CHEMMANI: NEW Developments (August 10–15, 2025)

 

CHEMMANI:

NEW Developments (August 10–15, 2025)

An Update on the Narrative of Somaratna Rajapakse and New Developments

Abstract

Between August 10 and 15, 2025, the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna once again captured national and international attention as new forensic and legal breakthroughs coincided with renewed public demands for truth. Excavations uncovered a total of 147 skeletons, including at least 19 infants and children. Landmark court proceedings, institutional visits from the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) and the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), and interventions by international authorities such as the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) marked this period. Artifacts discovered with the bodies were displayed for public identification, drawing over 200 relatives, but yielded no identifications. Somaratna Rajapakse’s willingness to testify before an international tribunal re-emerged as a pivotal point in the renewed pursuit of accountability. Vigorous debates in the Sri Lankan Parliament, high-profile international appeals, and robust media and social discourse underscored the complex interplay of law, memory, and politics around Chemmani. ^{1, 3}

Methodology

A triangulated research methodology was adopted for this report. Data were sourced from:

·        On-site field reports from judicial forensic teams and leading Sri Lankan and Tamil media outlets.

·        Official statements and proceedings released by the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court.

·        Forensic and legal documentation, including excavation schedules, artefact registries, and public identification protocols.

·        Statements and reports by the OMP, HRCSL, ICJ, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

·        Family and eyewitness testimonies collected by journalists and civil society organizations.

·        Parliamentary records, political statements, and legal case filings from August 10-15, 2025.

·        Social media monitoring and sentiment analysis conducted by local think tanks and human rights advocacy groups.

·        All data were cross-referenced, where possible, with international best practices (Minnesota/Bournemouth Protocols), verified for authenticity, and contextualized against the Sri Lankan legal and cultural setting. ^4,2,5

Disclaimer

This report addresses mass graves, enforced disappearances, and alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. The subject matter is sensitive and potentially distressing. The following content is derived from credible public records, court documents, field reports, and recognized international and local news organizations as of August 15, 2025. The report is intended for scholarly, human rights, and journalistic purposes only and does not present a legal verdict or forensic certification. Interpretations and conclusions drawn are provisional and subject to further investigation and independent verification. Reader discretion is advised.^1,2

Editor’s Note

Chemmani remains a site of historical trauma and ongoing legal, social, and political contestation in Sri Lanka. The figure of Somaratna Rajapakse stands at the heart of conflicting narratives: at once an accused perpetrator, whistleblower, and a key witness whose testimony catalyzed the long, tumultuous quest for truth and justice. This update chronicles developments from August 10-15, 2025, with particular attention to Rajapakse’s ongoing narrative, the re-excavation, forensic and legal stages, and the evolving responses of state, society, and the international community. Our intent is to offer an updated, nuanced account that integrates the facts, controversies, and persistent gaps that shape both the Chemmani case and Sri Lanka’s broader transitional justice challenges. ²

Introduction

The Chemmani mass graves in Sri Lanka, first uncovered in the aftermath of the civil war due to the explosive testimony of Lance Corporal Somaratna Rajapakse in 1998, have once again become the epicentre of national, political, and international scrutiny. The week of August 10-15, 2025, witnessed a surge in activity around the site-including crucial courtroom proceedings, the temporary pause of high-intensity excavations, and renewed demands from human rights bodies and Tamil political advocates for international oversight. With fresh skeletal discoveries raising the total count to 147, the Chemmani case now stands at a critical juncture between unearthing legal, forensic, and historical truth and confronting entrenched cultures of denial and impunity.

This updated report synthesizes the multitude of recent developments relating to Chemmani: the latest findings from the excavation site and Jaffna Magistrate’s Court, new dimensions in Rajapakse's surviving testimony, government and opposition statements, forensic and legal analysis outputs, evolving Tamil political discourse, human rights and Office on Missing Persons (OMP) engagement, and the chorus of international responses. Drawing on primary reporting, expert commentary, and official statements, the report offers both granular coverage of the week’s events and a broader analysis of how Chemmani’s legacy continues to shape Sri Lanka’s postwar memory, justice debate, and possibilities for national reconciliation.

