The 39th anniversary of the Kokkadichcholai massacre, one of the most brutal mass killings to scar the Eastern Province, was commemorated yesterday, 28 January 2026, in Batticaloa, as families and representatives once again demanded justice for the victims.
The memorial ceremony was held at the monument erected in memory of those killed at the Mahiladithivu junction. During the event, a flame of remembrance was lit, floral tributes were offered, and silent prayers were observed in honour of the Tamils who were massacred. The memorial itself was rebuilt and reopened in May 2019, after the original monument had been destroyed by Sri Lankan troops.
The Kokkadichcholai massacre took place on 27 January 1987, when Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) and army personnel raided a prawn farm in the village, killing scores of Tamil civilians in what has since been widely referred to as the ‘Prawn Farm Massacre’.
According to relatives of the victims, government helicopters were seen circling the area on the night before the killings. On the morning of the massacre, helicopters reportedly dropped troops into the village, after which the security forces opened fire on workers at the prawn farm. Among those killed were seven boys aged between 12 and 14.
Some of the workers were taken to a nearby road and shot dead, while at least forty others who had been hiding in a nearby farm were also killed. Relatives have stated that the bodies of those murdered were subsequently burned using old tyres, in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence of the crime.
The massacre unfolded under the United National Party (UNP) government. Despite the scale and brutality of the killings, no one has ever been held accountable.
Questions over international complicity have also continued to cast a long shadow over the massacre. A book released in 2020 examined the role of the British mercenary company Keenie Meenie Services (KMS), which was involved in training STF personnel at the time and was reportedly flying Sri Lankan military helicopters during security operations in the Eastern Province.
Phil Miller, author of Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away with War Crimes, wrote of the massacre: “It is not known whether Tim Smith (KMS mercenary) was personally involved in the operation, although the company’s aviators were flying over the Eastern Province that month.”
After STF personnel disembarked from the helicopters, they went on to massacre dozens of Tamil civilians. No member of the Sri Lankan security forces, nor any foreign mercenary linked to the operations of that period, has been brought before a court of law for the crime.
Members of Parliament from the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, including G. Srinesan, former Member of Parliament P. Ariyanethran, the Chairperson of the Battippalai Pradeshiya Sabha, and relatives of those killed, were among those who participated in the commemoration.
