Summary report

TAMIL CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - TCHR

SUMMARY REPORTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN SRI LANKA

(Information received by TCHR)

(From July to December 1997)

JULY 1997

No	Date	Name	Sex	Age	Place	District	Incident
1	01/07/97	Markandu Kumar	M	--	Urutherapuram	Kilinochchi	He was shot and killed by the Sri Lankan forces when he went to recover possessions from the house he deserted when the military invaded Kilinochchi.
2	02/07/97	Kumar - Pathmanathan	M		Uruthirapuram	Kilinochchi	Young man was shot dead and another badly injured and the fate of three others were not yet known. The cart carrying coconuts was ambushed by the Sri Lankan armed forces.
3	02/07/97	Sathasivam -Rathinam	M	--	Mirusuvil	Thenmaradchy	Over 150 people were arrested and attacked by S.L army. He was one of them taken away and feared murdered.
4	03/07/97	Muniyandi - Nirmalarani	F	--	Munrumurippu	Mullaitivu	She is seriously injured and another girl also injured when Sri Lankan Kfir jets blasted a Tamil school which was housing the displaced people..
5	03/07/97	Tamil youth-	--	--	Badulla	Badulla	Sri Lanka police stormed a Badulla-Colombo train randomly arresting 25 Tamil youths.
6	04/07/97	Andy Nadarasa	M	38	Elupaikulam	Mullaitivu	He was killed when S. L army launched artillery attack at these town.
9	07/07/97	Selliah Karunanithi	M	18	Mahilady bridge	Batticoala	He was stabbed to death by the Sri Lankan soldiers.
10	08/07/97	Piraba	M	--	Batticaloa	Batticoala	Sri Lankan homeguards fired and killed him.
11	08/07/97	Rasalingam - Sivakumar A.Rasalingam P.Saradadevi S.Nilanthini K.Uthayakumar V.Pavithiran	M M F F M M	14 43 23 25 1	Amparai	Amparai	Sri Lankan homeguards entered the area’s central camp settlements and fired on innocent civilians killing. A father and his son. Soldiers also attacked a house with grenades injuring them all four at home.
12	08/07/97	One killed	--	--	Kiran, Korakalimadu	Baticoala	Forces conducted a search operation and smashed their way into closed houses and dragged the Tamil residents into an open field for interrogation. Of those arrested one was killed.
13	10/07/97	Sivalingam -Uthayakumari Gnanadas - Mahimaidas		18 38	Kommanthurai	Baticoala	Both were badly injured by the Sri Lankan army shelled the town.
14	12/07/97	Mr & Mrs V.Linganathan	M/F		Batticaloa	Batticaloa	Local government official and his wife were arrested by the police in Colombo hospital along with a servant. The girl was tortured to confession.
15	14/07/97	10 fisherman	---	--	Mullaitivi coast	Mullaitivu	Navy lunched attack at Tamil fishermen and 10 are still missing.
16	14/07/97	Ponnaiyah -Sivapalan Ramapillai -Sivagnanam	M M	25 26	Kondarkulam Kolliakulam	Pullmoodai “	Where abouts of these two men were unknown following an arbitrary arrest by Sri Lanka’s security forces. Relatives reported the incident to their village councilor.
17	14/07/97	Sathyanathan -Sivakumar	M	22	Vaddakachchi	Kilinochchi	He was killed when Sri Lakan army lunched an artillery attack at residential areas.
18	17/07/97	Antony Kanapathy Raman Ketharani Umashankar	M M F M	47 70 43 14	Akkarayan	Killinochchi	Sri Lankan army carried out a savage artillery attack on the hospital at Akkarayan killing four civilians They belong to the same family.
19	17/07/97	2 civilians	--	--	Sonthakarankulam	Mannar	Two people were hacked to death in Mannar district.by the Sri Lankan troops when they went to see their abandoned houses.Two more were taken away by the soldiers.
20	17/07/97	2 farmers	M	--	Valaichchenai	Batticaloa	Dead bodies of two farmers arrested by the army were discovered in the fields.
21	17/07/97	S. Mathini	F	16	Eravur	Batticaloa	She was critically injured when army launched an artillery attack.