Table: Key Events and Developments (August 10-15, 2025)

Date	Event/Development	Location/Actor(s)	Details & Outcomes
August 10	Temporary halt of Chemmani excavation	Chemmani excavation team, Jaffna	147 skeletons uncovered by August 6, work paused until August 22, due to the forensic team's exhaustion
August 11	Public & media reflection on Chemmani narratives	National & Intl. Press	Feature coverage of victims’ families, ground reports, and retrospectives on Rajapakse’s testimony
August 12	Advocacy escalations by Tamil parties and families	ITAK, victim families, OMP	Renewed calls for case consolidation, release of forensic reports, and international oversight
August 13	UN & ICJ issue statements for international monitoring	UNHRC, ICJ	ICJ renews demands for compliance with the Minnesota Protocol, and OHCHR notes the need for a transparent process
August 14	Jaffna Magistrate’s Court hearing on Chemmani excavations	Judiciary, OMP, HRCSL	Soil analysis, GPR, and forensic reports tabled; families attend; no identifications logged
August 15	Government responds to international pressure	Justice Ministry	Cabinet spokesperson defends process integrity, hints at further resource allocations

Each of these events is situated within a volatile and emotionally charged climate, reflecting both the challenge and necessity of institutional accountability for wartime abuses, as catalyzed by decades of advocacy and the persistent narrative of Somaratna Rajapakse.

Excavation Developments at Chemmani (Aug 10-15, 2025)

The most visible focal point for the week was the pause in Chemmani excavation activities, reached on August 6, shortly after the discovery of 147 skeletons over a 41-day dual-phase exhumation operation¹. The hiatus, originally scheduled through August 22, was declared due to acute physical and psychological fatigue among forensic and archaeology teams, particularly as several skeletal remains-including those of infants-required painstaking hand excavation and careful documentation. Of the 147 bodies, 140 were recorded as fully exhumed, with infant remains controversially reported as among the most fragile and symbolically searing findings².

The excavation site at the Siththupaththi Hindu Cemetery, itself the subject of judicial orders and multi-agency oversight, saw parallel investigations involving ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to identify possible further burial clusters. Equipment, operated by the Faculty of Technology of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, completed about 20% of the scanning in early August, with the remaining work to extend into late August and September ³.

The process conformed to protocols designed to ensure transparency and minimize contamination-security was maintained under the supervision of the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court, with the presence of judicial medical officers, regional coordinators of the Human Rights Commission (HRCSL), OMP lawyers, police, archeology personnel, and local students ³. Six CCTV cameras, police patrols, and lighting infrastructure remained at the site, a notable advance on earlier, more ad hoc exhumations³.

Forensic and Soil Analysis Reports

Coinciding with the site pause, a trio of critical forensic outputs were being finalized for presentation at the scheduled August 14 Jaffna court date: a comprehensive site report, the results of the GPR survey, and a long-awaited soil analysis. Artifacts and clothing fragments, previously displayed before over 200 attendees in a controlled courtroom-ordered event on August 5, were included for further evidentiary review, though no items were conclusively matched with missing persons ¹.

Early soil reports, while not yet publicly disclosed in full, were anticipated as pivotal in establishing dating, potential phases of burial (suggesting episodes rather than single deposits), and the forensic context for trauma analysis on the remains. Legal teams for victims’ families, referencing similar cases at Mannar and Matale, highlighted the risk of delayed or diluted findings if domestic analysis was not subjected to international audit and peer review ⁴.

Jaffna Magistrate’s Court Proceedings (August 14, 2025)

On August 14, the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court convened to hear interim findings from the Chemmani investigation. Reports submitted included the GPR scan data, interim soil and forensic findings, and site diaries. The court, packed with legal and forensic experts, HRCSL and OMP officials, and relatives, did not yield immediate positive identifications of victims, though the presentation of personal artifacts once again underscored the emotional stakes ¹. Victims’ counsel, led by prominent Tamil human rights advocates, reiterated calls for the consolidation of pre-2000 and 2025 criminal cases into a single transaction, to avoid case fragmentation and potential escape of senior perpetrators from accountability ⁵.

The soil and trauma analysis, reportedly, pointed to evidence of violence, hurried burial, and spatial differentiation between legal cremation/burial plots (eastern sector) and concealed mass graves (western sector of the cemetery). The court ordered continued safekeeping of all exhumed remains at the University of Jaffna’s forensic unit pending further DNA assays and international advisory review³.

Comparative Analysis with Previous Excavations

Observers and comparative forensic experts noted that the scale and transparency of the current Chemmani process mark a significant evolution from the politically truncated exhumations of 1999, in which only 15 skeletons were recovered, with two linked to named disappearance victims. The current operation, by excavating over four layers in an extensive but methodically gridded pit (approx. 20 meters by 2 to 3 feet deep), has allowed the recovery of tightly-packed clusters of bodies, some buried with personal effects, many interred in child-adult combinations, and others stacked in visible phases-suggestive of serial mass killings during the late-1990s army occupation of Jaffna as originally alleged by Rajapakse³.

