Two more skeletal remains of female victims surface at Mannaar killing fields

Skeletal remains of an adult and a child, both females, have surfaced on Tuesday at the mass grave being excavated in the premises of former CWE building in the city of Mannaar. So far, 60 individuals, including six children, have been spotted. Of these, thirty-three have been fully exhumed. The excavators have seen gunshot-like holes in the skulls exhumed a few days ago. There are also injuries caused by sharp metals, indicating torture. The occupying military of genocidal Sri Lanka was stationed in the locality since the 1990s. 

The excavation was taking place for the 44th day on Tuesday. 

The SL Magistrates Court in Mannaar is yet to determine how to proceed with the analysis of the skeletons, which remain boxed-up at its custody. 

The SL Police, which is duty-bound to take the next step, has been reportedly working with an application requesting the Magistrate to allow sending a set of the remains to initial analysis in Colombo. Knowing that the people will oppose the move, the SL police have started to ‘leak’ information to media that an institution in the USA was also under consideration. 

However, Mannaar Magistrate is yet to decide on the steps for forensic analysis. 

In the meantime, the families of enforced disappeared in Mannaar blamed the authorities in Colombo and the SL Justice for sabotaging and delaying the independent forensic analysis of the skeletal remains exhumed four years ago in Thirukkeatheesvaram. More than 80 individuals were dug up at Thirukkeatheesvaram. 

The mass grave sites found at Thirukkeatheeswaran and the one discovered at the CWE premises now are believed to be from 1990's when the SL military stepped up large-scale torture and massacre under the regime of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. 

Ms Kumratunga, who is currently the chairperson of Colombo's so-called ‘Office for National Unity and Reconciliation’, remains tight-lipped on the matter. 

In 2014, as soon as the discovery of the mass graves at Thirukkeatheeswaram, Rt. Rev. Dr Rayappu Joseph, the Catholic bishop of Mannaar at that time, called for international investigations to be conducted on the mass graves as the unitary state of genocidal Sri Lanka has systematically failed to carry out any research on similar findings in the past.