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| {{Short description|Killing of eight Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka}} | |||
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'''Thampalakamam massacre''' happened on 1 February 1998 when eight ] civilians were taken to the nearby police station and shot dead by ] and ] ] in ], ]. The victims include two brothers aged 13 and 17.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=3 February 1998 |title=Sri Lanka: Government forces kill eight civilians - justice needed now |url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA370021998?open&of=ENG-2S4 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040131200404/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA370021998?open&of=ENG-2S4 |archivedate=January 31, 2004 |accessdate=2006-01-06 |work=Amnesty International}}</ref> | ||
| Later one of the accused in murder case was shot dead by unknown gunmen<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=4577|title=Tampalakamam accused shot dead|accessdate=2006-01-06 |format= |work=Tamilnet.com }}</ref> | |||
| == |
==Massacre== | ||
| On 1 February 1998, at 5.30 am, about 20 drunken policemen and home guards from two Sinhalese settlements launched a roundup of two neighbouring Tamil villages of Puthukkudiyiruppu and Potkerni in Thampalakamam, Trincomalee District. They went around pulling Tamil villagers out of their houses, severely assaulting them and shooting dead their cows and dogs. Several individuals were detained and taken to the police station. Some were released but eight individuals were shot dead at close range. Several bodies of the victims bore signs of torture. The victims were Ponnambalam Kanagasaby (48), Arumugam Segar (32), Gunaratnam Sivarajah (27), Subramaniam Thivakaran (23), Muruges Janakan (17), Amirthalingam Surendran (14), Amirthalingam Gajendran (17) and Nathan Pavalanathan (33).<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 February 1998 |title=THE OUTRAGE AT THAMPALAKAMAM - THE HIDDEN REALITY |url=https://uthr.org/bulletins/bul16.htm |website=UTHR(J)}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Fernando |first=Ruki |date=2024-05-17 |title=The 1998 Bharathipuram Killings and Accountability for War Time Atrocities |url=https://groundviews.org/2024/05/17/the-1998-bharathipuram-killings-and-accountability-for-war-time-atrocities/ |website=Groundviews}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The schoolboy Arumugam Segar had his penis cut off and placed in his mouth.<ref name="Bruce Fein89">{{cite book |last=Fein |first=Bruce |url=https://pptsrilanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/tag_model_indictment.pdf |title=Model Indictment for Genocide Against Gotabhaya Rajapakse and Sarath Fonseka Proposed to the U.S. Justice Department |date=2009 |publisher=Tamils Against Genocide |isbn= |location=] |page=89}}</ref> | |||
| On the day of the incident about twenty (20) police arrested the victims. After taking the victims inside the police post they were shot at close range. The Kantalai police reportedly went house to house pressuring the families to write and sign statement stating that those victims were killed by the ] or that they were killed by members of the ]. Later a national television channel reported that six (6) ] cadres were killed at Tampalakamam .<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA370021998?open&of=ENG-2S4|title=Amnesty Internationa Report|accessdate=2007-02-28 |format= |work=Amnesty International.org }}</ref> | |||
| ==Investigation and trial== | |||
| ==Result== | |||
| Following the massacre, the Kantalai Police reportedly pressured the families to sign statements stating that the victims were members of the ] or were killed by them. However, the identities of the culprits were confirmed at a magisterial inquiry by the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Kantalai Police station but the accused were not arrested and reportedly continued to be on active duty.<ref name=":0" /> In 2005, the Kantalai Police arrested 13 policemen and home guards and the Attorney General filed charges against them. However, in 2017 the charges against six of the accused were withdrawn.<ref name=":1" /> In 2024, the Anuradhapura High Court sentenced five of the accused police officers, including the OIC, of the Bharathipuram Police station to life imprisonment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ananda |first=Upali |date=29 April 2024 |title=Bharathipuram OIC, four cops get life sentence for 1998 murders |url=https://www.dailynews.lk/2024/04/29/lawnorder/514902/bharathipuram-oic-four-cops-get-life-sentence-for-1998-murders/ |website=Daily News}}</ref> One of the accused in the murder case had been shot dead by unknown gunmen in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |date=27 January 2000 |title=Massacre accused shot dead |url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=4577 |accessdate=2006-01-06 |work=TamilNet}}</ref> | |||
| The alleged police officers have not been arrested. They were instead transferred to Kantalai police station and are still on duty..<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA370021998?open&of=ENG-2S4|title=Amnesty Internationa Report|accessdate=2007-02-28 |format= |work=Amnesty International.org }}</ref> | |||
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== See also == | ||
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Latest revision as of 20:36, 3 November 2024
Killing of eight Tamil civilians in Sri LankaThampalakamam massacre happened on 1 February 1998 when eight Sri Lankan Tamil civilians were taken to the nearby police station and shot dead by Sri Lankan Police and Sinhalese home guards in Thampalakamam, Trincomalee District. The victims include two brothers aged 13 and 17.
