Jaffna mass grave, a test for the Dissanayake government

A wide sedate tract successful Sri Lanka’s bluish Jaffna district,which has drawn home and planetary attention, is putting to trial the Anura Kumara Dissanayake government’s pledge to code Tamil people’s grievances.

The tract was discovered by mishap successful February this twelvemonth erstwhile workers, who were readying onshore successful Chemmani — located successful the outskirts of Jaffna, a erstwhile warfare portion — to physique a Hindu crematorium, stumbled upon what appeared to beryllium quality bones. They instantly alerted authorities, prompting the Jaffna Magistrate Court to bid excavation and further investigation.

A squad of experts, comprising a elder archaeologist, assisted by students astatine the University of Jaffna, and Judicial Medical Officers (JMOs, including forensic pathologists and those specialising successful forensic anthropology), has since been excavating the tract that is present protected with restricted access. According to authoritative sources acquainted with the excavation, astir 65 skeletons, including immoderate believed to beryllium children, person been recovered truthful far, astatine times with what appeared to beryllium schoolhouse bags and different idiosyncratic belongings.  

The increasing count, amid recurring headlines of much bones being unearthed each day, is agonising for locals, particularly families of disappeared persons, who person been chasing the information astir their missing loved ones for years. Their resoluteness continues till date, 16 years aft the bloody civilian warfare ended with the authorities equipped forces crushing the LTTE, portion tens of thousands of civilians were massacred.

From the clip his 21-year-old member was arrested by the service successful 1996, Ponnambalam Arumugasamy has spent overmuch of his clip and vigor successful trying to hint him. “Each of america looking for a missing comparative has been undergoing tremendous pain, not knowing what happened to our member oregon lad oregon daughter,” says Mr. Arumugasamy, 75, who resides adjacent Jaffna town. While the whereabouts of missing persons remains unknown, quality of quality remains buried clumsily nether the ungraded conscionable extracurricular municipality is unsettling. Families are torn betwixt feeling hopeful that their loved 1 mightiness beryllium live somewhere, oregon facing their worst fear, that they whitethorn not.

This is not the archetypal clip Chemmani is successful focus. In a startling tribunal revelation successful the precocious 1990s, worker Somaratne Rajapakse — among those convicted successful a lawsuit of rape, abduction, and execution of 18-year-old Tamil Krishanthi Kumaraswamy— testified that “300 to 400 bodies” were buried successful Chemmani. His disclosure led authorities to immoderate 15 bodies astatine the location, but the lawsuit was dropped aft that. Hence, wherever the ongoing Chemmani excavation is headed is tied to however overmuch the Dissanayake medication is consenting to propulsion the probe, portion confronting troubling relics from the past.

Political volition

“This authorities is unique,” asserted Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, pointing to the ruling National People’s Power’s [NPP] immense mandate successful past year’s wide election successful the island’s northbound and east, wherever Tamil-speaking radical are a majority. “That means astir of the racist authorities that divided the [Sinhala majority] southbound and the north, person efficaciously travel to an end. It appears that the radical of the northbound and the southbound person travel unneurotic successful choosing us…so, dissimilar erstwhile governments, we person a bigger work successful fulfilling their aspirations, looking aft their wellbeing,” helium told The Hindu successful an interrogation astatine his Ministry.

Observing that the Dissanayake authorities has “the implicit governmental will” to code the grievances of those who person suffered “catastrophic deaths, disappearances, and losses”, Mr. Nanayakkara said the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, the main governmental constituent of the ruling confederation that the President leads) had “suffered the same” successful the precocious 1980s, and truthful “takes it precise seriously.”

Rights watchdog Amnesty International estimates that Sri Lanka has 1 of the world’s highest fig of disappearances, with a backlog of 60,000 to 1,00,000 complaints including from the island’s Sinhala-majority southbound wherever thousands of younker went missing astir the equipped insurrections led by the leftist JVP successful the aboriginal 1970s and precocious 1980s. Every clip a wide sedate is spotted, families of the disappeared are enactment done different circular of stress, anticipation and hopelessness, arsenic was seen successful 2 different recently-identified sites successful the Northern Province – successful Mannar municipality and Kokkuthudavai successful Mullaitivu.

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The government, with the enactment of the Office connected Missing Persons [OMP], acceptable up by the Maithripala Sirisena – Ranil Wickremesinghe authorities successful 2016, to probe disappearances, is presently looking into 14 wide sedate sites crossed the country, authorities said. “Money is not an issue,” Mr. Nanayakkara said, adding that a sum of LKR 11.7 cardinal (roughly ₹ 35.5 lakhs) has been allocated for enactment astatine Chemmani, arsenic of June 23, 2025.

As per Sri Lanka’s helium OMP Act, the Office has the authorization to enactment arsenic an perceiver successful wide sedate cases, portion playing a supportive relation successful medication – specified arsenic ensuring creaseless travel of funds for the lawsuit from the state, intervening connected issues of entree connected the media, and assisting successful identifying victims wherever possible.

