21st anniversary of Chaththurukko'ndaan massacre remembered

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 September 2011, 16:29 GMT]
Local residents of Chaththurukko'ndaan village in the Batticaloa district held the 21st anniversary remembrance of the 184 Tamil civilians massacred by soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army at the village on 9th September 1990, civil sources said. 184 Tamil civilians including infants, children, women and men were pulled out of their homes and were bludgeoned to death or extra-judicially executed by SLA soldiers from the Chaththurukko'ndaan 'Boys Town' army camp. Five of the dead were infants under year one, 42 children under years 10, 09 pregnant mothers and 28 adults over 68 years of age. 38 were from Chaththurukko'ndaan village, 37 from Panichchaiyadi, 62 from Pi'l'laiyaaradi and 47 from Kokkuvil.

Commanding Officers and soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army involved in the Chaththurukko'ndaan massacre were given promotion and transferred elsewhere amid the findings of the Presidential Commission by the then government that they were responsible of the crime.

SLA soldiers surrounded all four villages Chaththurukko'ndaan, Panichchaiyadi, Pi'l'laiyaaradi and Kokkuvil and took them to the Saththuruko'ndaan army camp. SL Army soldiers later killed them by shooting, cutting and burning alive inside the Chaththurukko'ndaan army camp.

The victims were massacred the same day night around 8 by the SLA soldiers, according to evidence by surviving witnesses before the Presidential Commission appointed to hold inquiry into the massacre.

The three -member Presidential Commission appointed by the then government with retired Chief Judge of the Court of Appeal Mr.K.Balakidnar as the head that the army had committed the massacre. However the Officer of the army camp at that time Capitan Varnakulasooriya and other soldiers in the massacre incident were not punished but were given promotion and transferred to other camps

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