The Kokkuthoduvai mass grave excavation reached its sixth day on September 12th. The excavation team have identified the skeletal remains of seven victims, with five sets of remains having been exhumed thus far.

The fifth day of excavation at the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave, conducted on September 11th, marked another significant step in the ongoing investigation. the excavation team, led by the Mullaitivu Judicial Medical Officer (JMO), yielded the recovery of skeletal remains belonging to three more victims on this day.

On September 11th, the fifth day of excavation at the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave site, Tamil National People's Front MPs Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Selvaraja Gajendran, and Attorney-at-Law Kandeepan visited the site. Following their visit, MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam addressed the media in a press conference, expressing deep concerns regarding the ongoing investigation and the restrictions placed on journalists.

Image courtesy of ibctamil.com

On September 9th, at the monument dedicated to the Sathurukondan massacre in Batticaloa, activists, political leaders, and the general public gathered to mark the 33rd anniversary of the tragic event. The somber remembrance included offerings of flowers and the lighting of oil lamps in memory of the lives lost in the massacre.

UK Ambassador Rita French sharply criticised Sri Lanka’s failure to deliver on promises of accountability and reconciliation whilst also noting ongoing intimidation and harassment of civil society actors and journalists.

Her statement was a joint statement by the Sri Lanka Core Group comprising of Canada, N Macedonia, Malawi, Montenegro, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

On September 11th, as the excavation and exhumation entered its fifth day, the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave site witnessed new restrictions imposed on journalists, sparking concerns about transparency and potential cover-ups surrounding the ongoing investigation.

The third day of excavation at the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave, conducted on September 8th, took a distressing turn when police officers at the site were observed harassing media personnel, Balanathan Sathees and Vijayaratnam Saravanan, in an apparent attempt to intimidate them.

The third day of excavation at the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave was marked by significant developments last Friday. Archaeologist Paramu Pushparatnam from the Department of Archaeology to the excavation team joined the team of archeologists working on the mass grave.

The 27th anniversary of the gang rape and murder of Krishanthi, along with the subsequent murder and cover-up of her mother Rasamma, her younger brother Pranavan, and their neighbour Kirupakaran, was commemorated in Chemmani.

A significant development emerged at the conclusion of the second day of excavation at the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave site. The Mullaitivu Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) revealed the discovery of pieces of metal, currently suspected to be remnants of weapons, alongside skeletal remains during the excavation conducted on September 7th.