Sooriyakanda mass grave
Encyclopedia
The Sooriyakanda mass grave is the mass burial ground of murdered school children from Embilipitiya Maha Vidyalaya (Embilipitiya High School) in Sri Lanka
. These school children were killed and buried as part of the counter insurgency
during the second JVP uprising in Sri Lanka. It was alleged that over 300 bodies were buried in the location. The mass grave was located in 1994. The Sri Lankan government last reported in 1996 to have conducted a forensic analysis of the burial ground uncovering an unspecified number of bodies. Local media, NGOs and the US state department have claimed that the investigations are not satisfactory.
to the north became more intense, there was a marked shift in the ideology and goals of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
(JVP) party in Sri Lanka. It morphed from a Marxist organization into a Sinhalese nationalist organization opposing any compromise with the Tamil insurgency. Due to its alleged role in anti-Tamil riots of July 1983
, it was banned and its leadership went underground.
The group's activities intensified against the then government in the second half of 1987 in the wake of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord to resolve the ethnic conflict. During 1987 a new group, the Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (DJV), emerged. It was an offshoot of the JVP. The DJV claimed responsibility for the August 1987 assassination attempts against the president Premadasa and prime minister
. In addition, the group launched a campaign of intimidation against the ruling United National Party
(UNP) party, killing more than seventy members of Parliament between July and November 1987.
The JVP seriously misjudged its own strength when, through the DJV, it called for the killing of members of the families of army personnel
. This destroyed the small but significant amount of support that it enjoyed among the lower ranks of the armed forces, and made it possible for the government to justify its campaign of terror
. As a means of pacifying the support base of JVP, a wide range of acts of cruelty, including the torture
and mass murder
of school children, who were allegedly JVP supporters, was carried out by the state.
(UN) regarding the mass graves, the Government reported that an excavation of the graves had been carried out on 14 September 1994 under the supervision of the High Court and it resulted in the discovery of an unspecified number of skeletal remains.
The report also indicated that a team of forensic, investigative and legal experts helped the court, in order to ensure a proper and scientific excavation and to assist in the further discovery and identification of bodies and the investigation of the circumstances in which they were buried at Sooriyakanda. The Government also reported that it has started to investigate newly discovered graves, including one at Ankumbura which may contain the bodies of 36 people killed by the police in 1989.
party had come to power in 1993, promising to investigate alleged atrocities conducted during the previous 18 years of United National Party
(UNP) rule, including the Sooriyakanada mass graves, nothing had come of the efforts. Another report indicated that officers initially indicted of the crime were honorably discharged as soon as hostilities
with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) began.
Notable international jurist Neelan Thiruchelvam
, in a speech at the ICES-Colombo, indicated that the appropriate investigations into massacres and disappearances of civilians, including many children in the Sathurukondan, Eastern University
, Mylanthanai
and the mass murder and burial of school children at Sooriyakanda, were being hampered by the adoption of emergency
regulations, which were contributing to a climate of impunity. He called for the partial, if not complete, revocation of emergency regulation so that an impartial inquiry into these incidents could take place.
The United States State Department noted in 1996 and 1998 that no significant headway had been made by the Sri Lankan government with regard to investigations into the mass graves at Sooriyakanda, Ankumbura and Nikaweratiya.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. These school children were killed and buried as part of the counter insurgency
Counter insurgency
A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
during the second JVP uprising in Sri Lanka. It was alleged that over 300 bodies were buried in the location. The mass grave was located in 1994. The Sri Lankan government last reported in 1996 to have conducted a forensic analysis of the burial ground uncovering an unspecified number of bodies. Local media, NGOs and the US state department have claimed that the investigations are not satisfactory.
Background
During the 1987 to 1989 period, as the Tamil conflictSri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
to the north became more intense, there was a marked shift in the ideology and goals of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
The Janathā Vimukthi Peramuṇa is a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was involved in two armed uprisings against the ruling governments in 1971 and 1987-89...
(JVP) party in Sri Lanka. It morphed from a Marxist organization into a Sinhalese nationalist organization opposing any compromise with the Tamil insurgency. Due to its alleged role in anti-Tamil riots of July 1983
Black July
Black July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
, it was banned and its leadership went underground.
