TG Explainer – What are the Chemmani Mass Graves?

Chemmani, a village on the outskirts of Jaffna, is a serene and beautiful town that has come to take on a notorious reputation. It is the site of mass graves, where potentially, hundreds of Tamils who were murdered by the Sri Lankan military lie buried.

These graves date back to the mid-1990s, when Sri Lankan government forces invaded and occupied the Jaffna peninsula during Operation Riviresa. Hundreds of Tamils who had forcibly disappeared, abducted or detained by the military, during this period were killed and buried in Chemmani.

The first open Sri Lankan confirmation of such a site came in 1998, when Sri Lankan Army soldier Lance Corporal Somaratne Rajapakse testified in court that “300 to 400 bodies” of missing Tamils were buried in Chemmani. His shocking revelation did not spark the investigations that were needed. Instead, investigations and excavations were subjected to Sri Lankan government bureaucracy and intentional neglect, having stalled for decades.

Today, the Chemmani mass graves remain a symbol of the unresolved injustices faced by Tamils. But they now faced renewed scrutiny, following a recent discovery of more skeletal remains, including three infants, and an impending visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Background: A brutal crime leads to a chilling revelation

The story of the Chemmani mass graves is intertwined with the infamous Krishanthi Kumaraswamy case of 1996.

Krishanthi, an 18-year-old Tamil schoolgirl, was gang-raped and murdered by Sri Lankan Army personnel at a checkpoint in Jaffna on September 7, 1996. When her mother, younger brother, and a family friend went searching for her, they were abducted and killed as well. All four bodies were later found buried at Chemmani in shallow graves. The outrage over this crime led to the arrest and trial of several soldiers. In July 1998, five Sri Lankan soldiers, including Rajapakse, were convicted of Krishanthi’s rape and murder, and the murders of her family members. It was at the end of this trial that Rajapakse made an explosive revelation. Chemmani, he alleged, held many more bodies beyond those of the Krishanthi case.

During sentencing, Rajapakse spoke up from the dock and gave a startling confession. He insisted that he “didn’t kill anyone”, but “only buried bodies”. He claimed he could identify sites in Chemmani where “300 to 400” people were buried, specifically Tamils who had disappeared during the army’s 1995–96 campaign in Jaffna.

This admission corroborated what human rights groups and Tamils had spoken out about for years. Amnesty International had earlier reported “reliable evidence” that up to 600 people disappeared in Jaffna in 1996, with bodies possibly dumped in “lavatory pits, disused wells and shallow graves”. Rajapakse’s testimony gave a concrete location to these allegations – Chemmani.

Somaratne Rajapakse’s testimony (June 1999)

“I was at the Ariyalai camp doing civil administration. At that time I worked under Captain Lalith Hewa. My job was to register family names and the names of youth. We would prepare two lists.

Once, Captain Lalith Hewa and Lieutenant Wijesiriwardene brought soldiers from another section to work under me. We were given a list of people who they said were Tiger suspects. I was asked to show the places where these suspects lived. Thereafter they conducted cordon-and-search operations.

Major Weerakkody and Major Gunasekera brought people before two Tiger informants and the informants were asked to point out who the Tiger suspects were. The ones they had identified were separated from the rest. About 50 people were identified and were photographed.

At Ariyalai I can show how people were arrested killed and buried. At the beginning some people were arrested and brought to a camp and kept at the Jaya building. Some were kept at a school. The ones who ordered this were Captain Lalith Hewa, Lt. Wijesiriwardene and Lt. Thudugala.

They were also the ones involved in the arrest of the government servant Selvaratnam. He was brought to the camp. The next day his wife came and asked me whether I had seen him. I did not have the answer then. At that camp there was a building used to torture people. I can show it to you now. When I went to the camp, there were 25 people in that building. Selvaratnam was also there. His legs were tied. He pleaded with me saying he didn’t have any Tiger connections. I asked Captain Hewa to release him. He agreed. But that night they killed him.

