Vanni mass grave excavations resume after eight month pause
Excavation activities of the Vanni mass grave, which had been paused for over seven months due to lack of funds, have resumed for a period of ten days. The mass grave located in the war-affected Mullaitivu district was discovered around a year ago.
Speaking to regional journalists at the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave site on 4 July, Mullaitivu Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Kanagasabapathi Vasudeva revealed that arrangements have been made to excavate areas yet to be explored and are believed to have more bodies buried.
“Excavation activities in Kokkuthoduvai were delayed due to the unavailability of funds. However, with the allocation of adequate funds, a decision has been taken to recommence excavation activities today, and they will be continued for 10 days. So far, 40 human skeletons have been unearthed either fully or partially, and the remaining work has also commenced today. At the same time, in addition to the excavated area, certain areas in the mass grave site which are believed to have more skeletons have been cleared and marked. Excavation work in that area will continue.”
Mahesh Katulanda, Chairperson of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) responsible for securing funds for the work, attorneys at law KS Ratnavale and Ranitha Gananarajah from Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) representing victims were also present.
An underground scan conducted after excavation activities came to a halt on 21 November, 2023, revealed that the mass grave spreads under the Mullaitivu-Kokkilai road.
Regional reporters said that the Road Development Authority (RDA) has promised to make the necessary arrangements concerning the road in order to commence excavation work in the area.
The resumption of its excavation activities was postponed indefinitely due to the delay on the part of the Justice Ministry to approve financial resources requested by a group of experts.
It had been estimated last April that the remaining excavation activities would require around Rs. 13.7 million. In May, Mullaitivu District Secretariat’s Chief Accountant Mylvanagam Selvaratnam had told regional journalists that the amount was slashed to Rs. 9.7 million following a request by the Justice Ministry.
It is not yet clear as to whether financial resources would be provided for forensic investigations of the skeletons unearthed from the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave.
The latest report on enforced disappearances issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recommended that the government properly identifies, protects, preserves, and investigates mass graves in accordance with international standards.
In March, forensic archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva, who leads the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave-related excavation work, had told the court that the skeletal remains found in the mass grave belonged to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) members who had been unceremoniously buried in the mid-1990s.
He is of the firm opinion that they have been shot dead.
In June, 2023, human remains and pieces of clothes were accidentally found when National Water Supply and Drainage Board employees had been digging trenches to lay water pipes. They had been found 200 metres from the Kokkuthoduvai Maha Vidyalaya towards Kokkilai.
The school building used to be a military camp in the mid ‘90s.