The group's activities intensified against the then government in the second half of 1987 in the wake of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord to resolve the ethnic conflict. During 1987 a new group, the Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (DJV), emerged. It was an offshoot of the JVP. The DJV claimed responsibility for the August 1987 assassination attempts against the president Premadasa and prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
. In addition, the group launched a campaign of intimidation against the ruling United National Party
United National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
(UNP) party, killing more than seventy members of Parliament between July and November 1987.
The JVP seriously misjudged its own strength when, through the DJV, it called for the killing of members of the families of army personnel
Sri Lankan Army
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972...
. This destroyed the small but significant amount of support that it enjoyed among the lower ranks of the armed forces, and made it possible for the government to justify its campaign of terror
State terrorism in Sri Lanka
Various non-governmental organizations and individuals have accused the Sri Lankan government of committing state terrorism. These claims allege that much of the Sri Lankan government's handling of insurgent groups dating from 1956, including the civil war against Tamil militant groups and the...
. As a means of pacifying the support base of JVP, a wide range of acts of cruelty, including the torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
of school children, who were allegedly JVP supporters, was carried out by the state.
Investigation
In 1994, after a request by the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(UN) regarding the mass graves, the Government reported that an excavation of the graves had been carried out on 14 September 1994 under the supervision of the High Court and it resulted in the discovery of an unspecified number of skeletal remains.
The report also indicated that a team of forensic, investigative and legal experts helped the court, in order to ensure a proper and scientific excavation and to assist in the further discovery and identification of bodies and the investigation of the circumstances in which they were buried at Sooriyakanda. The Government also reported that it has started to investigate newly discovered graves, including one at Ankumbura which may contain the bodies of 36 people killed by the police in 1989.
Follow up
Local newspapers, including The Island and the Sunday Times, have reported that, although the People's AlliancePeople's Alliance (Sri Lanka)
The People's Alliance is a front of political parties in Sri Lanka, formed in 1994.It comprises the following parties:* Sri Lanka Freedom Party* Lanka Sama Samaja Party* Communist Party of Sri Lanka* Sri Lanka Mahajana Party...
party had come to power in 1993, promising to investigate alleged atrocities conducted during the previous 18 years of United National Party
United National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
(UNP) rule, including the Sooriyakanada mass graves, nothing had come of the efforts. Another report indicated that officers initially indicted of the crime were honorably discharged as soon as hostilities
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
(LTTE) began.
Notable international jurist Neelan Thiruchelvam
Neelan Thiruchelvam
Neelan Tiruchelvam was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and an internationally respected academic. He was assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber in July 1999....
, in a speech at the ICES-Colombo, indicated that the appropriate investigations into massacres and disappearances of civilians, including many children in the Sathurukondan, Eastern University
Eastern University massacre
Eastern University massacre also known as Vantharamulai campus massacre refers to the arrest and subsequent mass murder of 158 minority Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who had taken refuge in the Eastern University campus close to the city Batticalo of on September 5, 1990. A witness identified the...
, Mylanthanai
Mylanthanai massacre
The Mylanthanai massacre happened on August 9, 1992 when 35 minority Sri Lankan Tamils, including 14 children, at Mylanthanai in Batticaloa District in Sri Lanka, were killed....
and the mass murder and burial of school children at Sooriyakanda, were being hampered by the adoption of emergency
Emergency
An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or environment. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative...
regulations, which were contributing to a climate of impunity. He called for the partial, if not complete, revocation of emergency regulation so that an impartial inquiry into these incidents could take place.
The United States State Department noted in 1996 and 1998 that no significant headway had been made by the Sri Lankan government with regard to investigations into the mass graves at Sooriyakanda, Ankumbura and Nikaweratiya.
See also
Other notable mass graves in Sri Lanka- Chemmani mass grave
- Mirusuvil mass grave
- Duraiappa stadium mass graveDuraiappa stadium mass graveThe Duraiappa stadium mass grave was discovered and excavated at the Duraiappah Sports Stadium in the formerly embattled northern city of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, during a period of relative calm between civil conflicts...