger brother Sellathamby Perinbarasa and wife died,” In 1983, the SLA and the mobs joined together to set alight our houses. They took all the wealth in our houses away in their vehicles. Around 40 or 45 houses were burnt. Everyone ran with fear in the direction of the vegetable garden. We also ran to our vegetable garden at Mungil Malai. The SLA rounded up and took away all the people that had gathered at Mungil Malai.My younger brother and his pregnant wife were two of these people taken away.

They took turns to rape my sister in law in front of my brother. They tied up my younger brother’s hands and legs, cut open his wife's stomach, took out the baby and trampled the baby with their legs. Right at the end, they shot my brother in the ear. They took his wife's naked body, placed both bodies in a position that looked like husband was raping the wife and left. A little way away from them, Yoganathan, his father Arumugam, Jeganatha and Ramayyah were shot dead. One of their chests was ripped open with a knife and his insides were taken out. The people that were captured and taken away – don’t know what happened to this day.”

Kathirvelu Rasammah’s children and husband were destroyed by the SLA. In 1983, 1984 and then in 1990 her children were all shot dead,” I ran behind the Army when they took my children. They told me to stop else they would shoot. They said they would have to carry out an investigation and then the children would return home. We went to the camp a little while after this. They told us to go home and return back tomorrow. When we went the next day they did not let us and so we went back again the day after. They told us, that they had taken our children and left them in the forest and that we could go and see them there. We did not go immediately because we were too scared. When we did go a few days later, the forest was sprawled with bodies. There were arms and legs strewn everywhere. We could not identify whose children they were. They had all swelled up and were into their decomposition phase. We were too scared to stay there and so came back. My son and Arumuganathan who were fishing in the pond were caught by the SLA and chopped up. When we went looking for our son at the pond, there too we saw legs and arms lying around.” Soosaimoothu Joseph’s account of the 1990 massacre is as follows: “Suddenly trucks, vehicles and tractors were used to bring the SLA who surrounded the village. We ran in all directions. Bullets were falling rapidly. They took 35 or 45 people in one batch in a direction behind our house. They systematically took girls one by one and raped them. Even though we did not see this, the screams and pain of the girls were enough for us to know what had happened. There was no one there to save them or stay with them. Everyone ran in any direction they could. They came into our chicken pen and caught the chickens. I grabbed my wife and children and ran away. There were about 40 or 50 people running in the same direction as me. We ran in the forest that was beyond the pond. We were not able to run any more. We thought we would just remain there and die. My little child had a very bad cough. If the Army heard this, they would have come and shot everyone. Whilst we were thinking about this, the Army was coming our direction through the grounds. The Army at front had raised their guns and we thought that they had seen us and were approaching. My little child started coughing about the same time. 50 people were going to die because of this one child. So I tried to strangle the child to save these 50 people. My wife in panic pulled away my hand and took a handful of the milk powder that we had brought and shoved in the child’s mouth. The flour got stuck in the child's mouth and she struggled but was unable to cough.

The Army was about 20 or 30 meters away from us and kept continuing on their track without stopping. We were so lucky that they did not see us. We stayed there till dark. When the firing stopped we went back into the village. In there we did not know where to look. Death was everywhere. The Peter Family and the 40 or 50 people that had run with them were all shot dead. Girls who had been raped were lying naked. Babies within one year were all shot and thrown about. The 3 children of the Pakyanathan had their legs ripped out of them.”

79. Kinniyadi massacre 12.07.1991

Kinniyadi is situated in the Batticaloa district 45 Kms north of Valaichenai. People of the village are mostly fishermen, wood cutters and farmers.

 On 12.07.1990, Sri Lankan military from the Kurumpumunai and Valaichenai camps rounded up this village and opened fire on the people. Military also used sharp knives to kill the people. 13 civilians were killed. Further details about this massacre are not yet available.

80. Akkarayan hospital massacre 15.07.1997

Akkarayan village in the Kilinochchi district has large forest areas. Majority of the people are farmers. The village has a hospital, market, and places of worship to serve the needs of the villagers. When the Sri Lankan military launched the “Sathjeya” military operation from their Elephant Pass camp, people began displacing from their homes.

