Author: TELO Admin

 
In the continuing saga of mass graves in Sri Lanka, two skeletons have been found on day three of the second phase of excavations in the mass grave within the country’s main commercial port premises.

Further digging has been put on hold, while budget estimates for future work have been submitted to authorities.

Two mass graves were found within the last two years in Sri Lanka. One was huge where over fifty skeletons and clothing were found, a final report of which has been submitted to the Mullaitivu court. The exhumation in the other is in progress.

Forensic Archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva says the inquiry into the skeletons found in the mass grave inside the Colombo Port cannot be paused for a long time. Once the budget estimates are approved and the money is made available, he says the excavation is likely to begin on 17 October or even earlier than that.

“It could take at least another month to fully excavate the mass grave. The budget estimate for the same has already been submitted to the Port police”.

When the exhumation was put on hold on the 13th of September after the first phase of excavation, at least two skeletons were found. The second phase of excavation commenced on the 26th of September and ended two days later. Journalists present during this phase say they understand more skeletons to be there.

Prof. Raj Somadeva, who led the exhumation in the Kokkuthoduvai mass grave in the war-affected Vanni region submitted his final report on 26 September to the Mullaitivu Magistrate Court.

The mass grave in Kokkuthoduvai was discovered accidentally when the water supplies department was laying pipelines along the Kokkuthoduvai -Kokkilai road on June 29, 2023. Body parts with pieces of clothing were found on that day. Subsequently laying of the pipes was halted and the excavation process began.
The excavation process was conducted in three phases which was closed on July 15 this year (2024) as per the court order.

Senior Tamil Attorney Vallipuram Sandirapragasam Niranchan who was representing the families of the victims of the Enforced Disappearances told local journalists the final report presented to the court confirmed the bodies belonged to the erstwhile LTTE cadres who were shot dead during the 1990’s and buried unceremoniously without following the proper ritual and cultural procedures.

Exhumation activity at the site of the mass grave inside Colombo Port began in July this year.

The first phase of exhumation at the Colombo Port mass grave was temporarily stopped on the 13th of September after 8 days of operation, during which at least two skeletons were exhumed, while four skulls were found inside the grave.

A local journalist at the site during the second excavation phase on 27th September 2024 observed that one skull was recovered during the day.

The body parts found and exhumed from the mass grave during the first phase of excavation at the Colombo Port are kept in safe custody at the office of the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer.

Excavation at the Colombo Port is done under the supervision of the Consultant Judicial Medical Officer Sunil Hewage and Forensic Archeologist Raj Somadeva.

Body parts were found inside the Colombo Port when earth was cleared for the express highway leading towards the port. Those human remains were found in the complex that housed the old secretariat.

Upon being informed to the court, the excavation at the spot commenced on 05 September this year (2024) in the presence of Magistrate Bandara Ilangasinghe.

The United Nations Human Rights Council should adopt a resolution on Sri Lanka to enable continued UN monitoring, reporting, and evidence collection of rights violations for future prosecutions, Human Rights Watch said today.

HRW said that Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected on September 21, 2024, should reverse the policies of his predecessors by cooperating with the UN’s investigation mechanism, ending the use of repressive laws to stifle dissent, and preventing security forces from targeting activists, survivors of abuses, and victims’ families with threats and reprisals.

HRW said that numerous domestic and international investigation commissions, as well as United Nations human rights experts, have made recommendations for reform, which successive Sri Lankan administrations have disregarded.

Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his party members should now investigate long alleged stolen money in Uganda by former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa’s family, Rajapaksa-led former ruling party members said.

Dissanayake and his party have long accused the Rajapaksa family of taking wealth out of Sri Lanka they were supposed to have earned from commissions and other deals through illegal and inappropriate means when in public office.

“President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) and his team have been alleging for years that we have stashed away billions of dollars in Uganda and various countries. It is now time for President AKD to prove his allegations,” Rajapaksa’s eldest son Namal Rajapaksa said on his personal X (twitter) platform.

Rajapaksa junior contested through the previous ruling coalition of nationalist Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and lost the September 21 presidential poll to Dissanayake, who became the first leftist leader of Sri Lanka with less than 50 percent majority after a second vote count.

Dissanayake and his Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) during the election campaign have promised to bring back stolen assets and take legal action against Rajapaksa and his family members for corrupt deals and wealth accumulation using his public office.

“When they were in the opposition, they leveled various accusations against politicians and past governments. It was their duty then as an opposition. But now the situation is different,” Sagara Kariyawasam, the General Secretary of Rajapaksa-led SLPP told reporters at a media briefing.

“MEDIA SHOW”

“First of all, the JVP should understand this. Though they staged media shows and accused others, now their party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the president. Now all the law implementing agencies are operating under him,” the former SLPP legislator said.

“In the past they had accused Rajapaksa of looting the money. They had said $18 billion money was stolen and taken to Uganda. So now they have to investigate these allegations and find evidence for these allegations.”

Kariyawasam said the SLPP is wary of the Dissanayake-led government’s stance on taking action against past allegations made by them and trying to evade from their responsibilities of proper investigation.

President Dissanayake in an interview with a local television station before the election said that he had been carrying heaps of files in his vehicle which contain all the corruption details of mostly politicians and would be probing them once he comes to power.

“But they did not want to put them (files) in public citing that they could not trust the public officials and they will do that when they have the state powers. Rather than saying this repeatedly, they should act immediately,” Kariyawasam said.

“If you are trying to do the same media show again and again to win the upcoming parliament election, it is an injustice for the voters who cast their votes for you and the citizens of this country who did not vote for you all,” he said.

When Maithripala Sirisena won the presidential poll in 2015, he promised to arrest and take legal action against Rajapaksas with evidence. However, his government failed to prove anything despite the arrests of at least three Rajapaksas including Namal.

