Some former residents returned to the area following the 2002 ceasefire between the LTTE and the government. Among them was the Martin family – carpenter Moorthy Martin, 27-year-old Mary Madeleine (known as Chitra), formerly a teacher with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Tamil Nadu, and their nine-year-old daughter Lakshika and seven-year-old son Dilakshan – who returned to Vankalai from southern India.[5][6]
Incidentedit
The Martin family lived in the Thomaspuri ward of Vankalai, named after CardinalThomas Cooray.[5][3] According to local residents, security forces visited several houses in the area on the morning of June 8, 2006,[7] including three soldiers who visited the Martins' home.[5][6]
At night, when residents of Thomaspuri and neighbouring Bastipuri – named after Mary Bastian – gathered at Our Lady of St. Anne's Church for safe refuge, as had become customary following shelling of the area by security forces at the start of June,[8] the four members of the Martin family were absent. When relatives and neighbours checked on the house the following morning, they found the family dead.[5][3]
The bodies of the victims had been mutilated and bore signs of torture, carrying wounds inflicted by carpenter's tools and "heavier and sharper weapons like knives or bayonets".[5] All four had been hacked and stabbed, those of Moorthy Martin and the two children had been hanged with ropes, and that of Mary Martin showed signs of having been sexually assaulted.[2][5][7][9]
Reactionsedit
In the wake of the massacre, the pro-rebel news site TamilNet reported that residents of Thomaspuri, and nearby Bastipuri and Sukanthapuri, had begun to flee.[3] Victor Avithappar, the Parish Priest of Vankalai, stated:
"People are panicked and afraid, they don't feel safe. They want peace, to live free from fear."[8]
Funeral of the massacre victims
The Requiem Mass for the family, held on June 10 at St. Anne's Church in Vankalai, gathered around five thousand people and was headed by Joseph Rayappu, the Bishop of Mannar.[5][8][10]
Although there are no known witnesses to the killings, many local residents allege that they were carried out by members of the security forces.[5][8] According to the LTTE, local villagers "speculated that the murder of the family could have been sexually motivated".[11] TamilNet, which published graphic photographs of the four victims that were reprinted by sectors of the Sri Lankan media,[5] explicitly attributed the massacre to soldiers of the Sri Lankan Army.[3]
Sri Lankan government officials denied allegations that the military was involved in the massacre and blamed the LTTE, suggesting that the family was targeted due to its connections with security forces[5][9][12] and in a bid to generate "international sympathy" for the group "by tarnishing the image of the security forces".[13] The government also alleged that Moorthy Martin had previously received several threats from the LTTE.[13] An LTTE spokesperson denied the accusations.[14]
An inquest into the massacre was initiated by local judicial authorities.[5][10]
^ Research, Development and Statistics (2006-10-31). . Home Office. p. 158. Archived from the original (DOC)) on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
External linksedit
"SRI LANKA: Report of the Fact Finding Mission to Pesalai by the CPA and INFORM". Asian Human Rights Commission. 2006-06-28.
April 11, 2024
vankalai, massacre, massacre, family, four, minority, lankan, tamils, hands, lankan, military, personnel, from, village, vankalai, mannar, district, lanka, june, 2006, victims, were, tortured, mother, gang, raped, before, murder, lady, anne, church, vankalailo. The Vankalai massacre was a massacre of a family of four minority Sri Lankan Tamils at the hands of the Sri Lankan military personnel from the village of Vankalai in Mannar District Sri Lanka on June 8 2006 The victims were tortured and the mother was gang raped before her murder 1 2 3 4 Vankalai massacreOur Lady of St Anne s Church in VankalaiLocationVankalai Mannar district Sri LankaDateJune 8 2006 6 GMT TargetSri Lankan Tamil civiliansAttack typeTorture StrangulationWeaponsGunsDeaths4Perpetrators Sri Lankan Army Contents 1 Background 2 Incident 3 Reactions 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBackground editThe village of Vankalai is located about six miles southeast of the town of Mannar in Mannar District The village was the scene of numerous incidents during the Sri Lankan Civil War including the killing of Catholic priest Mary Bastian in 1985 As a result of the violence and insecurity many residents were internally displaced or became overseas refugees 5 Some former residents returned to the area following the 2002 ceasefire between the LTTE and the government Among them was the Martin family carpenter Moorthy Martin 27 year old Mary Madeleine known as Chitra formerly a teacher with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Tamil Nadu and