The next day when I went back I saw 10 more dead bodies. When I was working at the Jaya building, another man, one Udaya Kumara, was arrested. His family came and pleaded for his release. I went and asked Captain Jayawardena to do so. That afternoon he was taken to another camp. When I went there they got a radio message asking to release this man. He was hanging by his feet and his body was cut with blades. They couldn’t release him. He was killed later. I know the weapons they used for torture very well and I can show them to you in that building.

There was a day when I was asked to bring a mammoty (spade) by Captain Lalith Hewa. When I got there, Captain Hewa was with a woman who had no clothes on. This woman and her husband had been brought to the camp earlier. Lalith Hewa raped the woman. Later, he attacked the woman and her husband with the mammoty I brought and he also used some rods. Both of them died. He tried to bury them there but couldn’t. Then the bodies were brought to Chemmani. I can show you where they are buried.

Lots of people disappeared from Ariyalai. I can tell you how many were arrested. I also know how many people were buried. Although I was accused of murdering Krishanthi Kumaraswamy I didn’t do it. I buried her body but didn’t know at the time that it was her. My four colleagues who were convicted and I, all gave statements.

I can show you 10 places in Chemmani where bodies are buried. ASP Perera can show five places. D. M. Jayatilleke can show one place near a kovil where a number of people were buried.

There is also an area behind the Jaya building. I know of two workers in a garage owned by one Ravi who were taken to the main camp. They were killed. I know where they have been buried.” 

“I offered to reveal these things because I am falsely convicted of the murder of Krishanthi Kumuraswamy. I did not kill her. My family and I have received several letters threatening that all of us will be destroyed if I did not withdraw the statement I made at the High Court trial. Those in the army, who committed these crimes, try to escape by accusing me of guilt. I make these statements not to betray my country or to discredit the army. I do this because of the injustice done to me. If the justice is not done to me by the judicial system of this country, I am prepared even to go before an international court to get the justice done.” 

Rajapakse’s detailed confession, given in open court in Jaffna on June 16, 1999 under tight security, directly implicated several officers by name in the arrest, torture, rape, and murder of Tamil civilians. He portrayed himself as someone who “only buried bodies”, essentially blowing the whistle on a pattern of systematic atrocities in the Chemmani area.

The 1999 investigation and exhumations at Chemmani

Confronted with Rajapakse’s allegations, the Sri Lankan authorities initiated an investigation in 1998–99. The Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission requested UN assistance, and the Colombo High Court authorized efforts to locate the graves. In June 1999, Corporal Rajapakse was flown to Jaffna to help identify the burial sites he had described. He led investigators to several spots in Chemmani. International observers, including representatives from Amnesty International, were present to ensure some transparency.

Excavations began under the guidance of judicial officials and forensic experts. Notably, only a limited excavation was permitted at first. Investigators decided to unearth a few bodies.

“We have the logistics to collect only four skeletal remains,” claimed State Counsel Yasantha Kodagoda at the time, citing logistical constraints.

On June 16–17, 1999, digging at one of the identified sites uncovered human remains. After a few hours of digging through hard, dry soil, the team noticed tell-tale signs of decayed matter beneath. Soon, the first body was found just two feet below the surface: part of a knee with shreds of trouser fabric attached. Work had to pause at nightfall, with the pit covered by a simple sheet of black plastic.

Over the following days and months, a total of 15 bodies were exhumed from multiple sites in Chemmani. Some of the skeletons were found blindfolded and bound, grim evidence that these were executions or murders. Of the 15 bodies, two were positively identified through forensic analysis as young men who had disappeared in 1996 after being arrested by the army. This confirmation gave credence to Rajapakse’s claims. The remains of others could not be identified at the time, but a Sri Lankan government analyst reported that at least 10 of the skeletons showed signs of assault or murder. It appeared that many of the Chemmani dead had met violent ends, consistent with the testimonies of torture and killings.