Forensic methods have improved, but major challenges persist, including identification due to the lack of a comprehensive national DNA database, resource constraints for advanced forensic anthropology, and limitations in the chain of custody-spurring calls from human rights advocates for external monitoring and technical assistance.

The Somaratna Rajapakse Narrative and Testimony Updates

Somaratna Rajapakse remains, arguably, the most controversially pivotal figure in the Chemmani saga-both perpetrator and whistleblower, central to the 1996 Krishanthi Kumaraswamy rape/murder trial and, through his confession, the initial vector for the mass grave investigation⁶.

Updated Testimony: Willingness to Testify Internationally

Recent developments, as reflected in letters addressed by Rajapakse's wife, S.C. Wijewikrama, to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and other officials, emphasize his renewed and explicit willingness to testify before an international inquiry, on the condition of protection for himself and his family, and legal guarantees against retaliatory prosecution⁷⁸. Rajapakse now reiterates, both through direct statements and via his wife, that:

·        His role was limited to the burial of bodies at Chemmani, under explicit orders from superiors, particularly then-Captain Lalith Hewage.

·        He claims innocence in the original Krishanthi murder, insisting that the crime was orchestrated at higher command levels, and that his conviction was politically expedient for presenting a façade of military accountability to the international community.

·        He is willing to provide detailed identification of other mass grave sites and name senior military officers, provided the investigation is independently and internationally supervised ⁹.

This narrative, now nearly three decades old but repeatedly repeated, is once more under contestation. Proponents point to the corroborative bulk of new exhumed remains (now far exceeding the 15 skeletons of the original probe) as confirmation of his core allegation. Detractors suggest that the numerical inflation and post-conviction "whistleblower" stance arise from desperation and self-exoneration amid shifting political tides.

Impact of Rajapakse’s Narrative on Social and Legal Discourse

The return of Chemmani to national and international focus in 2025 has revived the debate around state complicity, command responsibility, and selective justice postulated by Rajapakse. The pattern-lower ranking soldiers are prosecuted, while senior commanders are shielded-remains the most stinging criticism voiced by his defenders and many Tamil rights groups⁶. Meanwhile, the judicial machinery’s failure to merge legal proceedings concerning the 1999 and 2025 exhumations further feeds perceptions of willful state stalling.

For Tamil communities, especially those in Jaffna and the Tamil diaspora, Rajapakse represents both a tainted source (“perpetrator as witness”) and a tragic truth teller-embodying the intractable dilemmas of whistleblowing, legal strategy, and politics in postwar Sri Lanka ⁶.

Government Officials’ Public Statements

The week of August 10-15 saw intensified messaging from Sri Lankan officials. On August 11, Justice Ministry and Cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa, fielding questions from the media, reaffirmed the government's commitment to "advancing the Chemmani excavation process with full guarantees of transparency and technical rigour". Drawing on the presence and monitoring of HRCSL and OMP, as well as the use of GPR and judicial supervision, Jayatissa sought to assuage international skepticism and underscored that “the government has nothing to hide and is ready to allocate further resources as required”¹.

Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake went further, describing the administration as a "government of peace” and pointedly noting that, during the June 2025 visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, Sri Lanka had pledged to seek further scientific expertise and avoid any attempt to shield perpetrators. Nonetheless, behind these assurances, critical gaps remain: no explicit government commitment was offered for international forensic oversight, nor was the consolidation of historical and current Chemmani criminal investigations confirmed.

Response to International Pressure

Amid mounting calls from the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), UN actors, and Tamil political parties for external monitoring and best-practice compliance (Minnesota Protocol, Bournemouth Protocol), Cabinet statements appeared calibrated to affirm domestic process integrity while stopping short of embracing binding external roles. The government instead highlighted the role of the 2016 OMP Act, exhumation authority under the Code of Criminal Procedure, and newly beefed-up site security.

Tamil Political Parties’ Positions

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) and leading Tamil politicians continued their sustained campaign for legal, forensic, and political transformation of the Chemmani investigation. In a widely publicized letter addressed to the President in early July but amplified through August 2025, ITAK called for:

·        Consolidation of the 1999 and 2025 exhumations into a single judicial and forensic transaction

·        Public release of all interim and final forensic analysis and DNA findings

·        Engagement of independent, internationally respected forensic experts

·        Immediate prosecution of identified perpetrators, with a focus on command responsibility

·        Repatriation of the 1999 remains from Glasgow for reinvestigation ⁵

ITAK’s position, echoed in Parliament by MPs such as Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam and Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, emphasized that, absent such action, government claims to transitional justice would remain “hollow gestures, masking continued state impunity and ethnically selective denial of redress”⁵.

