Lest We Forget

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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 67
Lest we forget – Massacres of Tamils 1956 2002 80. Akkarayan hospital massacre 15.07.1997 Akkarayan village in the Kilinochchi district has large forest areas. Majority of the people are farmers. The village has a hospital, market, and places of worship to serve the needs of the villagers. When the Sri Lankan military launched the “Sathjeya” military operation from their Elephant Pass camp, people began displacing from their homes. The Kilinochchi district hospital, unable to continue its operation in Kilinochchi, shifted its operations temporarily to the Akkarayan hospital. On 15.07.1997, the military started shelling from the Elephant Pass camp. Shells fell on and around the Akkarayan hospital. The hospital cleaner, Kanapathy, was living in a quarters with his family. The entire family was either killed or injured. In total three people were killed and one girl, Kamalaverni, lost her leg in the shelling. Akkarayan hospital has a hall in memory of the family and is named Kanapathy hall. 81. Uruthrapuram bombing 04.02.1991 People ran in all directions trying finding a safe place. The bombers dropped four bombs and three of them exploded. Several people had gone under the bridge hoping it to be a safe place. One of the bombs exploded near the bridge and nine people under the bridge were killed. Uruthrapuram village is situated in the Kilinochchi district. The Koolavadi market serves the villages of Urudrapuram and Sivanagar. 04.02.1991 is the Independence Day for Sri Lanka and it was celebrated in the south of the island. On that day Sri Lankan Air Force bombers circled the Koolavadi market. Report by NESOHR, Information Collected by SNE 68
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Lest We Forget

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