• Argues that public trust in local authorities has diminished

 In the midst of around 100 skeletal remains being discovered at the Chemmani mass grave, the Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani (TMTK) urged the Government to seek an international oversight mechanism, claiming that public trust in domestic authorities investigating the matter has collapsed.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (3), TMTK Leader and former Parliamentarian, Justice C.V. Vigneswaran, said that almost all the governments since the alleged "massacre" have failed to deliver justice to the victims of the incident. Therefore, he said, public trust in Sri Lankan authorities affiliated with the government has been eroded over the years.

He also alleged that certain institutions and authorities would hinder justice in this case. "This happened during the Chandrika Kumaratunga Government. Every government that came into power since then has done nothing about it. Not only Chemmani, but also many other places like Sathurukondan, where hundreds of people were killed. So far, nobody has been talking about it. We have been very indifferent to what people have said. We have been very casual about the various complaints made by people. If the Executive President were a moral person with high principles, immediate steps would have been taken," Vigneswaran charged.

He noted that international oversight would handle such matters more impartially and realistically than domestic authorities, which tend to focus on biased factors such as race or religion. "If there is no international forum, committee, or commission looking into it, at least we should have international participants in the inquiry committee. If we cannot get people in Sri Lanka to think in a non-partisan way, how are we going to have a proper inquiry?" he questioned.

Last week, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) also called for an international oversight mechanism, stating that a victim-centred excavation process is necessary as an initial step towards truth and accountability. It urged the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure that all exhumation and investigative processes are carried out in full compliance with international human rights law and standards such as the Revised United Nations Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions (the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death).

Attempts to contact the Ministry of Justice and the Criminal Investigation Department were unsuccessful.