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| War-affected communities in Trincomalee staged a protest last week during the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, demanding justice and truth for wartime atrocities. Pix: Northeastern Monitor |
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk visited a recently discovered mass grave site on Jaffna's outskirts
By Rubatheesan Sandran
Sixty-eight-year-old Manuel Jeyachandra travelled over 118 kilometers from her village of Pallimunia in Mannar district to the northern province’s capital, Jaffna, with one motive – to meet Volker Türk.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was scheduled to visit a recently discovered mass grave site in Jaffna during a four-day official tour to Sri Lanka from June 23 to 26.
“I’m not sure how long I am going to be alive, but I just want to know what happened to my son before I die. That’s all,” Jeyachandra told UCA News from Chemmani on the outskirts of Jaffna.
The serene Chemmani village has acquired a notorious reputation in the psyche of the war-scarred Tamil community in the North.
It is the site of mass graves, where, potentially, hundreds of ethnic Tamils who were murdered by the Sri Lankan military lie buried.
Relatives of enforced disappeared persons held a sustained three-day 'Unextinguished Flame' vigil in Chemmani to coincide with Turk’s visit.
Jeyachandra’s son, Anton Sanston Pigiradas, who was then 24, was taken by Navy officers from their house on Sept. 11, 2008, saying they wanted to question him.
He left with them on his motorbike. Jeyachandra never saw him again.
“Later, I came to know his motorbike was found at Thalaimannar Navy camp. I want to know what happened to him,” she said.
The mother feels anxious and cannot sleep each time she hears of a fresh mass grave site discovered in the area or elsewhere.
“All of us have been going through this pain for the past sixteen years, even though the war came to an end in 2009,” Jeyachandra said, echoing families still looking for their loved ones believed to be disappeared by force.
The latest trauma was unleashed upon them on May 20, when construction workers stumbled upon human remains while clearing the land near the Chemmani Hindu cemetery.
Judicial authorities intervened and by June 7, at least 19 human skeletons, including three of children, were found at the site.
The Chemmani mass grave site came to light in 1996 following the rape, murder and abduction of 18 year old school girl, Krishanthy Kumarasamy, her mother, younger brother and neighbor.
During the subsequent trial, Somaratne Rajapakse, a military personnel, was handed the death sentence over the killings.
He also testified that there were several burial sites of individuals who were executed and their bodies disposed of during the wartime period.
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| A human skeleton excavated from the mass grave site. Pix: Northeastern Monitor |
Turk’s visit – the first by a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights since February 2016 – included the most recent mass grave site, where he met with relatives of enforced missing persons who have been protesting for years, demanding answers.
“It is always very emotional to visit places where the past, the haunting past, becomes so visible,” he told the media after visiting the site on June 25.
Having just met with family members, he recalled a woman whose nephew disappeared in the mid-nineties and said, “They [the family] were always worrying of what happened to him, and this is always the pain and suffering that you feel when you speak to people who don’t know what happened to their loved ones.”
Turk said his visit to the mass grave is a step further to accountability and justice, and bringing closure to what otherwise is extremely painful.
“The one thing that needs to be done is through robust investigations, by independent experts with forensic expertise who can bring out the truth, bring closure to the pain and suffering of family members whose loved ones were disappeared,” he added.
As the excavations in the second Chemmani mass grave commenced, Amnesty International South Asia said this could be an important step towards delivering truth and justice to the victims and families, provided the excavation process is carried out in line with relevant international standards.
“Government authorities are to ensure sufficient funds and resources are allocated to complete the excavation in a transparent manner,” the global advocacy group said.
Father S. Marcus, president of the Mannar Citizens Committee, who took part in the protest along with a group of people from his parish, said it is vital to ensure that justice, truth, accountability and reparation is provided to war affected communities in North and Eastern provinces – bringing a closure to move ahead.
“They [the families] have been waiting for over fifteen years now for truth and justice,” he told UCA News.
Sri Lanka’s Office on Missing Persons (OMP), the state entity mandated to track missing persons, has so far received and is processing a total of 21,374 formally submitted complaints.
But the aggrieved Tamil community expressed skepticism about the government’s willingness to be accountable and deliver justice, “considering its record of impunity in the past.”
“What we want is an independent international investigation with UN oversight on our missing loved ones, since I don’t believe the government will ensure justice for us,” Jeyachandra said.
The mother suspects the government will “try to whitewash these crimes.”
So far, at least 384 elderly parents, who have been protesting since the end of the war in 2009, have passed away without knowing what happened to their loved ones.
Media reports said the government was reluctant to allocate resources for extended digs, raising suspicions of a potential cover-up or at least a lack of commitment.
Mirak Raheem, one of the OMP commissioners, however, said his office has ensured that all necessary arrangements, including financial provisions, are in place to continue the excavation process ahead of the upcoming monsoon period.
Sujeevan, a youth activist helping organize the protest through a group known as People’s Action, said it’s very encouraging to see more young people willing to take part and learn more about the troubled history of the region.
“We organized events where relatives of missing persons could share their stories, besides holding mini exhibitions, street dramas at mass grave sites,” he said.
There were also testimonies by some witnesses to the past crimes, Sujeevan added.
With the UN human rights chief visiting, there is now cautious hope that global focus will prod the Sri Lankan authorities into action, finally. (Courtesy- UCAN)
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