AUGUST 1997

22	1-8-97	100 civilians	M F	Uruthirapuram Selvanakar Bararathipuram	Kilinochchi	Over 100 civilians have been savagely killed when they went to see their homes and many others were taken away by the army were disappeared.
23	5-8-97	Sothilingam Kalaichelvi - 22	F	Omanthai	Vavuniya	A mother of two children was killed in an artillery fired from Omanthai.
24	6-8-97	Sasitharan - 3 Kovinthamma - 57 Ganesan - 38 Sivasakthi - 17	M F M F	Senkalady	Batticaloa	One of the Tamil mercenary groups has shot dead four Tamil civilians.
25	8-8-97	Kanakaratnam - Satheeswary -36	F	Thenmaradchy	Jaffna	A Pregnant woman in urgent need of medical care died as she was unable to go to hospital due to army curfew.
26	10-8-97	Missing fishermen	M	Ampalavan- Pokkanai	Mullaitivu	Sri Lankan navy patrols attacked fishing boats off Mullaitivu coast and several fishermen are missing.
27		Deleted
28	14-8-97	T.Thurairajah - 68	M	Batticaloa	Batticaloa	He was badly hurt by bullets fired at random from Sivananda Vidyasalai sentry point manning by the army.
29	14-8-97	Chelliah - Navaratnarasa-36 Kanapathipillai - Thavam-23 Santhan-26	M M M	Mahilankulam	Vavuniya	The first man was killed and the other two were seriously wounded by random fire from the army unit.
30	15-8-97	Civilians killed. T.Thangamani - 48 T.Vasanthakumari-17 N.Pushpamalar-41 N.Gajan-4 P.Annamalar-40 T.Parameswary-46 3 bodies unidentified. Civilians critically injured. Jeyamohan-18 Nakapoorani-32 Panchali-56 Mathushan-2 Suresh-27 Gouri-28 Nakasanthi-13 Sarmila-9 Santhanam-59 Vijayarasa-16 Selvaranee-22 Sritharan-3 Jeyachandran-15 Kalingarasa-38 Rasamalar-55	F F F M F F F M M F F F M M F M M M F	Catholic church in Vavunikulam	Mullaitivu	Two Sri Lankan Kfir bombers bombed a catholic church in Vavunikulam killing 9 civilians and critically wounding 15 others.
31	16-8-97	P.Vasanthakumar-22 Jeyam-25 V.Aiathuirai-40 R.Satkunanathan-32 T.Thayaparan-25	M M M M M	Murasumoddai	Mullaitivu	Five Tamil civilians who went to see their homes have been missing .
32	17-8-97	Kandasamy Wife Daughter-18 Son - 16	M F F M	Mirisuvil	Jaffna	Kandasamy family who returned to their home from Vanni has disappeared.
33	17-8-97	5 civilians	M F	Uyilankulam Kaththankulam	Mannar	2 were killed and 3 critically injured in an artillery fired by the army.
34	17-8-97	Sritharan - 35	M	Semmalai	Mullaitivu	He was severely injured by canon fired by the Sri Lankan navy .
35	17-8-97	Civilian target	M F	Vavunikulam church	Mullaitivu	Sri Lankan Kfir war planes attacked a catholic church killing 9 civilians and critically injuring over 26 others.
36	17-8-97	S.Kuyilini-4 months K.Sanjeevan-4 J.Jeyakala-9 K.Karunakaran-25 K.Kunaratnam-25 T.Thamilselvelvi-25 K.Sarojadevi-35 T.Kamalanayaki-40	F M F M M F F F	Puthuvilankulam	Mullaitivu	They were critically injured in Air force bombing at civlians sheltering.
37	19-8-97	300 Tamils	M F	Karativu Ninthavur	Batticaloa	In a Sri Lankan Task Force (STF) long stretch operation between Karativu and Ninthavur, they have arrested 300 Tamil men and women. Even after a week, whereabouts of these people are not known.
38	20-8-97	Rajagopal-23 K.Paramasivam-23 Tamil woman	M M F	Mankulam	Mullaitivu	Sri Lankan army shelling has critically wounded 3 civilians.
39	20-8-97	36 Tamil civilians	M F	Valigamam Thenmaradchy	Jaffna	30 civilians from Valigamam and 6 from Thenmaradchy were arrested by the armed forces and have been missing.
40		Deleted
41	24-8-97	A man and grand daughter	M F	Urumpirai	Jaffna	Sri Lankan army truck knocked and killed a man and his grand daughter.
42	25-8-97	Mailvaganaam Thavabalan -37	M M	Kaithady	Jaffna	Two farmers went to water their plants in the morning were shot dead by the Sri Lankan soldiers.
43	25-8-97	Kunasingam - Sarojadevi -35	F	Puthuvilankulam	Vavuniya	She died in a Sri Lankan Kfir bombing.
44	28-8-97	Sayantheni -5	F	Olumadu	Vavuniya	Two people including a girl of 5 were killed by heavy a shell fired by Sri Lankan forces.
45	30-8-97	Ledchumikanthan - Thamayanthan -23	M	Thirukadaloor	Trincomalee	He was shot dead by the Sri Lankan troops.
46	30-8-97	Sivaloganayaki -38	F	Muttur	Trincomalee	Sri Lankan soldiers stopped her at a check point and she is missing since.

