INDICTMENT AGAINST SRI LANKA
- ETHNIC CLEANSING OF TAMILS....
 Disappearances & Extra Judicial Killings

"If (Sri Lanka President) Jayewardene was a true Buddhist, I would not be carrying a gun..." - Velupillai Pirabakaran, Leader of Tamil Eelam, Interview with Anita Pratap, Sunday Magazine, India 11-17 March 1984

"...what has taken place in Sri Lanka in terms of mass disappearances is a crime against humanity. The local commissions have concluded that most disappearances that occurred in Sri Lanka were killings after arrest; they have further concluded that disappearances were carried out as part of a plan approved by the highest political authorities..." Statement  by Asian Legal Resource Centre

"...What is needed is not impotent breast-beating, however cathartic it may be, over past atrocities. What is more important and urgent is to reveal the past within the present. The need of the hour is to condemn the continuing Holocaust, the draconian war against the Tamil people and to expose the genocidal intent of the Sinhalese-controlled State..." On 16th  Anniversary of Genocide'83 - S Sathananthan & Sabiha Sumar, 28 July 1998

Colombo district Tamil parliamentarian of the opposition United National Party, T. Maheswaran, was shot at Ponnambala Va'neasvarar temple at Kochchikkadai in Colombo Tuesday around 10:00 a.m., while he was paying homage at the shrine, and succumbed to his injuries at Colombo hospital. The shooting, which also claimed the live of his bodyguard, comes a few hours after the parliamentarian had said that he would reveal details on how abductions and killings in Jaffna are managed by the Sri Lankan establishment through the EPDP paramilitary, from Colombo. Eleven days ago, the government of Sri Lanka had reduced the Ministerial Security Division guards provided to the MP from Eighteen to two.

Mano Ganeshan, the leader of Western People's Front(WPF) and Colombo district parliamentarian speaking to media said that he has decided to leave Sri lanka due to security reasons. Mr.Ganeshan said that the decision to go abroad was due to the recent withdrawal by Government of Sri Lanka (GOSl) the 10 security personnel and the security back up vehicle provided to him. The GOSL is clearly attempting to endanger his life by minimizing his security, Ganeshan said. Legal steps taken to restore his previous security have proven to be unsuccessful, he added. Ganeshan who is also the Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC) convener said that foreign diplomats have advised him to leave the country immediately as the GOSL continues to turn a deaf ear towards the requests of foreign ambassadors to safeguard his life while death threats continue to increase.

[see also Enforced Disappearances, Extra-judicial killings, Aerial and Artillery bombardments, Torture,  Extortions' says Mano Ganesan MP, convener of the Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC)]

"Unidentified gunmen following a prominent member of United National Party (UNP), Muthukumar Sivapalan shot him dead Friday around 5:30 p.m as he was riding on his motor cycle in Chuzhipuram area in Valikaamam. Muthukumar Sivapalan, was rushed to Moo’laay hospital with serious injuries and later transferred to Jaffna Teaching Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, sources in Jaffna said. During the last election campaign, Mr. Sivapalan had strongly worked against the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) led by Douglas Devananda, a cabinet minister in the present Sri Lanka government, Tholpu’ram residents said. "

"..We draw your attention to the fact that the arbitrary arrest and detention of a large number of Tamils in Colombo and the suburbs is not legal, rational, justifiable or acceptable under national or international law. Moreover, such large numbers of persons being arbitrarily detained, leads to overcrowding and in many instances and ways, involves degrading, cruel and inhuman treatment..."

" Jeyachandran Prathap, Maiyoor Chandramohan, Devadas Christy Prasanna, Balasingham Surendran, Jesuthasan Jeyasuthan, Paramsamy Visaharan, Marimuththu Kumutharaj, Amirthalingam Alaheswaran"

"The Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC), formed recently in Colombo by involved Tamil and Sinhala politicians, to monitor extra judicial killings, abductions and disappearances, based on the records registered so far, reported Friday that 29 persons were still missing in Colombo. Six persons were reported killed. Eight persons were released, according to the list compiled from the details become public and from the people who are willing to talk. There are many acts of Disappearances, Abductions, Killings and Extortions occurred in capital city Colombo, suburbs, that have gone unreported due to reasons of fear and logistics, said the CMC chaired by Srithunga Jayasooriya..." more

