The Kumarapuram massacre, in which 26 Tamil civilians were killed by the Sri Lankan military and a 15-year-old girl was gang-raped, was commemorated today, marking 30 years without justice.
Victim-survivors, human rights activists and civil society organisations gathered in Kumarapuram, Trincomalee, today to lay flowers in remembrance of the victims.
On 11 February 1996, a group of eight to ten Sri Lankan soldiers massacred 26 Tamil civilians and injured 24 others. Amongst the 26 Tamils that were killed, a 15 year old girl was first gang raped.
The soldiers reportedly fired their weapons and shouted 'death to Tamils' in Sinhala as they rampaged the village.
It took 20 years for the Kumarapuram massacre to get to trial but in July 2016, six Sri Lankan soldiers charged in connection with the killings were acquitted of all 101 counts against them.
The High Court judge ruled that the soldiers could not be convicted, even though survivors had identified those responsible for the massacre.
A 2017 report by the People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) examined the failure of successive Sri Lankan governments to ensure accountability and justice for the massacre.
In a statement released today, residents of Kumarapuram said that throughout the court proceedings, the village remained under surveillance which created an "atmosphere of fear, intimidation and repression."
The residents added that in the last 30 years, "no meaningful justice has been delivered through Sri Lanka's judicial mechanisms."
On the 30th anniversary of the massacre, the residents of Kumarapuram have set out the following demands:
1) Justice for the Kumarapuram massacre through an independent, impartial and international investigation.
2) The establishment of an international criminal accountability mechanism to investigate and prosecute genocide and other serious international crimes committed against Tamils.
3)The referral of Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
4) The provision of firm guarantees of non-recurrence, including structural reforms to prevent future violations to human rights.
The names of the victims are:
1. Subbayya Sethurasa
2. Alaguthurai Parameswari
3.Arumathurai Vallipillai
4. Kidnan Kovinthan
5. Arunasalam Thangavel
6. Sellathurai Packiyarasa
7. Vadivel Nadarasa
8. Rajenthiram Karunakaran
9. Sanmuganathan Nithanthan
10. Ramajeyam Kamaleswaran
11. Kanthapodi Kamalathevi
12. Sivakolunthu Sinnathurai
13. Sivapackiyam Nisanthan
14. Packiyarasa Vasanthini
15. Amirthalingam Rajanikanthi
16. Thangavel Kalathevi
17. Stephen Pathuma
18. Suntharalingam Prabhakaran
19. Suntharalingam Subajini
20. Kanagarasa Suvathirasa
21. Subramaniyam Packiyam
22. Vinayagamoorthy Suthaharan
23. Ananthan Annamma
24. Vijayakanth Luxmi
25. Arumathurai Thanaluxmi* There were 26 victims but one victim was not identified.