Tamils in Batticaloa gathered this week to mark the 35th anniversary of the Puthukkudiyiruppu massacre, where Sri Lankan soldiers and Muslim Home Guards killed 17 Tamil civilians, including women and children, in September 1990.
On 21 September 1990, in the ancient Tamil village of Puthukkudiyiruppu, located in the Batticaloa district, the Sri Lankan military together with the Muslim Home Guard jointly carried out the massacre of 17 Tamils in an act of genocide.
On the night of 21 September 1990, troops entered the ancient Tamil village of Puthukkudiyiruppu, dragging 45 villagers from their homes as they slept. Men, women, and children were forced to the seashore under the pretext of interrogation, where they were attacked with machetes and shot at. Seventeen people were killed and many more grievously injured.
Among those killed were nine men and eight women, including young children. The names of those killed include:
1. S. Kathirampodi
2. P. Nallaiya
3. S. Muthulingam
4. M. Indiran
5. A. Kathirkampodi
6. V. Pulendran
7. Selvan A. Varatharasa
8. Selvan S. Sivakumar
9. Selvan S. Uthayakumar
10. Selvi M. Dharmavathi
11. Selvi K. Kamaleswari
12. Selvi Loganayaki
13. Kamaleswari
14. S. Sivasothy
15. K. Chellamma
16. K. Alagamma
17. K. Maheswari
At the remembrance event, villagers lit a flame of sacrifice and observed a moment of silence in memory of the slain.
For decades, Tamils have been prevented from publicly commemorating the massacre, with police bans and threats from Sri Lankan intelligence forcing relatives to stay away. Survivors and families continue to lament the absence of justice, as no one has been held accountable for the killings even after 35 years.
The Puthukkudiyiruppu massacre forms part of a pattern of mass killings carried out by Sri Lankan security forces in the East during the 1990s, alongside atrocities such as the Sathurukondan and Vantharumoolai massacres. Like those, it remains unpunished to this day.
