Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Valvai massacre by Indian troops remembered thirty years on

The massacre of 63 Tamils in cold-blood by Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) in Valvai on August 2, 1989 was remembered on Friday, 30 years on.

IPKF officers, led by Brigadier Sankar Prasath, entered homes in the Valvettithurai region after imposing a curfew and shot and stabbed residents to death.

Some young men were dragged to the local junction where they were shot and killed. 

The soldiers also set fire to and destroyed 123 homes, and looted and burnt 45 businesses.

File photo: grid of selected victims' photographs from 2018 remembrance

No one has been held accountable for the deaths of the men, women and children to this day. 

A memorial built in their memory near Theeruvil crematorium was demolished by Sri Lankan army soldiers in 2010. 

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.