Massacre
On 1 February 1998, at 5.30 am, about 20 drunken policemen and home guards from two Sinhalese settlements launched a roundup of two neighbouring Tamil villages of Puthukkudiyiruppu and Potkerni in Thampalakamam, Trincomalee District. They went around pulling Tamil villagers out of their houses, severely assaulting them and shooting dead their cows and dogs. Several individuals were detained and taken to the police station. Some were released but eight individuals were shot dead at close range. Several bodies of the victims bore signs of torture. The victims were Ponnambalam Kanagasaby (48), Arumugam Segar (32), Gunaratnam Sivarajah (27), Subramaniam Thivakaran (23), Muruges Janakan (17), Amirthalingam Surendran (14), Amirthalingam Gajendran (17) and Nathan Pavalanathan (33). The schoolboy Arumugam Segar had his penis cut off and placed in his mouth.
Investigation and trial
Following the massacre, the Kantalai Police reportedly pressured the families to sign statements stating that the victims were members of the LTTE or were killed by them. However, the identities of the culprits were confirmed at a magisterial inquiry by the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Kantalai Police station but the accused were not arrested and reportedly continued to be on active duty. In 2005, the Kantalai Police arrested 13 policemen and home guards and the Attorney General filed charges against them. However, in 2017 the charges against six of the accused were withdrawn. In 2024, the Anuradhapura High Court sentenced five of the accused police officers, including the OIC, of the Bharathipuram Police station to life imprisonment. One of the accused in the murder case had been shot dead by unknown gunmen in 2000.
See also
References
- ^ "Sri Lanka: Government forces kill eight civilians - justice needed now". Amnesty International. 3 February 1998. Archived from the original on January 31, 2004. Retrieved 2006-01-06.
- "THE OUTRAGE AT THAMPALAKAMAM - THE HIDDEN REALITY". UTHR(J). 5 February 1998.
- ^ Fernando, Ruki (2024-05-17). "The 1998 Bharathipuram Killings and Accountability for War Time Atrocities". Groundviews.
- Fein, Bruce (2009). Model Indictment for Genocide Against Gotabhaya Rajapakse and Sarath Fonseka Proposed to the U.S. Justice Department (PDF). Washington DC: Tamils Against Genocide. p. 89.
- Ananda, Upali (29 April 2024). "Bharathipuram OIC, four cops get life sentence for 1998 murders". Daily News.
- "Massacre accused shot dead". TamilNet. 27 January 2000. Retrieved 2006-01-06.
Categories:
- 1998 crimes in Sri Lanka
- Attacks on civilians attributed to the Sri Lanka Civil Security Force
- Attacks on civilians attributed to the Sri Lanka Police
- 1990s massacres of the Sri Lankan civil war
- Massacres in 1998
- Mass murder of Sri Lankan Tamils
- People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Sri Lanka
- Sri Lankan government forces attacks in Eelam War III
- Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 1998
- February 1998 events in Asia