"...62 individuals including Newspaper Manager Sivamaharajah, ex- Member of Parliament and 2 undergraduates were killed, and 53 civilians including a Catholic Priest and 10 students below the age of 18 have disappeared in Jaffna Peninsula in 35 days since August 02. The International agencies present in Jaffna are yet to voice their concerns for the increased dissappearances of children in Sri Lanka Army controlled Jaffna district, according to civil society leaders in Jaffna. Deans of Jaffna Univeristy have charged that the search operations conducted by the Sri Lanka armed forces inside the Univeristy premises were deliberate attempts to damage the reputation of the University and instil fear in the students..." more

Murdered: Mary Medaline (27) Moorthy Martin (35) Ann Nilxon (7), Ann Luxica(9)

Murdered: Ketheeswaran Yathursan (4 months), Ketheeswaran Thanushkanth (4), Palachamy Ketheeswaran (25), Ketheeswaran Anex Ester (23), Abraham Robinson (28), Sellathurai Amalathas (28), Kanesh Navaratnam (50) , Joseph Anthonymuttu ,(64) Sinnathurai Sivanesan (46), Murugesu Shanmugalingam (72), S Kantharoopan (29), Shanmugalingam Parameswari (65), Ratnam Senthuran (38)

"..The assassination of the key Tamil activist has taken place when the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was about to announce the appointment of Mr. Vigneswaran as the national list Parliamentarian to fill the position held by Joseph Pararajasingham MP who was slain in Batticaloa on Christmas eve..."

" During the four years of the ceasefire agreement (CFA), people .... confidently expressed their political views in public gatherings, supporting the Tamil rights to self determination in events like the “Pongu Thamil”, and the “Tamil Uprising” events. The Sri Lankan military has noted the people at the forefront of these events and now appears to be on an extermination drive to eliminate these people. People have commented that those who are terrorising the people are doing so with a list of names. A large number of university students and recent graduates who are yet to find employment are feeling vulnerable by the terror spread by the SLA and its paramilitaries and are displacing to Vanni..."

Soosaithas K Marinthiran (m), aged 31, laborer ; Sebastiampillai P Ruban (m), aged 24, bus conductor; Balakrishnan Rajeevmohan, age 21, laborer; Selvarajah Uthayarajah (m)

"The BBC Sinhala Service revealed today a report by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) stating that enquiries are ongoing regarding 20 complaints of forced disappearances that are alleged to have taken place during the month of December 2005... In recent decades, Sri Lanka has had one of the worst records in the world concerning forced disappearances... Past experience dictates that forced disappearance in Sri Lanka entails the killing of persons following arrest. The arrests are performed secretly, so as to circumvent legal safeguards and to prevent any traces of evidence being left concerning the abduction and any further ill-treatment..." more

"Over the last six to seven weeks atrocities by the Sri Lankan armed forces and paramilitaries against civilians in Northeast have escalated to alarming levels. Sri Lankan armed forces so far have been responsible for at least 45 deaths and more than 100 disappearances and innumerable shooting/beating and injuring of civilians who were going about their daily lives..."

"In complete contrast to the statement made by the military spokesman on the killing of five teenage boys in Trincomalee that they were LTTE cadres killed accidentally in a blast while assembling an incendiary with an intent to attack a military installation, the autopsy made by the state medical officers on their bodies, has revealed that they were shot through their ears at a very close range. It was also subsequently revealed that they were all advanced level qualified civilian students from the same school on a normal evening camaraderie at the beach...

...Five were killed instantly while two are in hospital, critically wounded. A spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, Helen Olafsdottir, told BBC Sandesaya, that there was evidence that all five students had been shot in the head in a manner she described as resembling “executions.” This is naked State terrorism perpetrated on unarmed school children. The Tamil nation, both in Sri Lanka and belonging to the Tamil Diaspora appeals to the International Community to condemn the barbaric act of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and prevail on the President of Sri Lanka to take immediate and strong action against the perpetrators... Unarmed civilians need protection against a vindictive armed state."