September 1997

No	Date	Name	Sex	Place	District	Incident
47		Deleted
48	2-9-97	V.Sathasivam -38 S.Kokila -2 S.Ketheeswaran -3 N.Thavachelvam -16	M F M M	Muthuaiyankaddu	Mullaitivu	The first two were killed and the other two were seriously injured when the Sri Lankan troops launched a fierce artillery attack on this village.
49	3-9-97	A.Rupakanth Sathis	M M	Kalmunai	Batticaloa	Sri Lankan hired mercenaries killed 2 civilians.
50	5-9-97	Palanthi - 6	F	Atchuveli	Jaffna	Sri Lankan soldiers gang -raped a six year old baby at an army check point . The girl is now fighting for her life in the Jaffna teaching hospital.
51		Deleted
52		Deleted
53	8-9-97	S.Saravanan S.Subas	M M	Nedunkerni	Vavuniya	Both were arrested by the army on the day of UNICEF’s anti-polio drive. They have not been seen since then.
54	9-9-97	Kandiah - Perampalam	M	Thondamanaru	Jaffna	He had his leg blown off by a land mine planted near the Selva sannithy temple.
55		Deleted
56	10-9-97	V.Gnaneswary 19 K.Tharsini -17	F F	Mankulam Kanakarayan - kulam	Mullaitivu	Both were critically injured when a series of mortar and artillery barrages were fired at Residential areas .
57	11-9-97	Siyamala- 20 M.Anandarajah - 22 K.Sivarajah - 48 P.Chandran	F M M M	Mankulam Ramanathapuram Kalmadunagar	Mullaitivu	Non-stop artillery shells and mortars were raining down on towns killed 4 and critically wounded several others.
58	11-9-97	Nathan - 23 Thanisu Rajan - 32	M M	Murasumoddai	Kilinochchi	Three civilians who have gone to recover valuables from their abandoned homes are missing.
59	11-9-97	Rajaledchumy - 22 Kenthirathasan - 20	F M	Paduvankarai	Batticaloa	Both were critically injured in midnight shelling by the army.
60	11-9-97	Vigneswaramurthy S.Suresh Kanthasamy T.Veerasingam Ariaratnam	M M M M M	Jaffna Secretariat	Jaffna	Sri Lankan army moved into the Secretariat and arrested five of them.