The Kilinochchi district hospital, unable to continue its operation in Kilinochchi, shifted its operations temporarily to the Akkarayan hospital. On 15.07.1997, the military started shelling from the Elephant Pass camp. Shells fell on and around the Akkarayan hospital. The hospital cleaner, Kanapathy, was living in a quarters with his family. The entire family was either killed or injured. In total three people were killed and one girl, Kamalaverni, lost her leg in the shelling. Akkarayan hospital has a hall in memory of the family and is named Kanapathy hall.

81. Uruthrapuram bombing 04.02.1991

Uruthrapuram village is situated in the Kilinochchi district. The Koolavadi market serves the villages of Urudrapuram and Sivanagar. 04.02.1991 is the Independence Day for Sri Lanka and it was celebrated in the south of the island. On that day Sri Lankan Air Force bombers circled the Koolavadi market. People ran in all directions trying finding a safe place.  The bombers dropped four bombs and three of them exploded. Several people had gone under the bridge hoping it to be a safe place. One of the bombs exploded near the bridge and nine people under the bridge were killed. The funerals of those were held the next day. During the funeral more bombs were dropped in the area. A memorial for those killed was built by the villagers in 2002 at the Koolavadu junction.

Kandaih Sundaralingam of Uruthrapuram says,” I lost two children on 04.02.1991 when Sri Lankan Air Force dropped several bombs at Koolavadi junction.”

82. KarapollaMuthgalla massacre 29.04.1992

Karapolla and Muthugalle villages are situated in the Polanaruwa districts. These villages are on the border of the

Batticaloa district. The people of this village mostly work as labourers, keeping cow herds and collecting honey from the forests. 

 On 29.04.1992, Sri Lankan military and Muslim groups entered the villages at night and killed the sleeping villagers by cutting them with knives. 97 people were killed including women and children. All the villagers displaced from these two villages after this incident.

83. Vattrapalai shelling 18.05.1992

Vattrapallai is very famous female goddess temple in the Northeast region situated along the coast in Mullaitivu. Once a year on the full moon day in May hundreds of thousands of people gather here for “Pongal”, community cooking and eating. Since 1990 due to SLAFs threats the number of people who come to this temple for this day had diminished.

18.05.1992 was that annual day for that year when more than 5,000 devotees have gathered at the temple. The SLAFs shelled from its camp in Mullativu at 12.45 pm at the peak time of the festival, as if they were deliberately trying to destroy the festival. Ten people died on the spot, five more died at the hospital, and 60 people were injured. Yogeswari’s son and husband died on that day. This is her account of the story:“It was the day of Pongal. Because this is a special day in the year, people had come from all over the place. I had given our ‘kavadi’ for rent. My husband and son were waiting to get the Kavadi back. I was not with them. I heard that the SLA had started shelling from Mullaitivu. Someone came running to tell me that my brother Sellakilli, had been injured. I ran to see him. It was actually my son and my sister in law’s son who had been injured. We were unable to look at them – they were that badly scarred. My husband was then brought to us. He died soon after. We all screamed and cried. It has been so hard to bring up the kids. I have not given up the ‘kavadi’ business. I have had to grind flour for a living. As long as the SLA are here and doing these kinds of things, people will always suffer like this.”

84. Thellipalai temple bombing 30.05.1992

Tellipalai village is in the Jaffna district and Tellipalai boasts of an ancient Thurkai-Amman temple. The Sri Lankan military shelled and bombed areas surrounding the Palay military camp in order to displace the people and expand the military camp. Displaced people from several villages adjacent o the Palay military camp such as, Kurumpasiddy, Vasavilan, Taiyiddy, and Mayiliddy, had taken refuge in the Thurkai-Amman temple. On 30.05.1992, two Sri Lankan Air Force bombers dropped five bombs on the temple crowded with refugees.  Five people, including two from the same family, were killed in this bombing. Most of the temple was damaged. This same temple was bombed again in 1993 during festival time when it was crowded with devotees. Five civilians died in this second attack a year later. More than 5 people were injured. The temple was destroyed a second time in a year.