" Five innocent Tamil youth have been deliberately shot and killed in cold blood by security forces around 7.45 p.m. on 2nd January 2006 on the road close to the beach abutting Dockyard Road and the road leading to Fort Frederick at Trincomalee. Two other innocent Tamil youths sustained serious injuries at the same time and place caused by a grenade explosion..." more

"...More than 920 Tamils have been arrested and detained in Colombo alone in one overnight search. Sri Lanka armed forces are descending on Tamil homes in the middle of the night, privacy of the Tamil bedrooms is trespassed, men and women, young and old, in their night-clothes are bundled up in awaiting vehicles and taken away for interrogation and detention. Although the government tells the international media that many are being released after an identity check-up, they are being arrested over and over again, and subjected to an ordeal of being fingerprinted, photographed, and videoed..."

Extra Judicial Killing of Jude Sugathy (Theresa) Croos ,  Jude Arokiyathass Fernando, Emmani Croos, Emmani Anthonikkam Croos

"...AI opposes "disappearances" in all cases. In Sri Lanka, the security forces have been responsible for tens of thousands of "disappearances" ..

"...The bones of 15 people beaten to death by soldiers in 1996 were unearthed two years ago from hidden graves around this desolate military checkpoint...But no one has been put on trial for the killings. And the skeletons were only recently sent to be identified through DNA testing. Secret graveyards like this one are scattered across Sri Lanka, a small island tormented by violent conflict.Since the late 1980s, more than 20,000 people have vanished after being taken into government custody..."

"Punkudutivu Island student V Suthakaran is missing from 25 March. Concern is growing over disappearance of students in Jaffna. The Army denied arresting three youths during a search operation in Varani in early March. A girl student of a Nelliady school is also missing since 27 March. The Army took into custody Jaffna University student M Ketheeswaran on the same day. Fifteen year-old T Yogarajah is currently held at Kankesanthurai military base. Reports say since 1996, six students have been killed by landmines in Jaffna and over 50 students have been injured." British Refugee Council, Sri Lanka Monitor

"...On the night of 9 January 2001, a masked gang of four abducted student S Muhundan from his home at Pandarikulam. Fellow students staged a demonstration against the abduction. Sources say Tamil groups allied to the (Sri Lanka)Army are responsible for a number of abductions and disappearances. Mr Muhundan was found blindfolded the following night in a rice field. Amnesty International says Suppiah Sivalingam, a refugee from Kilinochchi, was ordered to report at the ‘Sanasa’ Army camp on 14 January before he is issued a permit to stay in Vavuniya. He went to the camp and has not been seen since. Amnesty has expressed concern for his safety.

"According to information received by TCHR sources from Jaffna, eight people,  including two children, arrested by the Sri Lankan Army on 19th December,  disappeared. Our sources informed us later that on 25th December a mass  grave was discovered in the Mirusuvil area, Thenmaradchi. The bodies were  found of Vilvaraj (41), his two sons Prasath (5) and Pratheepan (15),  Thevakulasingham (31), Baskar Gnanabasakaran (19), Jeyachandran Nadesu (21),  Gnanachandran Kathiran (35) and his son Shanthan.

The contradictory statements by the Sri Lanka authorities serve to reveal the hand of the Sri Lanka security forces in the attack on the Tamil detenus. On 24 October 2000, the Tamil detenus, after several months of detention, had informed the authorities that they would go on a hunger strike if they were not released. The Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence runs the rehabilitation centre. The attack came a few hours after the military, which provided protection to the centre was removed.

"In a letter sent to the President of Sri Lanka today (31 August 2000), Amnesty International urged investigations into an increasing number of "disappearances" reported over the last two weeks in northern Sri Lanka.  Seven people who were last seen in the hands of security forces in Vavuniya between 10 and 16 August have "disappeared", bringing the total number of "disappearances" in that city to nine this year. In addition many people have reportedly been held in secret detention for up to two or three weeks and subjected to torture.

Ariyathas Vijayakumar and Shanmugasundaram Suyanthan were arrested by members of the Sri Lanka army in separate incidents on 15 August in the Vavuniya area. Their whereabouts are unknown and Amnesty International is concerned for their safety.

Sinnathamby Pradeepan - Poopalaratnam Arulramesh - Gunasekaran Sathiyaseelan - Samithamby Eswaran - Ganesh Chandrakanthan (killed) - The five labourers were arrested on 4 June in Trincomalee district, in the east of the country, and taken to Kantalai police station. The men's parents tried to visit them the next morning, but police chased them away. The next day, Kantalai police were seen taking Poopalaratnam Arulramesh to his house, together with Sinnathamby Pradeepan. Both men appeared to have been badly tortured: Sinnathamby Pradeepan was bleeding from his mouth and had open wounds on his shoulders, and Poopalaratnam Arulramesh had difficulty walking. In the morning of 7 June, police told Ganesh Chandrakanthan's family that he had been killed when he set off a grenade at the time of his arrest.