Families of the disappeared hoped this would finally reveal their loved ones’ fates. However, the investigation stalled after the initial exhumations. By December 1999, Sri Lankan authorities astonishingly announced that experts had reached “a unanimous decision that there are no such graves as originally alleged” beyond those already found. The government prematurely closed the investigation, disputing Rajapakse’s assertion of hundreds of bodies. This was despite the fact that Rajapakse and his co-prisoners had named around 10 different grave sites and additional witnesses had pointed to others.

Nonetheless, legal cases were initiated against some military personnel as a result of the discoveries. In 2000, arrest warrants were issued for seven Sri Lankan Army personnel implicated by the evidence. But these suspects were quickly released on bail, and the cases languished. Years passed with little progress: as of 2004, the U.S. State Department noted the Chemmani case was still “pending”, and by 2006 a magistrate in Colombo publicly slammed the lack of action as “unacceptable”. In effect, no one was held accountable for the Chemmani killings. The few remains unearthed were not followed by any comprehensive attempt to excavate further or deliver justice.

Sri Lanka’s war effort against the Tamils escalated in the years after 1999, and focus shifted away from earlier incidents like Chemmani.
Rajapakse’s testimony, after briefly raising hopes, ended up highlighting the climate of impunity. The authorities chose to ignore or cover up evidence rather than fully pursue it.

For Tamil families, Chemmani became emblematic of their decades-long struggle for truth. Mothers and relatives of the disappeared in the North-East continued to protest and demand answers, often holding vigil with photos of missing loved ones. They repeatedly called for the Chemmani graves and other suspected mass graves to be properly investigated with international oversight, since Sri Lankan authorities refused to do so. These pleas were largely met with silence or foot-dragging by successive governments in Colombo. Chemmani faded from international headlines, but it remained an open wound for Tamils.

Recent discovery: New mass grave unearthed in Chemmani

After years of dormancy, Chemmani returned to the spotlight in 2025 due to a new discovery. In February 2025, workers preparing to build a crematorium at the Ariyalai Sindhubath burial ground (a public cemetery in Chemmani) stumbled upon human remains. They alerted local authorities, and the Jaffna Magistrate promptly ordered a fresh investigation and supervised excavation of the site. This Sindhubath cemetery is located not far from the spots where bodies were exhumed in 1999.

A new excavation effort began in mid-May 2025 under the direction of Dr. Raj Somadeva, a senior archaeologist appointed by the court. In Chemmani, his team worked over several weeks, with oversight by the local judiciary and police. By June 8, 2025, the site was officially declared a mass grave after significant findings. The excavation uncovered 19 human skeletal assemblages in total, including the remains of three infants (babies under 10 months old) among them. The presence of infant skeletons was particularly heart-rending – indicating that even children were not spared, or that whole families might have been victims.

According to Dr. Somadeva, these skeletons were found in a concentrated area of the cemetery. Remarkably, as of mid-June the team had excavated less than 40% of the suspected burial area, and more bodies are expected when digging resumes. Using drones and satellite imagery, Somadeva identified at least one additional likely grave site within the cemetery that still needs investigation. He submitted an interim report to the court affirming that this is indeed a mass grave and recommending further excavation.

Many Tamil families in the Jaffna area have spent decades searching for missing relatives, some since 1995–96, others from later phases of the armed conflict, especially 2009. Tens of thousands of people have been forcibly disappeared in Sri Lanka, one of the highest numbers recorded in the entire world according to United Nations figures. Every skeletal remain uncovered in places like Chemmani could potentially match one of those names.

In this latest excavation, families of the missing and Tamil civil society groups have also mobilized to ensure the process is transparent. They fear a repeat of previous mass grave investigations that yielded no accountability. As one activist, Yogarasa Kanagaranjani of the Association of Relatives of Enforced Disappearances, put it: “This could also be covered up like the other graves, with no justice or answers given… If you ask the killers to give you justice, will they?”.

Indeed, Sri Lanka has seen numerous mass grave discoveries over the years, but almost none have led to closure.