Other actors, including the Tamil National Alliance and Association of Relatives of Enforced Disappearances, joined in pressing for international oversight and protection of families participating in identification processes, citing ongoing intimidation by security forces even during public hearings ¹⁰.

Human Rights Commission and OMP Responses

Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL)

Throughout the week and in direct connection to the Jaffna Magistrate’s August 14 hearing, the HRCSL has maintained an active oversight and public communication role. Three senior commissioners (Prof. Thaiyamuthu Thanaraj, Prof. Fathima Farzana Haniffa, and Dr. Gehan Dinuk Gunatilleke) visited the Chemmani site and engaged with forensic and legal teams to assess compliance with procedural standards, evidence protection, and victim-family access. Their joint comments affirm the importance of multidisciplinary, victim-centred approaches and highlight the need for legal reforms to bind state authorities to HRCSL recommendations.

Office on Missing Persons (OMP)

The OMP, led by Commissioner Mirak Raheem, issued public statements prioritizing the prompt and scientific identification of remains and calling for enhanced resource allocation, adoption of international protocols, and direct engagement with affected families. The OMP specifically cautioned that, without a dedicated national DNA database and international forensic collaboration, the risk of misidentification or continued disappearance looms large¹¹.

International Jurists and ICJ Responses

On August 13, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) renewed its call for robust international engagement, issuing a 7-point proposal and statement that “the Chemmani exhumations must not be a mere forensic exercise, but an example of full compliance on the part of the authorities with Sri Lanka’s legal obligations under international law...”¹² The ICJ further called for:

·        Implementation of the Minnesota Protocol (UN standards on the investigation of extrajudicial executions)

·        Deployment of independent international forensic experts and rights monitors-including those from OHCHR and the International Committee of the Red Cross

·        Rigorous protection and documentation of all evidence, with transparent updates to families and the public

·        Immediate consolidation and public release of all Chemmani-related forensic and legal findings

·        Establishment of an independent Special Office for serious crime prosecution

The ICJ’s position remains that, given the long-standing “failure of domestic institutions to deliver justice,” only sustained external oversight can provide accountability and victim confidence.

UN Bodies and International Agencies’ Reactions

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), responding to the latest Chemmani findings and in advance of its 60th session (September-October 2025), has placed Sri Lanka’s human rights legacy-including Chemmani, at the heart of its proposed accountability and monitoring extension resolution ¹³. High Commissioner Volker Türk, following his June site visit, called for “a credible, transparent, rights-compliant, and victim-centred investigation... capable of leading to truth and accountability,” urging both public access to forensic outcomes and prosecution pathways targeting not only direct perpetrators but those “higher up the chain of command”¹⁰.

Canada and the UK, as current core group leaders for the 2025 UNHRC Sri Lanka resolution, have privately pressed Colombo to demonstrate progress at Chemmani as a litmus test of willingness to move beyond rhetoric to effective action. The US, however, remains outside the HRC, and diplomatic maneuvering around the wording and scope of ongoing international engagement reflects both external fatigue and persistent skepticism regarding domestic mechanisms¹²¹⁴.

Media Coverage and Investigative Reporting

During this week, media coverage-both national and international-intensified, with thematic focus areas including:

·        On-the-ground reporting from the Chemmani site, chronicling the slow uncovering of history and the faces of grief, as families queued for hours to view fragments of clothing and personal effects that might yield closure³.

·        Features and retrospectives linking Chemmani to the broader arc of Sri Lanka’s history: enforced disappearances, mass graves, and state responses (or failures thereof)¹¹.

·        Analysis of the evolving role of Rajapakse’s whistleblowing, legal challenges, and implications for ongoing prosecutions⁷.

·        International coverage centring on the ethnic and political dimensions of the excavation, including ongoing questions about the integrity and independence of the process, and the rapidity with which official narratives are contested by victims’ groups and diaspora advocates³⁵.

Social Media and Public Discourse

Narratives on Sinhala- and Tamil-language social media diverged sharply:

·        Tamil social media foregrounded justice, loss, and a history of state impunity, amplifying demands for international supervision and accountability¹⁵.

·        Sinhala social media generally redirected discourse toward a focus on crimes by the LTTE or questioned the motives and integrity of whistleblowers and legal advocates tied to mass grave investigations.

Memorialization imagery, survivor retellings, and calls for new forms of commemoration proliferated, testifying to the ongoing importance of Chemmani in Sri Lanka’s collective memory and the contest over the politics of history.