"...the security forces fired at the van carrying the children, despite the plea of Rev Jeyachandra, “Please don’t shoot the children; shoot me instead”.."

"A young Tamil man, Mahendrarajah Gajamukan, was taken from his home on 30 January by men believed to be members of an armed group allied to the Sri Lankan armed forces. Amnesty International is concerned that he may be at risk of torture..."

Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action Bulletin on 11 January 2000 and expressed for the safety of Vinayagamoorthy Vijayarajah, arrested by members of the Sri Lankan army near the Hindu temple at Valaichenai, in the Batticaloa district in the island of Sri Lanka on 3 January and whose whereabouts remain unknown thereafter.

The Kalmunai Magistrate retuned today a verdict of homicide in the death of Sathasivam Sanjeevan, 19, a student of WesleyCollege in the eastern town. Sanjeevan was shot dead on 15 October 1998, while being held under the detention of Kalmunai police. The court ruled that the student had been tortured and died of gun shot injuries. However, the police claimed that the student was killed when the Liberation Tigers ambushed the police unit which was transporting him to the Ampara.

Remembering Chenmanni - Raj Swarnan

ஓ....எங்கள் குரல் கேட்கிறதா ?
ஓ....எங்கள் குரல் கேட்கிறதா ?
வாழ வேண்டிய வயதில் வாழ்விழந்து போனவர்களின் குரல் இது....

"Between 1983 and the present day the security forces in Sri Lanka (including the armed forces, the police, and local militia units armed by the Government) have been responsible for thousands of murders and disappearances, the vast majority of the latter involving deliberate killings... a great many murders and disappearances have ... occurred in the course of the struggle against the LTTE. After a welcome decline in 1994 and 1995, there was a significant recurrence in 1996....

The fact is that not a single member of the security forces had at the date of the Mission, been convicted of murder. Changes in procedure to cut the number of killings are not enough. We draw attention the United Nations Declaration on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which requires States to bring to justice all persons presumed responsible for forced disappearances. A culture of impunity has developed, with perpetrators of grave violations being convicted of minor offences or in most cases, not at all...."

Sri Lanka's Tamil political parties on Monday called for an immediate probe into a report of mass graves in northern Jaffna, where international human rights groups have said about 600 people disappeared during a military campaign in 1996... The report comes from a soldier sentenced to death by a court in Colombo for the (rape and) murder of a teenage Tamil schoolgirl (Krishanthi) . "We didn't kill anyone. We only buried bodies. We can show you where  300 to 400 bodies have been buried," Cpl. Dewage Somaratne told the Court July 3.

"..Natkunasingam Sivathisini, a three year old girl and Venuraj, her four month old brother have not been seen since 9 September 1990 when they were detained from their village by soldiers front the Boys Town Army Camp. Sixty eight Tamil children "disappeared" after being detained on that day in Batticaloa with members of their families. It is feared that they were subsequently extra judicially executed. As of March 1998 no one has been prosecuted for their "disappearance". Scores of children, aged between several months and 17 years, are among the thousands of people who are reported to have 'disappeared" after detention by security forces and members of armed groups engaged in hostilities, during the last 15 years of civil conflict in Sri Lanka..."

Subramaniam Tharmabalasingham, aged 22; Kathirgamathamby Sentilkumar, aged 23; Ponnampalam Thavarajah, aged 40; Arumugam Mylvaganam, aged 35  - There are serious concerns for the safety of the four above-named men who 'disappeared' after being taken into custody in January and February 1998. Enquiries by the local offices of the Human Rights Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross in addition to appeals made on their behalf to the President of Sri Lanka by local Members of Parliament have failed to reveal the whereabouts or the fate of the men.

"Pathmini was pregnant at the time with her second son. The nine soldiers who visited her house in Chavakachcheri had come in search of a man named 'Sresberan'. They took her husband 'Sreskeran' for he had a name that sounded close to the one they were looking for..... "

"Today's report that eight Tamil civilians, including three teenagers,  were deliberately shot at close range by police and home guards at  Tampalakamam on 1 February is deplorable, Amnesty International declared. This incident is reminiscent of the killing by army and home guards of 24 civilians, including 13 children, two years ago in the same area and still the suspects have not been punished," the organization said. "It is important that the alleged perpetrators are taken into custody as quickly as possible so they are not able to intimidate witnesses."

