News
More skeletal remains discovered at Chemmani mass grave, bringing total to 40
Excavation teams at the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna uncovered four additional sets of skeletal remains on Thursday (04), including two believed to be children, bringing the total number of remains identified to 40, Tamil Guardian reported.
The remains are now under the custody of the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) for forensic analysis. Material evidence recovered from the grave, including a schoolbag and sandal, have been catalogued and placed under court custody pending further investigation.
Students from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Jaffna are assisting with the excavations, which continue to reveal new evidence each day. On Wednesday, excavations were also carried out at a newly marked site near the original gravesite, based on forensic assessments and geospatial imaging.
While the current phase is focused solely on excavation, lawyers representing the families of the disappeared stated in court that more conclusive findings will only emerge during the next stages, which include forensic analysis and the identification of victims. Until then, they cautioned, definitive conclusions cannot yet be drawn.
The recent discoveries have reignited calls from Tamil families, civil society organisations, and international actors for a fully independent investigation under international supervision.
Indo-Lanka naval exercise SLINEX 2026 is scheduled to commence in Visakhapatnam, India, today (14). SLN said that this year’s exercise would take place over a period of five days. The exercise is intended to enhance interoperability, strengthen mutual cooperation and facilitate professional knowledge exchange between the two navies, SLN said.
The exercise takes place soon after Indian Defence Minister Singh’s three-day visit to Colombo.
Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa yesterday (13) announced a public protest against the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution on 24 September, in Colombo.
Premadasa made the announcement while addressing a meeting of Samagi Jana Balawegaya Local Government representatives and electoral organisers, from the Colombo District, at the Opposition Leader’s Office .
The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) recently said in Jaffna that it located 31 people from the 23,352 complaints received over the years.The OMP said that thousands of other cases remained at various stages of its process.
The OMP chairman Mahesh Katulanda said so addressing the media briefing, alongside board members Thambiah Yogarajah and Mirak Raheem.
Of the 23,352 applications received, 16,966 have been taken up for consideration after the exclusion of complaints relating to members of the armed forces and duplicate applications. Preliminary investigations have been completed in 9,819 of those cases, around 42 per cent of the total complaints originally received. Around 2,000 applications requiring further investigation have been forwarded to the office’s investigations division, of which approximately 800 were being pursued through letters to relevant institutions, he said.
The office did not set out the criteria used to exclude applications from consideration, nor explain how cases are filtered through the stages of its process.
The OMP said 7,726 complaints had been referred to the Office for Reparations for interim assistance, with 5,540 applicants having received payments. Katulanda said the 200,000 rupee payment was not compensation but livelihood assistance for dependents of missing persons, and that the government and the Ministry of Justice had appointed a special committee to examine the question of compensation, with a decision on any mechanism to follow its recommendations.
Indo-Lanka naval exercise begins today
Indo-Sri Lanka Chambers forge alliance to drive infrastructure and real estate investment
SJB protest against 22A on 24 Sept. in Colombo
OMP: 31 located out of 23,352 complaints
Sri Lanka’s university crisis: Brain drain and union action demand urgent reform
Hettich celebrates a decade in Sri Lanka with partner meet in Colombo
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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