OCTOBER 1997

No	Date	Name	Sex	Age	Place	District	Incident
61	61 to 64	Deleted
65	1-10-97	Suntheralingam	M	22	Fourth colony Amparai	Amparai	Charred body of a young man probably of Suntheralingam who went missing .This happened when Sri Lanka police ran amok torching 67 homes and killing civilians. 1700 Tamils fled the town in panic.
66		Deleted
67	2-10-97	Yogeswari	F		Vavuniya	Vavuniya	She was arrested by the Sri Lankan army.
68	2-10-97	Family man	M	45	Pampaimadu	Vavuniya	Father of four children was shot dead in the jungle by the Sri Lankan army.
69	3-10-97	A.Sivamahanathan S.Rasatatnam S.Mailvaganam T.Jeevarasa S.Arumairasa T.Amaladas Robinson Peter	M M M M M M M M		Mullaitivu	Mullaitivu	Sri Lanka naval craft attacked unarmed fishermen and eight missing. Five fishing boats were set ablaze.
70	4-10-97	A.Poopathy	F	23	Semamadu	Vavuniya	She died in Mallavi hospital due to shell shock.
71	5-10-97	Arrest			Anuradapura- Trincomalee border	Trincomalee	12 Tamil women and 21 men were arrested during a cordon and search operation in 8 Tamil villages. None have so far been released.
72	5-10-97	Arrest-Killing			Kilinochchi	Kilinochchi	Two decomposed bodies of Tamils were discovered with evidence of torture, while 10 other civilians had gone missing.
73	5-10-97	Krishnasamy Nallasamy	M M	27 52	Parathipuram	Kilinochchi	Both were cut to peices and their bodies parts strewn on the ground in front of their house.
74	6-10-97	Civilians			Mulankavil	Mannar	A boatload of 13 Tamil people crossing from coastal Mulankavil to their home in Jaffna drowned in the waters off Karainagar when the Sri Lankan navy opened fire on the vessel.
75	7-10-97	Thanabalasingam- Vinayagamoorthy	M	27	Madukarai	Kilinochchi	He went to the field in search of his cattle and missing since then.
76	7-10-97	Arumugam -Pushparaja	M	24	Manavalan Pattamurippu	Mullaitivu	He was shot by the Sri lankan Army while cycling along the main road.
77		Deleted
78	9-10-97	Kasinather Gnaniar woman	M M F	60 56	Karapattamurippu	Kilinochchi	Three were abducted by the Sri Lankan troops.
79	9-10-97	S.Thangavelu A.Rasiah R.Kesavan T.Rasendiram Ragunathan M.Manikkam K.Selvaratnam S.Liyanage Thevakumar S.L.Vasanthakumar T.Thevarasa R.Kandiah Ayuitkumar K.Manoharan K.Babu T.Thanaraj T.Kandiah A.Subramaniam S.Dinal I.Thevarasa	M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M	49 46 12 34 60 80 29 45 20 38 52 13 33 35 48 80 35 38 30	Santhapuram Selvapuram Vasanthapuram Murikandy	Kilinochchi	22 Tamil civilians who went to recover belongings from their homes in Kilinochchi had been abducted by the Sri Lankan army and not seen since.
80	10-10-97	A.Arulamriampillai C.Paramalingam A.Yogarajeswaran	M M M	62 32 32	Mankulam Kanakarayan- kulam	Mullaitivu	Sri Lankan Kfir war planes bombed residential areas. A passenger van was chased and bombed killing one man and critically injuring 3 others.
81	13-10-97	M.Sumithra M.Thambiraja	F M	17 45	Valaichenai	Batticaloa	A pregnant woman and a man from Kalmadu refugee camp were badly injured when Sri Lankan soldiers indiscriminately fired bullets into the camp.