Amnesty International today appealed to Sri Lanka's Minister of Justice to order a full and impartial inquiry into the killing of three Tamil detainees on 12 December at Kalutara prison, south of the capital, Colombo. In its letter to Professor G. L. Peiris, the human rights organization expressed concern for the safety of other detainees who witnessed the killings and are currently under guard by prison staff who may have been involved in the act. Amnesty International urges that all necessary steps be taken to protect these witnesses.

"Though many human rights organisations, committees and subcommittees have been appointed, it is obvious that none of them are doing any active work. Today under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, thousands of youth are arrested and detained arbitrarily for long periods while thousands more are also apprehended nowadays in the name of security and are interrogated ruthlessly. The PA [People's Alliance] government has also not been able to explain the disappearances of 600 people in the northern peninsula so far, which has made us sick of talking about human rights..."

" An Amnesty International delegation which visited Sri Lanka recently has concluded that of the 600-odd people who have "disappeared" in the last 18 months after their arrest by the security forces, nearly all have died as a result of torture or been deliberately killed in detention....According to the organization, the events of 1996 indicate the need for an active approach to tackling the root causes of human rights violations in Sri Lanka -- the lingering sense of impunity among perpetrators and the legislation allowing for people to be detained incommunicado for long periods of time."In the past, Sri Lanka became a country notorious for "disappearances" -- a country racked by the terrible anguish suffered by relatives who never knew the fate of their loved ones," Amnesty International said.

"The police and armed forces overstepped the excessive power given to them and lost all control over their actions. Under the emergency regulations, all restraints on law enforcement officers were removed, and the power to dispose of dead bodies was left to the sole discretion of these officers. Judicial supervision was suspended. There were no provisions even to keep records of the disposed bodies. These emergency regulations have been labelled by many human rights organisations as a license to kill."

"The killing of Rev. Arulpalan is yet an other murder committed by unknown forces (?) in the north. A priest of Konavil in the Kilinochchi district - he was reportedly taken in for questioning by the Sri Lankan army on August 25. He was not seen again until his decomposed body was discovered on September 9 together with two others in a hastily dug grave. Aid workers in the northern peninsula said one of the bodies had its head cut off... Acts of murder and disappearance in the north and east seem to continue unabated while the voice of human rights activists in Colombo seem to have been effectively muzzled by the present political administration. ..."

"Over 50 policemen and Home Guards descended on the Fourth Colony village in Amparai District on 23 September, shooting and burning houses. When the carnage was over, six Tamil civilians lay dead and 66 houses had been set ablaze. Over 1390 people fled to nearby villages..."

" The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed the murder of Rev Arulpalan of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India whose body was found at Puthumurripu on 9 September 1997.  Rev Arulpalan was taken into custody by the Sri Lankan army on 25 August 1997 while visiting a church farm. The ministry of defense was contacted on 28 August by Church of South India (CSI) officials. This latest atrocity comes in the wake of a bombing on 15 August when two Sri Lankan Kfir bombers attacked a Catholic church killing 9 on the spot (including a 4 year old child) and wounding 15."

"A disturbing number of people have disappeared during Sri Lanka's 14-year war against Tamil separatists, a senior United Nations (UN) official said on Friday. ``There is still a very painful and difficult human rights issue in northern Jaffna peninsula,'' said Bacre Waly Ndiaye, the UN's Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

"..I want to read into the record a statement issued by Amnesty International. I am a member of Amnesty International and I know many members of this House are also long-time members. This statement was issued very recently by the international secretariat from the United Kingdom. They say:

The level of "disappearances" in Sri Lanka has hit a new high, Amnesty International warned as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights examined the country's human rights record. Coinciding with the Sri Lankan Government's pledge at the Commission that "full rigours of the law will be brought to bear" on the perpetrators of human rights violations, Amnesty International submitted more than 400 cases of "disappearances" to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga urging her to bring those responsible to justice. Since the security forces regained control over the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka between late 1995 and early 1997, the total number of "disappearances" reported to the organization has reached 648 - the highest number since 1990.