Lack of action against corruption led the Sirisena government to become unpopular soon and helped SLPP to record a landslide win in the 2018 local government poll.

Later, most of the corruption cases were either dropped or withdrawn by the Attorney General’s Department and some of the accused Rajapaksas were acquitted under former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of Rajapaksa and the war-time defence secretary.

India has Sri Lanka’s ear on security matters, observers say – citing Colombo’s appreciation for its neighbour’s help during its recent economic crisis – even as the South Asian island nation’s new president strives to balance ties with New Delhi and Beijing.

Sri Lanka elected Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake as president on last month, marking a decisive shift away from the old political elite that many blamed for the country’s economic collapse.
Dissanayake triumphed over opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had assumed power two years ago after the economy hit rock bottom.

The election came as Sri Lanka strives to recover from a severe crisis marked by shortages of essential goods, including food, medicine, and fuel, sparking widespread protests in 2022 that ultimately forced former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign and flee the country.

Sri Lankan leaders – including Dissanayake – must adeptly balance relations between India, China, and other major powers such as the United States and Japan, said Neil Devotta, professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University in the US.

Although his political background rooted in Marxist ideology, Dissanayake has evolved into a “practical nationalist”, focused on foreign policies that prioritise Sri Lanka’s interests, Devotta said.

With an eye on revitalising the economy and easing austerity measures that have hurt the poor, Dissanayake is likely to pursue domestic and foreign policies that enhance economic stability.

“India is likely to have an advantage in this regard given its proximity and the possibility for Sri Lankans to link with the economic developments in South India,” Devotta said.

While Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) alliance has traditionally harboured “warmer feelings for China over India”, Devotta said that anti-India sentiment was “much diminished compared to the past”, largely due to the gratitude felt for Delhi’s extensive support during the island’s economic crisis.

India provided around US$4 billion in financing during the unprecedented crisis brought on by mismanagement and corruption, enabling Sri Lanka to sustain essential imports and maintain its foreign currency reserves.

Earlier this year, Indian companies secured agreements in sectors ranging from energy to maritime logistics – including a 20-year power purchase agreement involving two new wind power stations in Sri Lanka’s north – further solidifying economic ties.

However, Dissanayake has previously expressed intentions to cancel the controversial wind power project with India, claiming it was corrupt and detrimental to Sri Lanka’s interests.

Devotta warned that any attempt to renegotiate these deals “while making even minor concessions to China … would upset India”.

Rajni Gamage, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of South Asian Studies, said Dissanayake, 55, was perceived to be closer to China, due to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna’s (JVP) historical and ideological affinities with Beijing.

Dissanayake’s socialist NPP coalition includes the JVP, a left-wing political group established six decades ago to promote a communist revolution in postcolonial Sri Lanka.

Despite these affiliations, Gamage expects Dissanayake to be “pragmatic and engage with Delhi”, acknowledging its vital role during the economic crisis. Given the increasing presence of Chinese naval vessels in the region, the NPP has indicated a willingness to consider India’s security concerns.

Both the NPP and Dissanayake have stressed their commitment to protecting the Sri Lanka’s core interests.

“However, the real test is when such a situation or event arises, where the president is forced to make a call on accommodating one country’s interests that could trigger security-related anxieties over the other”, Gamage said.

In January, Colombo declared a one-year moratorium on foreign research ships entering its waters, responding to Indian concerns over Chinese vessels docking nearby.

Chinese research ship Shi Yan 6 spent several days port in Colombo in October last year, and in 2022, the navy vessel Yuan Wang 5 docked at Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka, raising alarms in Delhi that these ships could be used for regional surveillance.

Sriparna Pathak, an associate professor of Chinese studies and international relations at the O.P. Jindal Global University in India, said Sri Lanka under Dissanayake was likely to enforce a ban on Chinese vessels regardless of external pressures.

“[The government] will ensure that these spy vessels from China, bulldozing over Sri Lankan interests merely due to the fact that Hambantota is now China’s, do not get entry into Sri Lankan exclusive economic zones,” she said.

The Hambantota deep water port, the nation’s second-largest, was leased to China Merchant Ports for 99 years in 2017.
Pathak expects that Sri Lanka will maintain the moratorium on ships, with Foreign Minister Ali Sabry indicating in July that the situation would be reassessed at the end of the year.

India had anticipated Dissanayake’s victory, Pathak noted, highlighting the Asian giant’s engagement with all political parties in Sri Lanka, including invitations extended to JVP leaders like Dissanayake to visit Delhi.

In February, Dissanayake met with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, later sharing on social media that they had a productive discussion about deepening bilateral relations.

“Sri Lanka in the past has benefited economically from its ties with India, and Dissanayake will adhere to the same policy,” Pathak said.

India stands as Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner and one of its top investors, with total foreign direct investment surpassing US$2.2 billion.

In 2021, India accounted for the largest share of foreign direct investment at US$142 million, focusing primarily on sectors such as petroleum, manufacturing, real estate, telecommunications, and banking and financial services.

Maria Siow is a long-time China-based correspondent and analyst with keen interest in East Asia. Maria has a masters degree in international relations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a personal message to Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Levan S. Dzhagaryan, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Sri Lanka, met with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Ambassador Dzhagaryan extended his warm congratulations to President Dissanayake on his recent election and delivered a personal message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President Putin in his message states, that he expects that the bilateral relationship between the two countries will deepen under the leadership of President Anura Dissanayake.

The discussions focused on strengthening the longstanding bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Russia.

Both parties highlighted the importance of enhancing cooperation in key areas such as trade, investment, culture, and education, while reaffirming their commitment to deepening diplomatic ties for the mutual benefit of both nations. (