Dead men do tell tales
Ranil Senanayake-24 Feb, 2013
Watching the current commentary on the mass grave in Matale “There are allegations that the bodies are those of victims of a small pox outbreak from a hundred years ago, while others believe they may be those killed by a flood some years ago.
” Makes one wonder if we are all suffering from a collective amnesia. The suppression of the JVP insurgency by the government was not just vicious in action, a sort of tit-for-tat killing for ‘their’ viciousness, it was a time when the sadists of our nation were given free reign to enjoy themselves before killing countless innocents. ‘Innocents’?, one may ask. Many people still consider all the dead of that time as hard core revolutionaries who were on a killing spree, but having been a witness at a dinner, to the response of a ‘brave’ leader of the time defended the criticism of ‘excessive force, with the answer “You fellows just don’t understand, if ten percent of the people taken out are hard core JVP, we will have broken the back of this revolution and you will be saved”. It was chilling, especially as I had listened the day before, to Mr. Edirimanne a manager of a warehouse, who had to spend nights separated by a wall from a police station by the river. He was shaking’ “ I know I have to stay here to do my job, but it is very difficult. Every night people are brought to a room on the other side of the wall from me. It begins with shouts and the sounds of people being hit, the screaming and begging begins, but the hitting goes on until the screams die down to a whimper that accompanies the dull thuds, when the whimpering stops something is dragged and the next thing I hear is the splash of something being thrown in the river “. Was this someone from the 10% or from the 90% who could never realize why they deserved such a fate?
Living in Mirahawatte the spectre of decapitated heads mounted on stakes, lining the Welimada road and the regular burning bodies by the Malpotha Bridge made for surreal commutes. Broken, burning bodies along roadsides were commonplace at that time. As I lived in the village, I knew well, terrified rural parents, having their children spend the nights hiding in the fields to try to save them from the killers. I wonder if anyone living in Matale (or any other town for that matter) ever remember anything similar? Have we all lost our memories?
To consider the mass graves at Matale with surprise, must mean that we have forgotten the reality that many of us experienced. It will be a tragic forensic inquiry that will tell how these people died. Were they all young?
When the killing was in full swing, one had to be deaf and blind not to see the horror. Railing over the injustice of what was being done, at whatever fora I could find, earned me, shadowy jeeps parked outside my home late at night. Then came the stories, whispered in fear, of people being doused with petrol and being handed a match to strike a light, of barbed wire and polythene tubes, of sadists taking a delight in visiting torture camps to see the ‘sport’ for themselves.
Much later, during Chandrika’s bid for presidency the posters with photographs depicting these horrors appeared throughout the nation. But true to form, the crooked politicians only used them in a cynical manner, this evidence served only their political ends to gain power, the deeds and the photos were forgotten soon after.
At that time some politicians shed tears for the violence and oppression, but looking at the delight that they display today in the oppression of all people, it is clear that these were very much tears of the Crocodile variety. Once in power they were as bad as the ones they pointed accusing fingers at.
To a nation that values giving merit to the departed, no action to remember or give merit to the dead has been encouraged, in fact such activities are violently discouraged. We have become the ghouls that we accuse everyone else of being. All of the killers, torturers and those who reveled in that horror past, still stalk the corridors of power. No amount of propaganda can ever wash this blood from our hands. Only an honest and truthful reconciliation process with full accountability can!
We are constantly in a state of denial. ‘How can we a Buddhist nation ever stoop to such inhumanity ?’ ,‘ We can never do those terrible deeds !” But now, like an accusing finger from the past, the bones of the tortured emerge at Matale. Confirming the fact that we can and that we did these terrible deeds, even at this late stage can be become honest with ourselves ? or will it take others to ignominiously drag the truth from these and other future graves, place a mirror before us and force us to face our demons?
Written Statement to UNHRC : Sri Lanka: The need for the preservation and proper inquiries into the remains of about 200 bodies found in the mass grave at Matale
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
1. The ALRC and its sister organisation, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), have documented numerous cases of enforced disappearances to the state of Sri Lanka and to the UN Working Group.
2. The question of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka has been a matter of concern for the Working Group for a long period now. The particular issue that the ALRC wishes to highlight in this submission is the finding of the remains of around 200 bodies at Matale, which is under investigation by the Sri Lankan authorities. According to forensic experts who have so far done the preliminary work, the remains of the bodies indicate injuries and therefore the experts now regard the site containing these remains as a crime scene.
