Lest We Forget

Lest we forget – Massacres of Tamils 1956 ­2002
they were. They had all swelled up and were into their decomposition phase. We
were too scared to stay there and so came back.
My son and Arumuganathan who were fishing in the pond were caught by the SLA
and chopped up. When we went looking for our son at the pond, there too we saw
legs and arms lying around.”
Soosaimoothu Joseph’s account of the 1990 massacre is as follows:
“Suddenly trucks, vehicles and tractors were used to bring the SLA who surrounded
the village. We ran in all directions. Bullets were falling rapidly. They took 35 or 45
people in one batch in a direction behind our house. They systematically took girls
one by one and raped them. Even though we did not see this, the screams and pain
of the girls were enough for us to know what had happened. There was no one there
to save them or stay with them. Everyone ran in any direction they could. They
came into our chicken pen and caught the chickens. I grabbed my wife and children
and ran away. There were about 40 or 50 people running in the same direction as
me. We ran in the forest that was beyond the pond.
We were not able to run any more. We thought we would just remain there and die.
My little child had a very bad cough. If the Army heard this, they would have come
and shot everyone. Whilst we were thinking about this, the Army was coming our
direction through the grounds. The Army at front had raised their guns and we
thought that they had seen us and were approaching. My little child started
coughing about the same time. 50 people were going to die because of this one
child. So I tried to strangle the child to save these 50 people. My wife in panic
pulled away my hand and took a handful of the milk powder that we had brought
and shoved in the child’s mouth. The flour got stuck in the child's mouth and she
struggled but was unable to cough.
The Army was about 20 or 30 meters away from us and kept continuing on their
track without stopping. We were so lucky that they did not see us. We stayed there
till dark. When the firing stopped we went back into the village. In there we did not
know where to look. Death was everywhere. The Peter Family and the 40 or 50
people that had run with them were all shot dead. Girls who had been raped were
lying naked. Babies within one year were all shot and thrown about. The 3 children
of the Pakyanathan had their legs ripped out of them.”
79. Kinniyadi massacre ­ 12.07.1991
Kinniyadi is situated in the Batticaloa
district 45 Kms north of Valaichenai.
People of the village are mostly
fishermen, wood cutters and farmers.
On 12.07.1990, Sri Lankan military
from the Kurumpumunai and
Valaichenai camps rounded up this
village and opened fire on the people.
Military also used sharp knives to kill the people. 13 civilians were killed. Further
details about this massacre are not yet available.
Report by NESOHR,
Information Collected by SNE
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