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Fresh call to uncover Lanka mass grave secrets
Gota stalled police probe into mass graves: Report
ECONOMYNEXT –Five civil society groups are calling for government action to investigate mass graves which they say contain the remains of so-called “disappeared” in various civil conflicts on the island.
In a press release issued on June 22, the groups insisted that “if the Sri Lankan government is serious about dealing with the past it must commit to have international observers at all exhumations of mass graves.”
The festering issue of the disappeared has not been addressed in any systematic way by successive governments despite frequent promises.The Office of Missing Persons (OMP) created by the Yahapalanaya government has proved to be a disappointment.
Brito Fernando of the Families of the Disappeared says that after three decades and twenty attempted exhumations, only a handful of bodies have ever been identified and returned to families.
“We all know tens of thousands of bodies lie in shallow graves all over the island, so we can’t describe this dismal rate of progress as bad luck – it’s a clear lack of political will,” he added.
The five organizations released a detailed report on the past investigations into mass graves. It meticulously reveals the government’s “systematic interference with investigations” a statement issued by the five organizations said.
A 30-minute documentary film, “In Plain Sight – Searching for Truth Behind Sri Lanka’s Mass Graves”, was also screened at the event, illustrating how long and hard the families of the disappeared have struggled for the truth. The documentary explores the connection between disappearances and mass graves in Sri Lanka by focusing on different narratives, including those of affected families and loved ones, the press release said.
Investigations into a mass grave found near the Matale hospital prompted the joint report. The remains exhumed at that location in 2013 are believed to be of the hundreds of people who went missing during the late 1980s.
“Matale was the scene of hundreds of disappearances in 1989 when the former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the district military coordinator of the area; he was later named as an alleged suspect by a Presidential Commission of Inquiry” the press release said.
It added that a group of UN experts “wrote to the Government of Sri Lanka this year to ask what it had done to investigate and hold Gotabaya Rajapaksa and other alleged perpetrators accountable but there was no reply.”
Yasmin Sooka, executive director of the International Truth and Justice Project in South Africa was quoted in the release as saying that this “shows that documenting the crimes, collecting the evidence and preserving it is just the first step – thirty years later we still find ourselves fighting for truth and justice; without which the guarantee of non-recurrence remains elusive.”
“Accountability is not an optional exercise – it’s essential for building a future for all Sri Lankans,” she added.
The report examines the way investigations throughout the island have been stymied whether the mass graves are in the south or the north and east.
Magistrates and forensic experts have been transferred abruptly, police have delayed carrying out judicial orders, families’ lawyers have been denied access to sites, no effort has been made to find living witnesses, no ante mortem data has been collected, the Attorney General’s Office has dropped the case, and, in the very rare instances where someone was convicted, they were then pardoned, the report alleged.Though a new inquest law and standard operating procedures have been drafted, they have not been made public, nor have the families been consulted.
“There is total lack of political will with regard to mass graves investigations and enforced disappearance in Sri Lanka,” said K.S. Ratnavale, executive director of the Centre for Human Rights and Development who has represented families in mass grave cases.
“Added to this, the Attorney General’s Department views such mass grave investigations as part of ordinary criminal proceedings and is hostile to victim families.
This was evident in the Mannar mass graves investigations. While in Matale the magistrate who held an impartial inquiry was transferred with immediate effect. Thus, political interference is rampant in order to protect the interests of the Sri Lankan military and their political masters,” he added.
In Mannar, 318 bodies (including 28 children) were exhumed in 2018. Among the objects that were recovered were metal bindings which had been used to tie legs together.In Matale, some of the skeletal remains reportedly had bullet holes, and others were found to have their hands tied behind their back. There too, objects were found that a forensic archaeologist dated to the late 1980s.
Nevertheless, the Department of Archaeology stated that the Mannar site was a normal cemetery and a Commission set up by then President Mahinda Rajapaksa concluded the Matale grave dated from the 1950s.
“We are good at burying in this country but not at unearthing the truth,” says Bashana Abeywardane of Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka which co-authored the report.
“We need to collect ante-mortem data from the families of the disappeared and meticulously locate the hundreds, if not thousands, of remaining mass graves with the help of international experts. Only then should excavations start” he added.
During an operation conducted in the wee hours of Tuesday (23 Dec 25), the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing trawler and apprehended 12 Indian fishermen, while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters north of Talaimannar.
