"Uncovering Truth, Unearthing Justice: Sri Lanka’s Hidden Mass Graves and the Vanished Voices of Tamil History." By: Wimal Navaratnam, Human Rights Activist Uncovering Sri Lanka’s Hidden Genocide: Historical Context of Disappearances and Mass Graves Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war (1983–2009) left tens of thousands of Tamil civilians dead or forcibly disappeared , making the country one of the world’s worst for unresolved disappearances. Many families long suspected that their loved ones, taken by security forces, had been executed in secret and buried in clandestine mass graves . Those fears proved true when, in 1998, a Sri Lankan soldier on trial for rape and murder testified under oath that “300 to 400” Tamil civilians arrested during the military’s conquest of Jaffna had been executed and buried in Chemmani (a village outside Jaffna). Excavations in 1999 at Chemmani uncovered 15 skeletons , two of which were identified as young Tamil men who disappeared in army custod...

Chemmani Mass Grave and Tamil Genocide: Evidence Manipulation, CID’s Role , and the Quest for Justice Edited by: Wimal Navaratnam, Human Rights Activist, July 26, 2025 Sri Lanka’s Chemmani mass grave case has become a flashpoint in the struggle for truth and accountability after decades of violence against Tamils. The discovery of buried skeletal remains in Chemmani, Jaffna – including children’s bones with toys – underscores the horrific scale of wartime atrocities. Yet investigations into this mass grave have been fraught with concerns of evidence tampering , questions about the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) ’s effectiveness, and the broader impunity that shields perpetrators. This report examines the historical context of alleged genocide against Tamils (1981–2009), the Chemmani case and its investigation, the risks of manipulated evidence , the role of the CID, and what these mean for justice and accountability. It also discusses the significance of mass graves as foren...