In a statement expressing serious concern, titled “Reflections Stirred by the Chemmani Mass Grave” and issued on July 16, the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna condemned the Sri Lankan government’s continued inaction on its repeated promises, likening its approach to one where “talks travel in a palanquin, while the people walk barefoot.
The statement expresses particular disappointment at the remarks made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr. Volker Türk during his recent visit to Sri Lanka. While he attended “Unextinguished Lamp” protest at the Chemmani site and paid tribute to the victims, his official statements failed to call for international involvement in the investigation of mass graves.
The Commission further highlighted that more than 200 individuals involved in over 3,000 days of continuous protest for the disappeared have died without learning the fate of their loved ones.
It cited several grave sites such as Chemmani, Kokkuthoduvai, Mannar Sathosa, and Thiruketheeswaram, where accountability has been absent, and reiterated the lack of justice for war crimes, genocide against Tamils, and enforced disappearances.
In addition, the statement criticizes ongoing issues such as land grabs in the Northern and Eastern provinces, the loss of historically significant Tamil sites in Veddukunari, Kurunthurmalai, and Thayiddi, and the government’s failure to repeal or reform the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
The Commission asserts that these are core Tamil concerns and that the state’s response remains sluggish and inadequate.
Finally, the Justice and Peace Commission emphasizes that these patterns reflect various dimensions of genocide, and asserts that international intervention is essential, at least in some of these matters, if true reconciliation and justice are to be realized in Sri Lanka.