Recognizing the detrimental effects of poaching on marine resources and the livelihoods of local fishing communities, the Sri Lanka Navy continues to conduct regular operations as
proactive measures to deter such activities. These efforts underscore the collective robust approach steadfast commitment to safeguarding the nation’s marine ecosystems while ensuring the economic security and wellbeing of its citizens.
The fishing trawler along with the fishermen held in this operation was handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Mannar for onward legal proceedings.
India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. Subramaniam Jaishankar, met with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, on 23 December at Temple Trees, during his visit to Sri Lanka as the Special Envoy of Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
The meeting took place as part of the official visit aimed at holding discussions with Sri Lanka’s top leadership, at a time when the nation commenced reconstruction efforts following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
During the discussions, the Minister of External Affairs of India reaffirmed readiness to extend support for Sri Lanka, including assistance in rebuilding railways, bridges, and strengthening of the agricultural sector in the country. He also highlighted the importance of having effective systems in place to respond to disaster situations, supported by strong legislative, administrative, and institutional frameworks. Both sides reviewed ongoing relief efforts and explored avenues to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in disaster response and recovery.
The Prime Minister commended the Government of India for the continued support, noting that the recovery process following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah include beyond immediate relief efforts to long-term measures such as resettlement, and reconstruction of habilitation and infrastructure.
The Prime Minister further stated that steps have been taken to reopen schools as part of the process of restoring normalcy, with close monitoring in place. The Prime Minister emphasized the need to ensure stability, reduce vulnerability, and strengthen protection mechanisms highlighting the solidarity of the people, their strong spirit of volunteerism, and collective action demonstrated during the emergency situation.
The event was attended by the High Commissioner of India Santosh Jha, Additional Secretary (IOR), MEA Puneet Agrawal, Joint Secretary (EAMO), MEA Sandeep Kumar Bayyapu, Deputy High Commissioner Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, and representing Sri Lankan delegation, Secretary to the Prime Minister Pradeep Saputhanthri, Additional Secretary to the Prime minister Ms.Sagarika Bogahawatta, Director General (South Asia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Samantha Pathirana, Deputy Director, South Asia Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ms.Diana Perera.
[Prime minister’s media division]
Sri Lanka is standing on the edge of a coastal catastrophe, with the nation’s lifeline rapidly eroding under the combined assault of climate change, reckless development and weak compliance, Director General of the Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management (DCC&CRM) Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara has warned.
“This is no longer an environmental warning we can afford to ignore. The crisis is already unfolding before our eyes,” Dr. Kumara told The Island, cautioning that the degradation of Sri Lanka’s 1,620-kilometre coastline has reached a point where delayed action could trigger irreversible damage to ecosystems, livelihoods and national security.
He said accelerating coastal erosion, rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion and the collapse of natural barriers, such as coral reefs and mangroves, are placing entire coastal communities at risk. “When mangroves disappear and reefs are destroyed, villages lose their first line of defence. What follows are floods, loss of homes, declining fisheries and forced displacement,” he said.
Dr. Kumara stressed that the coastline is not merely a development frontier but the backbone of Sri Lanka’s economy and cultural identity. “More than half of our tourism assets, fisheries and key infrastructure are concentrated along the coast.
If the coast fails, the economy will feel the shock immediately,” he warned.
Condemning unregulated construction, illegal sand mining and environmentally blind infrastructure projects, he said short-term economic interests are pushing the coastline towards collapse. “We cannot keep fixing one eroding beach while creating three new erosion sites elsewhere. That is not management—it is destruction,” he said, calling for science-driven, ecosystem-based solutions instead of politically convenient quick fixes.
The Director General said the Department is intensifying enforcement and shifting towards integrated coastal zone management, but warned that laws alone will not save the coast. “This is a shared responsibility. Policymakers, developers, local authorities and the public must understand that every illegal structure, every destroyed mangrove, weakens the island’s natural shield,” he added.
With climate change intensifying storms and sea surges, Dr. Kumara warned that Sri Lanka’s vulnerability will only worsen without urgent, coordinated national action. “The sea has shaped this nation’s history and protected it for centuries. If we fail to protect the coast today, we will be remembered as the generation that allowed the island itself to be slowly eaten away,” he went on to say.
By Ifham Nizam
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