Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 15:20:26 +1200
From: Margaret Trawick <M.Trawick-AT-massey.ac.nz>
Subject: Action Request: International Appeal on Chemmani Mass Grave



Dear Friends 

                 Mass Graves in Chemmani, Jaffna (Sri Lanka)
                            -------------------------

This is an international appeal on the Chemmani mass grave
investigation. Please circulate it among those who will be inclined to
sign this appeal. If you wish to sign this appeal please send an email
to:

        malathy-AT-cosc.canterbury.ac.nz. 

with subject heading "Signing letter on Mass graves"

This letter with the collected signatures will be sent to United
Nations Office, Commonwealth Secretariat and the Foreign Affairs
Ministry in South Africa, United Kingdon, United States, Canada,
India, Australia and New Zealand.  It will also be sent to widely read
international news magazines including TIME, ECONOMIST and INDIA TODAY
requesting them to write a feature article on the subject. It will be
sent to the President of Sri Lanka without the email signatures.


Thank you
N Malathy
---------------

Dear Sir/Madam

                 Mass Graves in Chemmani, Jaffna (Sri Lanka)
                            -------------------------

Tamil civilians in the north-east of Sri Lanka have for many years been
forced to live in conditions where their right to life is compromised by
the Sri Lankan armed forces. Furthermore, it has been widely reported
that the armed forces enjoy a culture of impunity when carrying out any
such human rights violations. This culture of impunity has serious
implications for the investigation of the recent Chemmani mass grave
allegation. For this reason we contend that the international community
has a vital role to play in ensuring the investigation is just and proper.

To substantiate our contention we begin by outlining the development of
events over the last two months in relation to the disappearances of
Tamil civilians in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Nov 1997: 
Amnesty International reports that 600 people have disappeared
in Jaffna during the period 1996-1997 [1-AI]. A United States Country
report notes that these people disappeared after security forces took
them into custody.

Jan 1998: 
Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission starts work in Jaffna to probe
into these disappearances. As of today again no one has been publicly
identified as responsible [2-AI].

3 July 1998: 
Corporal Somaratne Rajapakse, a soldier convicted of rape and murder in Jaffna
makes the statement that he only buried bodies handed to him and that
he knows of a mass grave site where up to 400 bodies are buried
[3-BBC].

15 July 1998: 
"Yukthiya", a Sinhala news paper, publishes a map of the mass grave
site and names three army generals, Brig. Sri Lal Weerasuriya,
Brig. Janaka Perera and Brig. Karunatilake, who were responsible for
the areas containing the site of alleged mass grave. These three
generals are continuing to serve in the Jaffna area [4-Yukthiya].

25 July 1998: 
Sri Lanka's Attorney General assigns the task of investigating the
alleged mass grave to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of
the Sri Lankan Police and the Human Rights Commission [5-Reuters]. A
call by Amnesty International to invite forensic experts from outside
Sri Lanka is ignored [6-AI].

31 July 1998: 
Civilians in Jaffna and the Human Rights Commission accuse the army of
wiping out all evidence of the mass grave. The road to the site
is closed by the army.  Civilians demand the re-opening of the road
[7-TamilNet] [8-TamilNet].

23 Aug 1998: 
The convicted soldier while being held in prison is seriously
assaulted and admitted to hospital [9-Reuters].

29 Aug 1998: 
Two members of the Human Rights Commission working in Jaffna
investigating the disappearances are transferred out of Jaffna
[10-TamilNet].

12 Sept 1998: 
Two months after the soldier made the statement alleging of a mass
grave at Chemmani, no official of the Sri Lankan government is able to
confirm or deny it's existence.

Allegations are now emerging that one of the three generals, Janaka
Perera, named by "Yukthiya" was implicated in mass graves in the south
of Sri Lanka during the anti-JVP activities of early 1990s. The Sunday
Leader newspaper in 1996, alleged that President Kumaratunge signed
letters sacking these three generals during that year, but later
withdrew the sackings.

As has been noted in a wide range of reports spanning many years, the
Sri Lankan armed forces have long enjoyed immunity from any prosecution
or punishment for carrying out extra-judicial killings of Tamils. For
the sake of the physical and emotional well being of the Tamil civilians
living in the north and east of Sri Lanka, we feel it is now time for the
international community to say enough is enough. 

With regard to the Chemmani mass grave, there are two areas in which
the international community urgently needs to take an active and
visible role. 

  1. To ensure that the Sri Lankan Government follows international laws
      in protecting the site of the alleged mass grave and employ 
      international experts in carrying out investigations.

   2. The three brigadiers,  Sri Lal Weerasuriya, Janaka Perera and
       Karunatilake, who were responsible for the security
      of Jaffna during the period in which the alleged disappearances
      occurred and the Chemmani mass grave came into being, should be
      investigated and made to stand trial in a non-military court of
      law.


Signed
.....


Reports:
---------
[1-AI] Amnesty International Report on disappearances in Jaffna, Nov 97.
[2-AI] Amnesty International appeal to make disappearances investigations
public, April 98.
[3-BBC] BBC report on the soldiers statement of mass graves at Chemmani, 3
July 98.
[4-Yukthiya] Translation of report naming the Generals in charge of the
Chemmani area. 15 July.
[5-Reuters] Reuters report on government statement about probe into  mass
graves, 13 Aug 98.
[6-AI] Amnesty International urges foreign experts to collect forensic
evidence, 4 Aug 98.
[7-TamilNet] TamilNet news report on mass graves cover up, 31 July 98.
[8-TamilNet] TamilNet news report on mass grave road closed, 3 Aug 98.
[9-Reuters] Soldier attacked in prison, 27 Aug 98. 
[10-TamilNet] Two Human Rights Officers investigating transferred,  Aug 29 98.