Lest We Forget

Lest we forget – Massacres of Tamils 1956 ­2002
seems to have been to further inflame things, as the crowd soon thereafter
stormed the camp as the police looked on.
That there was an utter failure on the part of the police stationed around the
camp is beyond dispute. The Commission report strongly criticized the two
most senior police officers in the area – ASP Dayaratne and HQI Seneviratne
for a series of failures. Even at the last moment, the inmates could have been
evacuated from the camp.
The prosecution
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) carried out its own inquiry and
indicted 41 suspects including 10 police officers. There were flaws in the
prosecution at many levels. Some of which are:
1. Although both inquiries have strongly criticized that there were
substantial prior organizations before the mob stormed the camp there
was no attempt to investigate the “organized nature of the massacre”.
2. There was no attempt to lay charges for the criminal conduct of the police
in allowing the massacre to continue while they stood by. Nor was the
police shooting of the fleeing inmates investigated.
3. There was a systematic destruction of evidence. A bullet from the body of
the detainee who was killed by police shooting was removed and was not
available as evidence.
4. Though two higher-ranking officers were clearly identified in the
inquiries they were never charged of any crime. All the police officers
who were charged are middle and low ranking officers.
5. The charges that were brought on the suspects were for murder and
attempted murder. The prosecution did not lay any lesser charges for
which there would have been a greater possibility of conviction.
Despite such blatant criminality the Sri Lankan justice system has allowed all
the culprits to go free. This is also not the only time this has happened. Indeed,
this failure of the Sri Lankan justice system to punish security persons for
crimes against Tamil civilians has a very long history.
115. Mirusuvil massacre ­ 19.12.2000
Mirusulvil village is a settlement
created to encourage women into
employment. This village is near
the Muhamalai area in Jaffna
peninsula.
In the year 2000, as a result of
military clashes throughout the
Thenmaradchy area of Jaffna many
people had displaced to the
Vadamaradchi area. The people of Mirusuvil village had also displaced to
Karaveddy in Vadamaradchi and were staying in the Navalar hall.
Report by NESOHR,
Information Collected by SNE
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