3. The assumption so far is that these remains are of persons who were arrested as suspects of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna during the period of its second uprising, known usually as the second insurrection. The period was between 1987 and 1991. According to the reports of the commissions of inquiry into involuntary disappearances there were complaints to these commissions of disappearances of persons numbering around 30,000.
4. Now that it has come to the notice of the authorities of the discovery of these remains in what may be called a mass grave it is the duty of the state to conduct thorough inquiries into the circumstances under which these persons have suffered the injuries which are evidenced by their remains and to ensure a credible course of action leading to the discovery of all the details relating to the alleged crimes.
5. An inquiry must be able to ascertain the identity of the persons whose remains have been found; where they were arrested if these persons were disposed of after arrest, what is the nature of the injuries indicated on the remains and what the historical circumstances that led to their treatment that in turn led to these injuries. Such information should finally lead to the identity of those who caused these injuries which led to the death of these persons. Once such factual details are established it would be possible to decide the course of action needed to ensure justice.
6. However, there are serious concerns about the manner in which the remains are being preserved and also the manner in which the inquiries are being conducted. There are detailed processes and techniques essential for the scientific investigation of atrocity crimes. These include methods for the location, evaluation, excavation, recovery, and recording of mass graves and the analysis of human remains and other evidence in order to establish the identity of victims and the cause and manner of their deaths.
7. The ALRC suggests that the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances should, through their experts, study the situation and the conduct of inquiries relating to the remains of the 200 or more persons found in Matale, Sri Lanka and assist the Sri Lankan government to ensure that these inquiries will meet the international standards required for such inquiries. The ALRC also suggests that the international community should assist the Sri Lankan government with expertise, equipment and the necessary financial resources for the proper conduct of investigations as well as the preservation of these remains under ideal conditions, which are required for such purposes.
8. The ALRC is concerned that if such international cooperation is not extended there is the possibility of the neglect of these remains which may lead to their destruction as a whole or in part and also that if the remains are not preserved under proper conditions their evidentiary value may progressively degenerate.
- ALRC
2. The question of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka has been a matter of concern for the Working Group for a long period now. The particular issue that the ALRC wishes to highlight in this submission is the finding of the remains of around 200 bodies at Matale, which is under investigation by the Sri Lankan authorities. According to forensic experts who have so far done the preliminary work, the remains of the bodies indicate injuries and therefore the experts now regard the site containing these remains as a crime scene.
3. The assumption so far is that these remains are of persons who were arrested as suspects of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna during the period of its second uprising, known usually as the second insurrection. The period was between 1987 and 1991. According to the reports of the commissions of inquiry into involuntary disappearances there were complaints to these commissions of disappearances of persons numbering around 30,000.
4. Now that it has come to the notice of the authorities of the discovery of these remains in what may be called a mass grave it is the duty of the state to conduct thorough inquiries into the circumstances under which these persons have suffered the injuries which are evidenced by their remains and to ensure a credible course of action leading to the discovery of all the details relating to the alleged crimes.
5. An inquiry must be able to ascertain the identity of the persons whose remains have been found; where they were arrested if these persons were disposed of after arrest, what is the nature of the injuries indicated on the remains and what the historical circumstances that led to their treatment that in turn led to these injuries. Such information should finally lead to the identity of those who caused these injuries which led to the death of these persons. Once such factual details are established it would be possible to decide the course of action needed to ensure justice.
6. However, there are serious concerns about the manner in which the remains are being preserved and also the manner in which the inquiries are being conducted. There are detailed processes and techniques essential for the scientific investigation of atrocity crimes. These include methods for the location, evaluation, excavation, recovery, and recording of mass graves and the analysis of human remains and other evidence in order to establish the identity of victims and the cause and manner of their deaths.
7. The ALRC suggests that the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances should, through their experts, study the situation and the conduct of inquiries relating to the remains of the 200 or more persons found in Matale, Sri Lanka and assist the Sri Lankan government to ensure that these inquiries will meet the international standards required for such inquiries. The ALRC also suggests that the international community should assist the Sri Lankan government with expertise, equipment and the necessary financial resources for the proper conduct of investigations as well as the preservation of these remains under ideal conditions, which are required for such purposes.
8. The ALRC is concerned that if such international cooperation is not extended there is the possibility of the neglect of these remains which may lead to their destruction as a whole or in part and also that if the remains are not preserved under proper conditions their evidentiary value may progressively degenerate.
- ALRC
