News
Uma Kumaran presses Foreign Secretary on Muttur massacre
Uma Kumaran has urged the Foreign Office to work with British experts on mass grave protection and to press Sri Lanka over the unpunished killing of 17 aid workers at Muttur, in a parliamentary exchange that took place days before her own appointment as a Minister in the Department, Tamil Guardian reported recently.
Questioning the then Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper at the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Labour MP for Stratford and Bow raised the excavation of the alleged Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna, noting that more than 400 sets of remains had been recovered since she last raised the matter, including those of children and babies.
“The families of the disappeared and Tamil civil society organisations have repeatedly called for excavations to be placed under international monitoring, citing the repeated failure of Sri Lanka’s domestic mechanisms,” she said.
Kumaran said the United Kingdom was a world leader on mass graves, and that she and her team had met Bournemouth University, which developed the Bournemouth Protocol on Mass Grave Protection and Investigation, a framework produced with the International Commission on Missing Persons that sets out legal principles for safeguarding and investigating such sites. The protocol, she noted, highlights the need to identify and protect a chain of custody in evidence collection for future accountability.
“Would you and the FCDO consider working with Bournemouth University on the Bournemouth protocol, and would you support DNA identification involving affected families, working with our international partners?” she asked.
Cooper said she would look at the University’s work, adding that she was not aware of the details.
“I can also tell you that I met the Sri Lankan Prime Minister at the end of May, alongside Minister Malhotra, and we explicitly discussed the issues around the investigation of historical abuses and the importance of delivering justice for victims and their families. We discussed that and its importance,” she said.
Kumaran then turned to the massacre of 17 staff of the aid organisation Action Against Hunger at their office in Muttur in August 2006, noting that the victims had been clearly identified as humanitarian workers by their clothing.
“There is compelling evidence pointing to the likely responsibility of Sri Lankan security forces. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and other NGOs have concluded that the massacre was also subject to attempts at concealment by the authorities. The absence of justice for the families of those aid workers, and the impacts on aid workers in conflict zones around the world, is being met with impunity,” she said.
She asked whether the Department had raised the case with the Sri Lankan government and, if not, whether it would join Action Against Hunger in calling for justice.
Cooper said she did not know whether the individual case had been raised and undertook to check and report back.
“We have certainly raised the broader issues around the need for accountability and detailed investigations, because it becomes part of what is effectively a truth and reconciliation process. That is critical. I will follow up on that individual case,” she said.
The exchange took place just days before Kumaran was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, under the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, becoming the first British Tamil to hold ministerial office. Cooper is no longer Foreign Secretary, with the post now being held by Ed Miliband.
The questions she raised remain live. The Muttur anniversary passed on 4 August with no one held to account, two decades after the killings, and with Action Against Hunger renewing calls for a fresh international investigation. At Chemmani, the toll has since climbed to 491 sets of remains identified, beyond the figure Kumaran cited in July, while the process of identifying the dead has yet to begin.
The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.
The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.
Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.
Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.
Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.
The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.
Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.
Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.
Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.
The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.
Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.
The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.
The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.
SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.
Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.
The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.
GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.
Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.
(SF)
Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation
Showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, North-central and North-western provinces
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CIABOC member’s appointment: Controversy over Speaker under probe heading selection process
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