Sunday Times 2
Launch full probe on massacre of the 600 policemen
I was rather perplexed when I read the article by former DIG B Anton Jeyanathan (the Sunday Times 2 of July 17). Categorising the mass murder of more than 600 police officers as “missing persons” is greatly downsizing the gravity of the heinous crime. The term “Missing persons” generally coupled with “involuntary removal of persons,” is far less in gravitas.
Police personnel played a key role in maintaining peace in liberated areas of the east during the war
He goes on to say, “I am certain all the details about the surrender of the policemen, whisking them away in vehicles and subsequently their whereabouts which are not known…” This is a misleading statement because there is eyewitness evidence in proof of their whereabouts. They are in the land of god Pluto. Christopher Morris of The Guardian UK reporting from the Thirukkovil grave told this grim story on July 23, 1990. He said:
“Search finishes at grave of policemen.
“Thirukkovil on grim proof of a massacre.
“In a clearing surrounded by dense scrubland, 12 miles south of the village of Thirukkovil in Sri Lanka, a pit about four feet deep had been dug in the dry earth. Lying in it, covered by a thin layer of sand, are the decomposing bodies of about 100 Sri Lankan policemen, shot in cold blood by Tamil Tiger rebels.
“Nearby are more remains, this time bits of burning bodies and charred bones, mingling with logs and wire from the inside of rubber tyres, fuel for the pyre on which many bodies were thrown. Throughout the area, now marked out with wooden stakes, is the stench of rotting flesh. Grim evidence of what had occurred is still visible. In one place the victims had been made to lie down in the dark, in a line about 30 metres long, and according to those who had survived, they were shot in the back of the head.
“Patches of congealed and blackened blood, dried out after more than a month in the hot sun, revealed where the shooting had taken place. When the sand in the pit nearby was raked back, two decomposing arms, the hands still tied together, were revealed; then a skull, and some fragments of uniform scattered around the area was more evidence of the victims’ identities; police pass books, and pairs of slippers, belonging to the men who had been off duty in their barracks when they were taken captive.”
The evidence of the mass-murder was placed before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and an eyewitness account about the complicity of Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, was placed before the LLRC in camera. These facts indicate this case has a bearing on reconciliation. Although it is not in the purview of the LLRC to investigate murder, it has made a strong recommendation that the circumstances of the surrender and the mass murder be fully investigated and appropriate action taken.
In his article, the writer also states that a delegation from the Retired Senior Police Officers’ Association (RSPOA) went before the Maxwell Paranagama Commission which was “inquiring into missing persons and lodged our complaint”. It is obvious that this mass murder did not come within the purview of the Commission and it has ignored the submissions. Complaining about this case to the Maxwell Paranagama Commission is like going to a toy shop and asking for a five-seater full option car. I have also been writing time and again about this massacre to remind the people of the great sacrifice made by these noble policemen and to bring honour to them. I hope these forlorn police officers hear us crying for them.
I understand that during the presidential election campaign, a Retired Senior DIG who has taken to politics, and was a supporter of the incumbent President, discussed the case of these police officers with him and obtained a promise that he would have the matter investigated and appropriate action taken when he came to power. A good move indeed! Now he has come to power and the Retired Senior DIG has reminded him of it, but to no avail. Promises of the so-called Yahapalana politicians are no better than promises of all run-of-the-mill politicians.
With political expediency taking precedence over principles, we cannot expect the political will to have justice meted out in the case of this massacre. The only step left is to go to the last bastion of justice, the Supreme Court, with a Writ of Mandamus application to compel the Inspector General of Police to investigate the circumstances that led to the surrender and the mass murder that followed.
I quote from the Final Report of the LLRC under a section titled “Issues Relevant to Addressing Grievances and Promoting Reconciliation. Failure to Give Effect to Rule of Law.”“9. 207 – Two senior retired police officers and two representers who had been victims of an abduction along with around six hundred police officers referred to the alleged involvement of Karuna, the then LTTE leader of the Eastern Province and several other members of the LTTE regarding the murder of the police officers who had been ordered to lay down arms and surrender to the LTTE. Pursuant to the allegations made by the representers the Commission questioned Mr. Muralitharan alias Karuna about the allegations leveled against him. He denied the allegations in respect of these murders.
“However, this Commission regrets that up to date no investigation has been conducted in respect of the killing of 600 policemen. The Commission is of the view that this matter warrants a full investigation because of the nature of the Crime and the bearing it has on Reconciliation.”
Since June 1990 there have been fear psychoses caused by respective governments, and especially under the 18th Amendment, even the Supreme Court could not be relied on to mete out justice. Now under the 19th Amendment there is hope again that the Supreme Court will act without political interference.
(The writer is a Retired Senior Superintendent of Police and former Personal Staff Officer to Inspector General of Police,
and former Director handling Police Grievances)