Flooded Chemmani mass grave cleared amid stalled exhumation

Measures were carried out on Monday to drain rainwater that had accumulated inside the Chemmani mass grave, as preparations continue for the next phase of excavation at one of the most significant burial sites in the Tamil homeland.

During the first and second phases of excavation at Chemmani, a total of 240 sets of human skeletal remains were identified. Of these, 239 sets have so far been exhumed under court supervision.

Although funds had already been allocated and preliminary arrangements were in place to begin the third phase of excavation, persistent heavy rainfall in Jaffna since November last year resulted in rainwater stagnating within the burial site, bringing the process to a halt.

In response, steps were taken on Monday to remove the accumulated water with the assistance of the Nallur Pradeshiya Sabha. However, despite the drainage, the site remains heavily waterlogged and muddy, making immediate excavation unsafe.

As a result, it has been decided that a determination on when the next phase of excavation can commence will be made on 16 March, when the case is due to be taken up again. The matter has been adjourned to that date.

The drainage operation was inspected on site by a team that included Jaffna Magistrate S. Lenin Kumar, Judicial Medical Officer Sellaiyah Pranavan, and attorneys-at-law Niranjan and G. Rajitha.

Meanwhile, it has also emerged that the funds allocated last year by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Justice for the third phase of excavation have lapsed and been returned, as the work could not proceed within the allocated timeframe. As a result, a fresh budget proposal must now be submitted for the current year in order to secure the necessary funding.

Accordingly, the Judicial Medical Officer has taken steps to submit a new cost estimate to the court, so that the excavation process can resume once conditions at the site permit.

The latest delay comes amid criticism that the Sri Lankan state has done little to ensure the site is protected or bodies urgently excavated. Families of the disappeared and Tamil civil society groups have long stressed the importance of completing the excavation process without further delay, warning that prolonged interruptions risk both the degradation of evidence and further denial of justice.