Academic and Expert Commentary

A swath of academic and expert commentary during the week contributed to public understanding and forensic contextualization:

·        Legal and anthropological scholars stressed the necessity of integrating the Chemmani investigation with legal reforms addressing the structural weaknesses in Sri Lanka’s dualist legal system, the failure of prior commissions, and the procedural deficit in enforced disappearance prosecutions.

·        Forensic archaeology specialists compared Chemmani’s process favorably, in terms of methodical exhumation and evidence preservation, to earlier failed grave investigations (e.g., Mannar, Matale), but warned that the absence of credible international technical review could undermine final outcomes¹⁶¹⁷.

·        Comparative analysis with the experience of mass graves in Argentina, Guatemala, and Bosnia provided insight into the critical role of inclusive memorialization and interdisciplinary forensic collaboration in achieving both closure and deterrence of future abuses¹⁸.

Memorialization and Commemoration Efforts

Commemoration took symbolic and procedural forms: public identification events, ongoing rituals by families at the Chemmani site, calls for unified memorials incorporating names (where known), and advocacy for the creation of a formal memorial park. Tamil civil society, with diaspora support, organized vigils and remembrance campaigns synchronizing with international campaigns on enforced disappearances (International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance, August 30), arguing that only acknowledgment and truth can yield national healing¹⁸.

Key Takeaways and Forward-Looking Analysis

1. The Chemmani mass grave site is now, more than ever, a test of the government’s willingness and ability to confront past atrocities with truth and justice.

The intensity and professionalism of the 2025 excavation contrast with older, more ad hoc approaches, but the recurring pattern of temporary halts, case fragmentation, and official equivocation risk repeating past failures.

2. Somaratna Rajapakse’s narrative remains at the heart of public and legal debates.

His oscillating role-perpetrator, whistleblower, and victim-mirrors the larger ambiguity and contradiction of Sri Lanka’s transitional justice process. The fact that his testimony once again aligns with physical evidence intensifies pressures for command responsibility indictments-yet the judiciary and state remain cautious and non-committal.

3. Victims’ families and Tamil political leaders have leveraged new findings to push for international oversight, full case consolidation, and public transparency.

Legal advocacy is increasingly coordinated and supported by diaspora resources, with families refusing to let Chemmani fade into historical silence.

4. Human rights and international legal bodies are unified in their call for compliance with global standards (Minnesota and Bournemouth Protocols), external forensic scrutiny, and the immediate release of all reports.

The prospect of continued UNHRC monitoring hinges directly on outcomes at Chemmani.

5. Domestic media coverage has evolved to provide more nuanced, ground-up perspectives, though public discourse remains polarized along ethnic and political lines.

International attention, especially from investigative outlets in Europe and North America, has re-focused on Chemmani as emblematic of Sri Lanka’s unresolved wartime legacies¹²¹³.

6. While symbolic rituals and commemorations have multiplied, the challenge remains for both state actors and civil society to construct a memorialization process that centers victims, allows plural narratives, and avoids both politicization and erasure.

Conclusion

In light of the 2025 UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka, it is clear that the international community stands at a crossroads. While the resolution gestures toward accountability, its reliance on domestic mechanisms and diplomatic language risks diluting the urgency of justice for victims of grave human rights violations.

This report has highlighted not only the limitations of the current resolution but also the availability of alternate mechanisms—legal, diplomatic, and grassroots—that can be mobilized to counter the Sri Lankan government’s narrative and ensure that truth and justice are not sacrificed for political expediency.

The Chemmani mass graves, among other unresolved atrocities, are emblematic of a deeper failure to confront impunity. Survivors and advocates have waited too long for meaningful action. The time has come for the UNHRC and its member states to move beyond symbolic gestures and toward concrete, enforceable measures that reflect the gravity of the crimes committed.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Let this resolution not be another missed opportunity, but a catalyst for renewed international resolve.

The bones in Chemmani’s earth, in the end, are a challenge: can Sri Lanka, at last, permit truth to rise from its contested soil?

Citation and Referencing Guidelines

All statements, facts, and quotations included in this report are referenced using digital links to primary and secondary sources. By international citation protocols, the preferred style is in-text digital citation, referencing news outlets, court records, legal documents, and institutional statements as appropriate. When necessary, secondary sources are identified using an “as cited in” notation. Major citation practices are modelled on current APA guidelines, with attention to jurisdictional legal referencing for Sri Lankan and international legal instruments. ¹⁵¹⁶

References

The following report is supported by a selection of the most relevant references, directly cited in the text above and by system guidelines:

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