82	16-10-97	Thanganayaki	F	49	Amparai	Amparai	She was raped and murdered by Sri Lankan police and homeguards.The soldier butchered her private parts after gang - rape.
83	17-10-97	K.Subramaniam	M		Chavakacheri	Jaffna	His mutilated dead body was found on a roadside of Chavakacheri.
84		Deleted
85	19-10-97	52 youths	M F		Kankesanthurai	Jaffna	52 youths were rounded up and taken to prison camps in Kankesanthurai.They have not been found guilty but not released.
86	19-10-97	Nagamuttu	F	60	Sonthakarankulam Koyilkulam	Kilinochchi	5 civilians went to recover belongings from their homes. They were fired by the Sri Lanka army lying concealed in bushes. Nagamuttu is missing.
87	19-10-97	Selvam Kunchurasa	M M		Uruthirapuram	Kilinochchi	Both went on a bullock cart to recover belongings and were abducted by the Sri Lankan army.
88	19-10-97				Chunnakam	Jaffna	He was returning from work and died in a random fire by the Army.
89		Deleted
90		Deleted
91	20-10-97	Young girl	F		Nayanmarkadu	Jaffna	A pupil of Maheswari Vidyasalai was abducted at night by the Army when she went to collect water from the well in her garden. She was discovered the next morning. She was tied to a tree and her clothes torn.
92	26-10-97	Sathirasekaran R	36		Puttur	Jaffna	Victime of land mines buried by the army around Jaffna schools.
93		Deleted
94		Deleted
95	28-10-97	Sivapalan	M		Puthukudiyiruppu Valaichenai	Batticaloa	Soldiers grabbed a Hindu priest by his hair-knot and dragged him along the road and beat him.
96	28-10-97	P.Santhirakumar	M	18	Kiran Vidayalam	Batticaloa	Advance Level student was shot and killed by the soldiers.
97	28-10-97	Kandasamy Maheswaran	M		Mutur	Trincomalee	He is father of four children. He has been arbitrarily arrested by the Police and being held by Sri Lankan armed forces.
98	28-10-97	Young girl	F	16	Vavuniya	Vavuniya	Tamil mercenary PLOTE gunman working with the Sri Lankan army shot and killed a Tamil girl.
99	28-10-97	Panchalingam Thilagar	M M		Vavuniya	Vavuniya	They were arrested and being held by the army without any reason. Many more Tamil civilians have been arrested in Manavalanpattu Murippu and detained in Vavuniya.
100	28-10-97	Siththar - Kulanthaivelu Ledchuman - Vetharupan	M M	61 27	Vasavilan Chavakacheri	Jaffna	Both men have lost a leg each when they stepped on army landmines.There are similar victims because the army has not removed any of the land mines in Jaffna.
101	30-10-97	2 girls	F		Vavuniya	Vavuniya	Army has arrested 2 girls in Vavuniya.
102	31-10-97	Thambiratnam - Sasireka Selvan - Arulanandarasa - Chelliah Arulanandaraja	F M M	26	Kondavil Puttur Alaveddy	Jaffna	All three have lost their legs in army land mines. An average of one foot is lost in Jaffna due to these land mines.
103	31-10-97	K.Kulendran K.Kamalasothy K.Arichandran K.Sriranasuntharam M.Balasingam S.Sritharan S.Sivagnanam		26 19 26 35 40 37 34	Nedunkerni	Mullaitivu	7 civilians who returned to their homes to recover household belongings were arrested by the troops and missing since.
104		Deleted

