Lest We Forget

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Lest we forget – Massacres of Tamils 1956 2002 They shot and took away about twenty five bodies on a vehicle. The bodies were returned three days later. They had poured acid on their face - we could not recognize them. All the wells and pits had bodies dumped in them. We could not count the bodies that day because there were bodies everywhere. Usually when the army comes, we hear fighting noises continuously. So we thought the same was happening. But it was only when the army left and we went into the village, we realised that nearly every well and pit had a body. People who had come to the village for work had also died there. Those in the refugee camps were the most tortured. They were building separate huts to live. The huts were burnt and the people were all shot. People were also taken away. When these people returned they were in such a tragic state. Their arms and legs were broken and they could not walk. We were too scared to stay in the village. If the army returned we too would be shot. We could not bury people in individual holes. We could not even touch the bodies - that's how badly disfigured they were. We dug a big hole with a machine, dumped the bodies and then closed up the hole. The brutality that was done at the refugee camp was unimaginable. Some people are mentally affected by it.” 47. Thanduvan bus massacre 17.07.1986 Thanduvan is situated on the Mullaithivu-Vavuniya main road, 4 Kms from Nedunkerni, driving towards Mullaithivu. Thanduvan village is part of the Oddusuddan Assistant Government Agent division in the Mullaithivu district. The main occupation and income of the village is agriculture. People of the village had to travel to Nedunkerni to buy their regular necessities. On the fatal day of 17.07.1988, many people were in the bus connecting Mullaithivu to Nedunkerni. The bus belonged to the state operated bus service. On that day the Nedunkerni area was cordoned off and searched by the Sri Lankan military under the command of Gen Kobbekaduwa. Supporting and protecting the cordon and search was a military helicopter belonging to the Sri Lankan Air Force. In this situation, the Thanduvan people in the bus were unable to proceed to Nedunkerni. The bus driver turned back the bus and started to drive back to Mullaithivu. The military helicopter followed the bus and started to fire at the bus. One Km from the Thanduvan school in the direction of Mullaithivu, a rocket was fired at the bus. 17 people in the bus, including the bus driver were killed. A further 13 people in the bus were injured. Report by NESOHR, Information Collected by SNE 39
Lest we forget – Massacres of Tamils 1956 2002 48. Mutur Manalchenai massacre 18.07. 1986 On 18.07.1986, Sri Lankan military conducted a cordon and search operation in villages of Manalchenai and Peruveli in Muthur. 44 civilians were arrested and taken away and shot dead. Most of those killed were displaced people from the villages of Menkamam, Kankuveli and Mallikaitivu. 49. Adampan massacre 12.10.1986 Adampan village is situated in the Manthai West Assistant Government Agent Division in Mannar district. This is a farming village. The villagers have suffered endless atrocities at the hands of the nearby Thalladi Sri Lankan military camp for more than 20 years. On 12.10.1986 at 4.00 am in the morning, the Sri Lankan military moved out from the camp through the Malikai village and rounded up the Adampan village. They shot and killed the sleeping villagers and burnt down several shops. The military that entered the village at 5.00am continued the attack until 11.00am. The military threw the bodies into the rice fields and on the road and left. More than 20 civilian lost their lives and many shops were brunt down. Suvannah Sabastianpillai’s account of the event is as follows, “I was sleeping at home and heard blasting noises around 4am. We woke up to see what had happened. There was a helicopter in the air. We started running and were surrounded by bomb blasts. We ran to a nearby Muslim village. We returned around 12 pm. We hid in a tree and saw that the army were everywhere along with blasting sounds. The army had rounded up the whole place. Things were broken, people were crying. Everything was a mess. There were jeeps everywhere. Close behind a jeep were the Special Task Force. We heard rapid fire near where they had stopped. 22 vehicles had come to Thamarakulam. I counted them. Police and the SLA joined in on this. Two of my relations – Pasumai and Cheenan – were on their way back from a funeral. They were shot and left on the road. Report by NESOHR, Information Collected by SNE 40
Page 1 and 2:
Lest We Forget Massacres of Tamils
Page 3 and 4:
Lest we forget - Massacres of Tamil
Page 5 and 6: Lest we forget - Massacres of Tamil
Page 55: Lest we forget - Massacres of Tamil
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
show all

Lest We Forget

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?