1991 Kokkadichcholai massacre

Kokkadichcholai massacre
The memorial erected by the local regional council to remember the victims of the multiple massacres. Names of the victims are etched in the memorial (circa 2006)
1991 Kokkadichcholai massacre is located in Sri Lanka
1991 Kokkadichcholai massacre
LocationKokkadichcholai, Sri Lanka
Coordinates07°37′26″N 81°43′01″E / 7.62389°N 81.71694°E / 7.62389; 81.71694
DateJune 12, 1991
TargetSri Lankan Tamil village residents
Attack type
Armed massacre
WeaponsAutomatic rifles, knives, axes
Deaths152
PerpetratorsSri Lankan Army

On June 12, 1991, 152 minority Sri Lankan Tamil civilians were massacred by members of the Sri Lankan military in the village Kokkadichcholai near the eastern province town of Batticaloa.[1][2] The Sri Lankan government instituted a presidential commission to investigate the massacre. The commission found the commanding officer negligent in controlling his troops and recommended that he be removed from office, and identified nineteen other members of the Sri Lankan military to be responsible for mass murder. In a military tribunal that followed in the presidential commission in the capital city of Colombo, all nineteen soldiers were acquitted.[3][4][5][6]

  1. ^ McConnell, D. (2008). "The Tamil people's right to self-determination". Cambridge Review of International Affairs. 21 (1): 59–76. doi:10.1080/09557570701828592. S2CID 154770852.
  2. ^ "SRI LANKA:When will justice be done?". Amnesty International. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  3. ^ Amnesty International (1994). Disappearances and political crisis: Human Rights crisis of 1990s, A manual for action. Amnesty International. pp. 16–22. ISBN 978-90-6463-095-8.
  4. ^ "2002 HRW report- Sri Lanka". HRW. Archived from the original on 14 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  5. ^ Hoole, Rajan (2002-05-14). "Kokkadichcholai massacre and after". University Teachers for Human Rights. Archived from the original on 2015-07-14. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  6. ^ Pinto - Jayawardena, Kishali (1998-07-18). "Recognizing some valuable lessons:The Krishanthi case in retrospect". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 2010-10-20. Retrieved 2007-07-18.