Lest We Forget

Lest we forget – Massacres of Tamils 1956 ­2002
Stones were thrown into the well to stop the body floating up. Nanthakumar,
who was watching this, managed to untie himself and ran away.
When Nanthakumar arrived at Tharmapuram where we met him, he told
everyone the story. No one went to check it at that time out of fear. On the
same day the four other men went missing. No one knew about their fate at that
time.
In March 2000 following the Sri Lankan army withdrawal from our village we
went back to Pannangkandy to resettle. First only about 10 families went. We
cleaned the well mentioned above because we needed to use it for drinking
water and also because we knew about what has happened to Sukumar. When
we started cleaning the well 6 bodies were recovered. Everyone whose family
member had gone missing came to check whether their relative’s body is among
them. Relatives were able to identify the clothing with which the hands of the
skeletons were tied once the clothing was washed.”
Mrs Pannichelvam Seethalaxmi’s husband skeleton was one of those found in
the well.
“On 5 th July 1997, there was a military operation
named ‘Sath Jaya’ carried out by the SLA. Our
village was bombed and shelled. We left our place
and lived in Union Tank, Akarayan, Skanthapuram as
refugees. There were no employment facilities there.
We were very poor.
One day my husband together with Kanthasamy
Muthulingam and Perumar Sugumaran went to
Pannakandi on 5 th July 1997 at 7:30pm to get some things and pluck some
coconut fruit. They did not return back that day. I was surprised. I went and met
another family member and the Rural Development Society president and also
informed the International Red Cross Society in Mallavi. But I did not get any
information from 1997 to 2000.
One day, a Father came to my house and told me that he had some news about
some skeletons that were taken by somebody in the lavatory pit at Pannankandi.
Immediately I ran there with the help of the Tamil Eelam Police. I saw the
skeleton. I proved that the skeleton was that of my husband.”
The sixth body belonged to a young boy wearing blue school shorts. His
identity has not been settled yet. Later we heard that he could be from
Udaiyarkaddu, Kaddaikadu. No one came inquiring about this boy. The remains
from the well are with the Tamil Eelam police.
Note: Appathurai Selvakumar (35) also from Pannangkandy disappeared and
his fate is unknown. His family lives in Pannangkandy
Report by NESOHR,
Information Collected by SNE
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