Mylanthanai massacre
| Mylanthanai massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Mylanthanai, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka |
| Date | August 9, 1992 (+6 GMT) |
| Target | Sri Lankan Tamil village residents |
Attack type | Armed massacre |
| Weapons | Automatics rifles, Knives, axes |
| Deaths | 35 |
| Perpetrators | Disputed |
The Mylanthanai massacre happened on August 9 1992 when 35 minority Sri Lankan Tamils, including 14 children, at Mylanthanai in Batticaloa District in Sri Lanka, were killed.[1]
Sri Lankan Army soldiers from an army camp in Punanai were initially accused of the crime,[2] but they were acquitted by the unanimous verdict of a jury in Colombo.[3]
Incident
On August 9, 1992 according to the government prosecutor Sri Lankan Army soldiers attacked the village of Mylanthanai, after the army's commanding officer in Jaffna was killed along with seven soldiers in a landmine explosion earlier the same day.[4]
Government investigation
The government reaction was swift, according to the Sri Lanka Monitor, a reporting organization in the ongoing Sri Lankan Civil War, a line-up was held at Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court on April 2 1993. Survivors of the killings identified 24 soldiers.[2]
The Attorney General at the time transferred the case to Polonnaruwa District. He then transferred the case again to Colombo on the grounds of safety for the accused. This arrangement made it difficult for witnesses who were survivors to appear. The indictment was filed in Colombo High Court in September 1999.[2]
More than 30 eye witnesses came from Batticalao along with coroner who conducted most of the autopsies and the presiding regional judge. Eye witness accounts from dead persons were also allowed to be read in the case. After an extensive hearing the case went before the jury. The jury found the soldiers not guilty. The Judge requested the Jury to reconsider the verdict but the jury found the accused soldiers not guilty again. The attorney general turned down the request of the victims representatives to appeal.[2][5]
Controversy over acquittal
Human rights agencies and relatives of victims expressed shock after 18 soldiers accused in the Mylanthanai case were released on 27 November.[2] A local Human Rights agency UTHR considered the jury's verdict unfair and reported that about the lack of expression of concern over the verdict among the international community.[6]
According to Northeastern Herald, although the constitution provides room for appalling such cases, the Attorney General refused to appeal the verdict citing convention.[7]
See also
Some of the notable massacres are,
- Akkaraipattu on February 19, 1986
- Kokkadichcholai on Jan 28, 1987
- Eastern University on September 5, 1990
- Aranthalawa on June 2, 1987
- Gonagala on September 18, 1999
- Gomarankadawala on April 23, 2006
References
- ^ "Mylanthanai case". BBC. Retrieved 2006-01-08.
- ^ a b c d e "Jury finds Mylanthanai massacre accused not guilty". Sri Lanka Monitor. Retrieved 2006-01-06.
- ^ "Human Rights accountability, first". UTHR. Retrieved 2006-01-07.
- ^ "Mylanthanai case". BBC. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ^ "Sri Lanka's Human Rights Crisis". Retrieved 2007-8-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ The Human Rights Task: Accountability First
- ^ "AG refuses to appeal the verdict". Northeastern Herald. Retrieved 2006-01-07.