NOVEMBER 1997

105		Deleted
106	01-11-97	Sinnaiah -Selvarasa	M	26	Marampaikulam	Vavuniya	While he was looking for food in the Vanni jungles, he was shot dea and beheaded by the soldiers.
107		Deleted
108		Deleted
109	04-11-97	Nallaiah -Pushpanathan	M	36	achchelu	Jaffna	He had his hands blasted off when he picked up an unidentified object. He also sustained extensive injuries to his chest and face.
110	07-11-97	Nagarajah -Anandarajah	M	22	Velanai	Jaffna	He was shot dead by Sri Lankan armed forces. He was working as a gate keeper at Sir Vythilingam Duraisamy Maha Vidyalayam.
111		Deleted
112		Deleted
113	07-11-97	Thiruchelvam Shanmuga - sundram	M M	42 45	7^th Channel Area	Kilinochchi	Both were shot and killed by the army.One died on the spot and the other was unconscious, both their bodies were dumped into a pit. After two days Thiruchelvam crawled out of the pit and died soon after telling the horrendous tale.
114	09-11-97	Ponnambalam Jegathas	M	23	Nallikunchukulam	Kilinochchi	He went to recover belongings from his home at Sonthakarankulam and feared to have been abducted by Sri Lankan forces.
115	13-11-97	9 civilians	M		Uruthirapuram	Kilinochchi	9 Tamil civilians who went to recover their belongings from their abandoned homes have not been seen since.
116	13-11-97	Thambu Sinnapillai Sathasivam Vigneswaran	F M	65 13	Varani	Jaffna	Sri Lankan forces ran amok firing randomly at Tamil civilians killing a woman and injuring a boy.
117		Deleted
118	19-11-97	Civilians	M F		Karainagar	Jaffna	Army rounded up the whole of Karainagar and arrested several civilians.
119	19-11-97	Civilians	M F		Thumpalai Vathiri	Jaffna	Sodiers rounded up and arrested several civilians.
120	19-11-97	Civilians	M F		Mannar	Mannar	20 Tamils were arbitrarily arrested by the Army and their families are extremely anxious about their where abouts.
121	20-11-97	Thayalini	M	14	Vasavilan	Jaffna	She lost her hand and suffered sever injuries when she picked up an unidentified object.
122	24-11-97	Tamil woman			Mirusuvil	Jaffna	Sri Lankan soldiers shot dead her for sending her daughter to Colombo.
123	24-11-97	Selvarajah Rooban Theivendram	F F F		Pooneryn	Kilinochchi	Sri Lankan Kfir war planes mounted aerial attacks on civilian targets in Pooneryn killing 3 civilians and seriously wounding 9.
124	24-11-97	Thirukovalan -Palikumar	M		Vadamaradchy	Jaffna	He was arrested and missing since then.
125	24-11-97	Vijayan	M		Maththiyamuham 11colony	Amparai	He was shot and killed in the custody of Amparai police. He is one of those 13 arbitarly arrested in the 11^th colony.
126	24-11-97	60 Civilians	M F		Kotahena supermarket	Colombo	60 young Tamils have been arbitrarily arrested by Colombo Police in a round up in Kotahena supermarket after the explosion at Kelanitissa
127		Deleted
128	29-11-97	Thayanadevi - Saravanaperumal	F		Unionkulam	Kilinochchi	When Sri Lankan forces fired artillery from Kilinochchi a mother of four children was killed. Two children were also severely injured.
129	29-11-97	Civilians	M F		Eruvil	Batticalao	At the jetty, Eruvil military shot and killed a young man and 3 civilians when they were disembarking from the boat.
130	30-11-97	Civilians killings	M		Uruthirapuram	Kilinochchi	Sri Lankan army shot and injured two Tamil civilians and arrested two others when they went to collect valuable belongings from their homes.
131	30-11-97	Thambipillai Jegathas Nageswaran Sujitha	M F	40	Uduvil Irupalai	Jaffna	Two civilians were arrested at Uduvil and Irupalai by armed forces.
132		Deleted

DECEMBER 1997

No	Date	Name	Sex	Age	Place	District	Incident
133	04-12-97	Nageswaran Sujitha	F	19	Neerveli	Jaffna	She was arrested by the army and not been seen since.
134	04-12-97	5 Civilians	M		Kalawanchikudi	Batticaloa	Sri Lankan army arrested 5 young boys .
135	04-12-97	2 men		67 -	Neerveli	Jaffna	Both were killed in a land mine.
136		Deleted