Lest We Forget

Lest we forget – Massacres of Tamils 1956 ­2002
the front of the sister’s residents. People hiding in the first story of the church saw
this. Many of other civilians who were running in fear were also shot and killed.
Following this carnage the military was celebrating their achievement. The military
then took all the dead bodies in their vehicle and left. All eight bodies except that of
Mary Bastian were handed over to the hospital by the military. Many young men
who were injured in the shooting were treated secretly.
A woman eye witness from Vankalai:
“Our house is near the Vankalai church. I was sleeping at that time. At around
11pm I heard bullet noises all around our house. Some fell on our house. We could
hear these sounds till 6am the next morning. I could hear sounds of torture in one of
the rooms.
I thought that the army had left and went to the Church. The Sisters inside told me
to run away as the army were still there. So I did.
When they finally left, I went back and went into the Father - Mary Bastion’s room.
There were two boys there. They were dead and their blood had mixed in with
kerosene on the floor.
Seven people died in total. Six people were in the hospital. The SLA were dancing
and singing that night. It seemed that they were all drunk or on drugs.
I was told that the Father had been shot dead. His body had been dragged outside
and his photo taken. The Father’s body was taken to Thalladi Army Camp. That day
we could see smoke coming from the Army camp. We feared that the Father’s body
was being burnt.
The Bishop and the other Fathers went to the Thalladi Army Camp the next day to
ask for the Father’s body. But the SLA denied any knowledge of the body.”
!
21. Mulliyavalai massacre ­ 16.01.1985
Mulliyavalai village is situated on
the Mullaithivu-Vavuniya road in
the Mullaithivu district. It is an
ancient village with fertile land
and has retained many of the folk
culture of time past.
16.01.1985 was a festive day, the
day after Thaipongal. Thaipongal
is thanks giving festival for the sun
and on the following day the farm animals are honoured for their role in the
farmer’s life. At 4.00 am on that morning the Sri Lankan military rounded up this
village.
Report by NESOHR,
Information Collected by SNE
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