The mass graves at Chemmani are a painful reminder of the atrocities committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka. We cannot turn away from the truth. Justice for the disappeared demands an independent international investigation and accountability.
— Congressman Don Davis (@RepDonDavis) June 27, 2025
United States Congressman Don Davis has called for an “independent international investigation and accountability” into the mass graves discovered in Chemmani, Jaffna, stressing that the ongoing uncovering of Tamil bodies is a “painful reminder of the atrocities committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka.”
“The mass graves at Chemmani are a painful reminder of the atrocities committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka,” Davis stated in a tweet earlier this week. “We cannot turn away from the truth. Justice for the disappeared demands an independent international investigation and accountability.”
His comments come as forensic excavations continue at the Chemmani site in the northern city of Jaffna, where at least 33 sets of human skeletal remains have been uncovered, including those of children. The mass grave was first brought to light in 1998 after Sri Lankan soldier Somaratne Rajapakse testified that hundreds of Tamils were buried in the area after being murdered by state forces. Despite the significance of that testimony, successive Sri Lankan governments have failed to fully investigate the site or hold those responsible to account.
The remains currently being uncovered include that of a child buried with a blue schoolbag and pieces of clothing. The discovery has reignited international concern over Sri Lanka’s long-standing record of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Tamils.
Davis joins a growing number of international voices, including human rights organisations, diaspora groups and Tamil political leaders, who have long demanded international oversight into Sri Lanka’s mass grave sites and post-war accountability.
During his visit to Chemmani last week, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stood at the excavation site and met with grieving families of the disappeared. He acknowledged the grave’s symbolic weight and reiterated the importance of “robust investigations by independent experts with forensic expertise.” However, Tamil victims and civil society groups have criticised the High Commissioner’s language as soft, and many continue to call for more forceful international action.