Mirak Raheem, a commissioner astatine the OMP observed that investigating wide graves is “a precise complex” exercise. To commencement with, the full process of excavation is destructive. The tract indispensable beryllium destroyed [to retrieve the skeletons] and tin ne'er beryllium reconstructed. The absorption is not lone connected recovering quality remains, but besides connected collecting arsenic overmuch accusation arsenic imaginable from the location. “For instance, the predisposition and the presumption of the bodies, the geography of the site, details specified arsenic the bound of the wide grave, whitethorn supply utile pointers connected however the tract mightiness person been dug,” helium said.

The learning globally, Mr. Raheem points out, is that specified an effort needs a multidisciplinary squad – 1 that incudes forensic anthropologists, forensic archaeologists, historians, criminologists, geneticists and others. “Along with what is recovered astatine the site, investigators besides see witnesser statements and events astir the site, due to the fact that it is imaginable that the wide graves were not a effect of a azygous event. There could person been aggregate events implicit a play of time. An integrated attack to investigations and investigation is truthful important to found the truth, oregon we volition beryllium near with antithetic reports that could beryllium contradictory and bash not supply a decision to the case, and bash not pb to an recognition of victims,” helium explained.

Technical expertise

While governmental volition is fundamental to spot the lawsuit through, method expertise is besides critical, experts noted. Earlier, the assemblage including the families [of disappeared persons], activists, and lawyers were not arsenic alert of the subject, according to Ranitha Gnanarajah, an Attorney astatine Law, moving with and appearing connected behalf of families of the disappeared. “But now, we person had much exposure, including to different contexts that person dealt with wide graves, similar Guatemala, Argentina, Rwanda. We are much alert of the strategies, systems, ineligible process, challenges and the divers approaches successful the excavation astatine and tracing of wide sedate sites,” she said, indicating that Sri Lanka is amended equipped to grip wide graves, adjacent if immoderate challenges, specified arsenic the lack of a DNA database, persist.  

“We don’t person a DNA slope and specialised DNA laboratories that enactment with highly degraded remains, to correlate findings from wide graves with a household notation illustration from relatives of disappeared persons,” Mr. Raheem said.

The transition of clip is different large challenge. “There is simply a superior hazard of losing truthful galore parents and household members of the disappeared who whitethorn walk connected without sharing their DNA oregon captious accusation astir the missing person,” helium added.

The authorities appears unfastened to seeking help. “While we person immoderate resources, we volition not hesitate to get assistance from our planetary friends and partners erstwhile the request arises for [technical] expertise. We volition not fto this probe spell down saying ‘oh, we don’t person the expertise’,” Minister Nanayakkara said. “There is nary request for america to support immoderate transgression whether successful the southbound oregon north,” helium added.  

Afterall, Sri Lanka is not unsocial successful confronting wide graves. There are galore contexts crossed the Global South, particularly Latin America, that person taken the forensic conflict forward, according to OMP Commissioner Mr. Raheem. “Countries similar Argentina and Guatemala person not lone made important advancement successful investigating their wide graves but besides person a batch of cognition and acquisition to share. So Sri Lanka has galore sources to trust connected to physique its nationalist capacity.”

Winning trust

Acknowledging that “people request closure, radical request justice”, helium besides flagged the request for dignity of families, designation arsenic a peculiar class of victims and immoderate signifier of societal extortion to enactment their lives. “When you combat for 30, 40 years, discriminate and marginalise, they (Tamils) are not going to spot the Sinhalese conscionable similar that. Our occupation is to triumph their spot and assistance heal,” helium said.

Winning families’ spot volition beryllium crucial. “They are not simply sources of information, but are progressive partners successful the process, who request to beryllium alert of what is happening, truthful they tin observe and assist. Their relation is central,” Mr. Raheem noted.

While increasing consciousness has allowed those engaged with the families of disappeared persons to amended explicate the process and its inherent challenges astir the Chemmani wide graves, families excessively are bravely participating successful the process, Ms. Gnanarajah pointed out. “They stock their stories, accounts from memory, enactment the excavating squad with nutrient and beverages, meantime patiently and hopefully waiting for immoderate answers oregon closure, aft enduring years of symptom and trauma,” she said.

Visiting the Chemmani wide sedate during his sojourn to Sri Lanka successful June 2025, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said it is simply a “compelling reminder that the past haunts the lives of galore successful Sri Lanka.” Excavation successful Chemmani, being carried retired successful phases and temporarily paused for the past fortnight, is scheduled to resume connected July 21 [Monday].

Families and activists said the authorities appears committed to a credible process, but stay cautious astir the outcome, arsenic their acquisition truthful acold has seldom fixed them immoderate relief. “We can’t accidental thing now; not until the probe is complete. I americium trying to stay hopeful that the findings volition bring america immoderate answers astatine slightest this time,” said Mr. Arumugasamy. “I americium looking for my brother, and truthful galore women are looking for their sons oregon daughters. We person each endured tremendous pain. We request answers.”