Colombo attempts to indefinitely postpone investigations on Mannaar killing fields

Around 10 institutions of Colombo seem to have intentionally avoided their attendance in the proceedings of two cases on Thirukkeatheesvaram mass graves on Monday despite an earlier warning by Mannaar Magistrate A G Alex Raja that the representatives of these involved institutions should cooperate without failing to attend the hearings. At the same time, the special branch of the SL Police CID investigators again proposed to the Court that samples of already exhumed 87 skeletal remains could be dispatched to a Miami-based laboratory in the USA for radiocarbon dating. The findings of this laboratory have been already disputed on the Matale mass graves investigations in the South. The lawyers representing the missing persons in Mannaar have already denounced the involvement of the particular institution and suggested three Latin America based institutions.

However, the SL CID has been buying time stating they were not able to get replies from the proposed institutions.

On Monday, the CID was again suggesting the controversial institution knowing that the lawyers would be opposing the move and that Mannaar Magistrate would have no other option than postponing the investigations to another date.

Only three of more than 10 institutions showed up at the courts on Monday forcing the Magistrate to issue summons to those who failed to attend the Court.

The SL Police CID officers were citing one of the Latin American institutions from Peru as also recommending the Miami-based laboratory.

Attorney-at-Law V.S. Niranjan, who represented the families of missing persons responded by stating that the lawyers wanted to independently verify the claims by the SL Police CID why Latin America based institutions were not responding or recommending the disputed institution.

In the meantime, the case of continuing the excavation of an abandoned well at the killing fields of Mannaar was also taken up by the Court on Monday.

Dananjaya Vaidyaratne, the Specialist Judicial Medical Officer, had earlier proposed to the Court that he would submit a procedural description on how to proceed and involve the SL State institutions in continuing the excavations.

The CID officers of the SL Police urged more time to establish the procedure.

Both the cases are to be taken up for investigations on 01 August 2016.