Ex-soldier goes to identify Jaffna mass graves

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 August 1999, 07:15 GMT]
Somaratna Rajapaksha, the SLA corporal convicted in the rape and murder of the Jaffna school girl Krishanthi Kumarasamy, told the district judge in the northern town this morning that Police investigators who questioned him on the alleged mass graves in Chemmani did not record the names of SLA officials who, according to him, were involved in the arrest and killing of more than six hundred civilians in the peninsula in 1996-97.
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Rains raise concerns about Chemmani probe

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 August 1999, 03:45 GMT]
Investigations on the mass graves of Jaffna civilians arrested and allegedly killed by Sri Lankan security forces in Chemmani might be delayed again until next year due to heavy rains that hit the northern peninsula in the early hours of the morning today according to human rights activists.
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Jaffna skull unearthed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 August 1999, 11:19 GMT]
A part of a human skull and a grenade were unearthed in Ariyalai West, a suburb of Jaffna, today by two woodcutters who were attempting to dislodge a tree stump by digging around this morning.
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Government team visits Chemmani

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 1999, 16:59 GMT]
A team of government investigators arrived in Jaffna today to examine the sites of the alleged mass graves of civilians killed by the Sri Lankan security forces at Chemmani and Ariyalai.
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Jaffna Magistrate urges early exhumation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 July 1999, 13:25 GMT]
Jaffna additional magistrate, M. Ilancheliyan, instructed the CID and the attorney general's department this morning to begin examination of the alleged mass graves of Tamil civilians in Chemmani in Jaffna on August 30, 31 and September 1.
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Statements recorded from Chemmani victim's relatives

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 22 June 1999, 11:38 GMT]
Officials from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) yesterday recorded statements from the relatives of the Rasaiah Satheeskumar, 29, and Mahenthiran Babu, 23, whose skeletons were exhumed from the Chemmani gravesite last week, said police sources.
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Stadium graves hearing postponed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 June 1999, 06:33 GMT]
The Additional Magistrate of Jaffna Mr. Ekanathan postponed the hearing of the exhumation of Duraiappa stadium grave in the Jaffna town yesterday.
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Relatives identify Chemmani skeletons

[TamilNet, Friday, 18 June 1999, 19:54 GMT]
The skeletal remains exhumed from a gravesite in Chemmani were identified by their relatives as those of two motor mechanics who were reported missing after they were arrested by the Sri Lankan Army on August 19, 1996. They were employed at a garage on the Ariyalai-Chemmani road at that time.
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Skeleton find halts Chemmani exhumation

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 June 1999, 11:44 GMT]
The exhumation of the alleged mass graves at Chemmani in the Jaffna peninsula has been postponed till July 15, to allow forensic experts to submit a report on two skeletons found during today, said sources today.
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Chemmani witness speaks of killings, names officers

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 June 1999, 15:17 GMT]
Investigators digging at Chemmani, a location in the Jaffna peninsula, where mass graves of civilians are alleged to be buried have found what appears to be the remains of human knee, said sources. Meanwhile, Somaratne Rajapakse, a key witness has given details of the killings of people who he says were later buried in the graves.
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New mass grave claims

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 June 1999, 10:54 GMT]
The inquiry into the alleged Chemmani mass graves in Jaffna took a dramatic turn today when a key witness, former Sri Lanka Army soldier Somaratna Rajapkse told the Special Magistrate, M.Illancheliyan that he could identify more places where bodies of civilians were buried, in addition to his earlier disclosures, court sources said.
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News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Monday, 14 June 1999, 11:26 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Deputy Defence Minister Ratwatte visits forward areas of Operation Ranagosa, a time bomb explodes at a Valaichennai checkpoint and Amnesty International's officials to arrive in Jaffna today.
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Survey of Chemmani underway

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 08 June 1999, 01:37 GMT]
A land survey began today of the site at Chemmani in the Jaffna peninsula where the mass graves of hundreds of civilians murdered by Sri Lankan security forces are alleged to be buried said sources.
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Amnesty offers assistance for Chemmani investigation

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 1999, 10:47 GMT]
The human rights pressure group, Amnesty International, has suggested to the Sri Lankan government that two of its experts be present during the exhumation of an alleged mass grave site at Chemmani in the Jaffna peninsula.
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News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Friday, 23 April 1999, 20:58 GMT]
Batticaloa MP appeals to President; President asked to follow United Nations procedure in mass graves Investigation; Refugees stranded on Jaffna lagoon and two reported missing in Jaffna.
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Investigate eastern graves - TULF MP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 April 1999, 18:21 GMT]
Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham, MP for Batticaloa, called on the government today to investigate and excavate mass grave sites in the east where the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has allgedly massacred and buried hundreds of civilians, including children.
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CID interviews relatives of missing persons

[TamilNet, Monday, 19 April 1999, 15:42 GMT]
Fifteen Police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrived in Jaffna today to interview parents and relatives of missing persons suspected to be buried in the alleged mass graves in Chemmani.
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Stadium grave yields 6 more skeletons

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 April 1999, 18:39 GMT]
Investigators excavating the stadium grave in Jaffna found bones belonging to six persons today. Two skulls and many skeletal parts were removed from the soil in the pit during excavation this morning and later in the afternoon.
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More skeletons found in stadium grave

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 April 1999, 15:04 GMT]
Investigators digging the stadium grave discovered two more human skeletons this afternoon 2.5 feet from the grave site where the bones and skulls were found on March 26. The first skeleton that was found this morning with its hands and feet tied appears to be that of a female said the Jaffna Judicial Medical Officer (JMO), S.V.Sri Rajeswaran.
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Intact skeleton recovered

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 April 1999, 10:13 GMT]
A human skeleton with its hands tied in front was found intact by the investigators who began excavating the gravesite near Duraiappa stadium in Jaffna town this morning.
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