"That more than 600 "disappearances" can occur in one year despite the government's claim that it is addressing the problem is outrageous. This highlights the need for action too be taken now - to prevent these violations from continuing," Amnesty International said. "

"Tamil MP A Thangathurai told Parliament in early May that disappearances in Jaffna are continuing and called for urgent government action to end growing fear and uncertainty among the peninsula’s population. The fate of 656 people disappeared in Jaffna last year remains unknown. The Jaffna Organisation of the Parents of the Disappeared says in a petition to President Chandrika Kumaratunge in late May that there are witnesses to the arrests of the disappeared by the Army. British Refugee Council, SriLanka Monitor

Kandiah Sivakumar and Kanagasabai Ravichandran, two firewood sellers from Rukam village, have been reported 'disappeared' after they were taken into custody by the army near the Black Bridge, Chenkalady, Batticaloa district on 20 April 1997. According to eye-witnesses, they were stopped by soldiers from the Kommadurai army camp at around 2pm. They were on their way home from Eravur where they had gone to sell firewood.

"The level of "disappearances" in Sri Lanka has hit a new high, Amnesty International warned as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights examined the country's human rights record. Coinciding with the Sri Lankan Government's pledge at the Commission that "full rigours of the law will be brought to bear" on the perpetrators of human rights violations, Amnesty International submitted more than 400 cases of "disappearances" to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga asking her to bring those responsible to justice..."That more than 600 'disappearances' can occur in one year despite the government's claim that it is addressing the problem is outrageous. This highlights the need for action to be taken now -- to prevent these violations from continuing," Amnesty International said.

"..Killings and disappearances in the Jaffna peninsula are creating deep concern among human rights agencies. The Colombo-based Centre for Human Dignity says it has recorded 676 disappearances in Jaffna in 1996. The figure, the centre says includes 271 government officers and 26 students. Twenty two of the disappeared were between the ages of 41 and 61..." British Refugee Council, SriLanka Monitor

"The People's Alliance (PA) government has repeatedly proclaimed its commitment to human rights since it came to power in August 1994 and has introduced a number of safeguards to prevent torture and "disappearances". However, the Amnesty International delegation found that these grave violations of human rights are continuing... Amnesty International is concerned that the government is not living up to its stated commitment to human rights.Impunity for those responsible for human rights violations remains a serious concern. Progress in a few court cases against members of the security forces charged in connection with "disappearances" and extrajudicial executions is slow; as are investigations into many other cases. Relatives of tens of thousands of people who were killed or "disappeared" over the last 13 years or so are still waiting for justice to be done...."

"On 7 March 1996 Kanapathipillai Satheesh Kumar, a young Tamil man originally from Jaffna, northern Sri Lanka, who had recently returned to Sri Lanka from Saudi Arabia, "disappeared" after he was arrested by the army from his home in Colombo. His "disappearance" coincided with an Amnesty International visit to Sri Lanka during which the delegates expressed concern about continuous human rights violations, including torture and "disappearances" taking place in the country. Fortunately, Satheesh Kumar was released two weeks later, on 23 March.

At least 60 others arrested in a similar way since April 1995, however, remain "disappeared" in the custody of the security forces. The evidence gathered during the Amnesty International visit clearly indicates that since April 1995 the security forces have arbitrarily detained thousands of Tamil people and have been responsible for torture as well as dozens of "disappearances" and extrajudicial executions.

"..The bullet-ridden bodies of Sivarasa Krishna and Palanivel Gunasingham were found at Selvanayagapuram in Trincomalee on 29 May. The two Tamil youths had been abducted in a white van the previous night from Anbuvalipuram. White vans are associated with military death squads and a number of people abducted have disappeared. Tamil MP M Chandrakumar says in a letter to President Chandrika that white vans are creating widespread fear and has called for immediate inquiry. Observers say abductions are the Army's response to Tiger attacks..." British Refugee Council, SriLanka Monitor

On Sunday 11 February 1996, Sri Lankan armed forces arrived in army trucks at the Tamil village of Kumarapuram in the Kiliveddi area of the Trincomalee district. Soldiers broke open the windows of houses and fired at those inside.The initial death toll of Tamils who were murdered at Kumarapuram on that fateful day was 24. They were killed because they were Tamils.