2006 Sencholai massacre victims commemorated in Jaffna

The relatives of the victims slain in the targeted air-raid on school girls attending a self-protection workshop at Vallipunam in Mullaiththeevu commemorated their kith and kin together with education sector officials and Tamil politicians in a memorial event held near Jaffna Public Library on Sunday. No investigations have so far covered the underlying patterns of the planning, preparation and execution of the massacre, which was carried out with high-level decision-making involving the SL commanders of the three armed forces, SL Defence Secretary and the Commander-in-Chief (SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa) at that time. The targeted massacre was carried out two years before the Government of Sri Lanka withdrew from the Ceasefire Agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Four Kfir jet bombers of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) dropped 16 bombs on the premises of the Chengch-cholai children’s home in Vallipunam on Paranthan-Mullaiith-theevu road, killing 61, including 55 schoolgirls and staffers, early morning on 14 August 2006. More than 129 girls sustained serious injuries in the air-strike.

Tamil School girls from various schools in the Mullaiththeevu district were taking part in a self-protection workshop organised by the LTTE when the brutal massacre was carried out by the SLAF.

The 2006 massacre was seen as a premonition of the genocidal onslaught which was carried out by the SL State with external abetment in 2009.

The 10th year commemoration event was organised by the Tamil National Peoples Front. Religions representatives and NPC councillors such as Mr T. Kurukularajah, who was the director of education for Ki'linochchi district in 2006, took part in the memorial event.