A recent example was the Mannar mass grave, where over 300 skeletons were found in 2018; to date, those remains have not been fully analyzed or returned to families, and the Office of Missing Persons has been criticized for inaction. Dr. Somadeva himself lamented that he only received some of the Mannar artefacts three years late and was never paid for his work there.

This track record has led Tamil families, activists, and human rights organizations to demand independent foreign forensic experts and monitors be involved in the Chemmani exhumation, to ensure proper procedure and prevent any cover-up.

International attention and the UN High Commissioner’s Visit

The new findings at Chemmani have drawn international attention once again.

Notably, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, announced a visit to Sri Lanka in late June 2025 – a trip that includes a scheduled stop in Jaffna.

Türk is expected to visit the Chemmani mass grave site, underscoring the global importance of this issue.

In anticipation of his visit, Tamil civil society groups launched a high-profile protest and vigil at Chemmani to ensure their message is heard. Starting on June 23, a vigil titled “Unextinguished Flame” (Anaiya Vilakku in Tamil, meaning an imperishable lamp) was held at the Chemmani site. Tamil families of the missing, activists, and youths are keeping an unbroken flame burning for 3 days, symbolizing remembrance, resistance, and hope. The protest was timed to coincide with the UN High Commissioner’s arrival on June 25, so that the plight of Chemmani’s victims could not be ignored.

Participants in the vigil demanded international justice – including a UN-supervised investigation of the Chemmani graves – and reiterated the call that Sri Lanka’s government allow foreign forensic experts to assist.

Several high-profile human rights and diaspora organisations have also pressed for action, writing to Mr. Türk urging him to visit Chemmani and Mullivaikkal, the site of the 2009 genocide, during his trip.

The Sri Lankan government’s response to the Chemmani developments has been muted. The current administration led by the National People’s Power coalition and Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has largely kept silent on Chemmani, offering little commentary or support.

There was even hesitation to fully fund the Chemmani excavation – reports in April 2025 indicated the government was reluctant to allocate resources for extended digs, raising suspicions of a potential cover-up or at least a lack of commitment.

With the UN Human Rights Chief visiting, there is a cautious hope that international focus will prod the Sri Lankan authorities into action. In March 2024, the UN Human Rights Council expressed concern that Sri Lanka lacked the resources and political will to properly investigate graves and encouraged seeking international support. Now, in 2025, Tamil activists want Mr. Türk to see firsthand the scale of the tragedy at Chemmani. They are asking for UN expertise in areas like forensic anthropology and DNA identification to be injected into the process. If the remains can be identified, even years later, it would allow families to finally perform proper burials and potentially serve as evidence in prosecuting those responsible.

Current status and outlook for justice

As of June 2025, the Chemmani mass grave investigation is ongoing under Sri Lankan court supervision. The excavation at the Sindhubath burial ground was temporarily paused in mid-June and is scheduled to resume on June 26, 2025. The remains unearthed, 19 skeletons so far, have been transferred to expert custody for analysis. Sri Lankan officials say that once excavation is complete, forensic examinations will determine causes of death and identities where possible. The court in Jaffna will then decide on further steps, which could include criminal investigations if specific victims or perpetrators are identified.

However, families of victims and activists remain justifiably concerned that without sustained pressure, the Chemmani case could meet the same fate as in 1999 – a few findings, then silence. They stress the need for continuous media attention and international monitoring.

The ongoing “Unextinguished Flame” protest is one example of how Tamils are trying to keep the spotlight on Chemmani until real action is taken.

The upcoming visit of the UN High Commissioner and the persistent demands of Tamil families may finally force some progress. If the Chemmani excavation is done thoroughly and transparently, it could lead to long-awaited answers – identifying whose remains were found and how they were killed – and possibly reopen legal cases against those responsible for the murders. It could also set a precedent for investigating other suspected mass graves across the North-East.

On the other hand, if this effort falters or gets covered up, it will deepen Tamil mistrust and reinforce how even in 2025, Sri Lanka is unwilling to deliver justice for egregious wartime atrocities.