their nine year old daughter Lakshika and seven year old son Dilakshan who returned to Vankalai from southern India 5 6 Incident editThe Martin family lived in the Thomaspuri ward of Vankalai named after Cardinal Thomas Cooray 5 3 According to local residents security forces visited several houses in the area on the morning of June 8 2006 7 including three soldiers who visited the Martins home 5 6 At night when residents of Thomaspuri and neighbouring Bastipuri named after Mary Bastian gathered at Our Lady of St Anne s Church for safe refuge as had become customary following shelling of the area by security forces at the start of June 8 the four members of the Martin family were absent When relatives and neighbours checked on the house the following morning they found the family dead 5 3 The bodies of the victims had been mutilated and bore signs of torture carrying wounds inflicted by carpenter s tools and heavier and sharper weapons like knives or bayonets 5 All four had been hacked and stabbed those of Moorthy Martin and the two children had been hanged with ropes and that of Mary Martin showed signs of having been sexually assaulted 2 5 7 9 Reactions editIn the wake of the massacre the pro rebel news site TamilNet reported that residents of Thomaspuri and nearby Bastipuri and Sukanthapuri had begun to flee 3 Victor Avithappar the Parish Priest of Vankalai stated People are panicked and afraid they don t feel safe They want peace to live free from fear 8 nbsp Funeral of the massacre victimsThe Requiem Mass for the family held on June 10 at St Anne s Church in Vankalai gathered around five thousand people and was headed by Joseph Rayappu the Bishop of Mannar 5 8 10 Although there are no known witnesses to the killings many local residents allege that they were carried out by members of the security forces 5 8 According to the LTTE local villagers speculated that the murder of the family could have been sexually motivated 11 TamilNet which published graphic photographs of the four victims that were reprinted by sectors of the Sri Lankan media 5 explicitly attributed the massacre to soldiers of the Sri Lankan Army 3 Sri Lankan government officials denied allegations that the military was involved in the massacre and blamed the LTTE suggesting that the family was targeted due to its connections with security forces 5 9 12 and in a bid to generate international sympathy for the group by tarnishing the image of the security forces 13 The government also alleged that Moorthy Martin had previously received several threats from the LTTE 13 An LTTE spokesperson denied the accusations 14 An inquest into the massacre was initiated by local judicial authorities 5 10 See also editList of attacks attributed to the Sri Lankan military Allaipiddy massacre Muttur massacre 2006 Trincomalee massacreReferences edit Genocide Against Tamil People Massacres Pogroms Destruction of Property Sexual Violence and Assassinations of Civil Society Leaders PDF People s Tribunal on Sri Lanka PTSL Archived from the original PDF on 18 May 2015 Retrieved 8 May 2015 a b Massacres of Tamils 1956 2008 Chennai NESOHR Manitham Publications 2009 p 15 ISBN 978 81 909737 0 0 a b c d e SLA soldiers massacre family of four in Vankalai Mannar TamilNet 2006 06 09 Retrieved 2007 11 28 Mother gang raped family massacred Lankanewspaper Retrieved 17 July 2011 a b c d e f g h i j k l Jeyaraj D B S 2006 06 14 Another family wiped out in Vankalai The Morning Leader Retrieved 2007 11 28 a b Mannar Women for Human Rights and Democracy 2006 06 18 Sri Lankan Combatants Rape Women to Terrorize The South Asian Retrieved 2007 11 28 a b Details of few Extra Judicial Killings PDF Home for Human Rights Retrieved 2007 11 28 a b c d Vella Danielle 2006 06 13 People terrorized after massacre of Tamil family AsiaNews it Retrieved 2007 11 28 a b Samarakkody Sassanka 2006 06 11 Colombo rejects lame excuses Gulf Times Retrieved 2007 11 28 a b Thousands mourn Vankalai victims TamilNet 2006 06 10 Retrieved 2007 11 28 Family of four hacked to death in Vankalai in Mannar Peace Secretariat of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 2006 06 09 Retrieved 2007 11 28 Jayasiri Sunil 2006 06 10 Mother gang raped family massacred in Mannar Daily Mirror Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Retrieved 2007 12 01 a b The quest for International sympathy The Sole Representative s Tamil blood thirst satisfied at Vankalai Ministry of Defence Public Security Law amp Order 2006 07 11 Retrieved 2007 12 01 Research Development and Statistics 2006 10 31 Country of Origin Information Report Sri Lanka Home Office p 158 Archived from the original DOC on 2009 03 25 Retrieved 2007 11 28 External links edit SRI LANKA Report of the Fact Finding Mission to Pesalai by the CPA and INFORM Asian Human Rights Commission 2006 06 28 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vankalai massacre amp oldid 1194184619, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
