The events recorded here are drawn from testimonies documented in the 1997 final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or Disappearance of Persons, headed by K. Palakidnar in the North-East.<\/p>\n
Due to the war, many Tamils in Batticaloa District had fled their homes, relocating either to Batticaloa town or the Paduwankarai region.<\/p>\n
In August 1990, fearing the brutal killings carried out by state forces known locally as the “Vettu Party” across various villages, civilians scattered and sought refuge in large groups within schools, places of worship, and public buildings.<\/p>\n
The Sathurukondan massacre was one such incident where people gathered in these temporary shelters were rounded up and mass-killed in a single location.<\/p>\n
On August 17, 1990, state forces referred to as the “Vettu Party,” led by an officer identified as Captain Tissa warnakula suriya, arrived at the “Boys Town” camp in Sathurukondan.<\/p>\n
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On the day of their arrival, they entered Kokkuvil village, seized 24 people, brought them to the Mariyamman Kovil junction, and tortured them. Four individuals\u2014Mariyanesam, Subramaniam, Thavarasa, and Kumarasamy\u2014were beaten to death on the spot and subsequently burned using tires.<\/p>\n
Later, on September 8, 1990, uniformed soldiers entered Sathurukondan Colony and caught T. Kanapathipillai and Ilaiyan, who were gathering coconut fronds in a coconut grove. The soldiers forced them onto the gathered fronds and burned them alive.<\/p>\n
Terrified by these incidents, residents of Sathurukondan and neighboring villages fled. Many migrated to other areas, while those who remained clustered together in larger houses out of fear.<\/p>\n
Eye witness<\/strong><\/p>\n A young man named Kandasamy Krishnakumar from Pillaiyarady, who was abducted by the military but managed to escape despite his injuries, disclosed the details of the massacre inside the army camp:<\/p>\n On September 9, 1990, around 5:30 PM, uniformed soldiers led by Captain Tissa warnakula suriya surrounded the villages of Sathurukondan, Panichaiyadi, Kokkuvil, and Pillaiyarady.<\/p>\n One group surrounded Pillaiyarady village via Main Street, while others came behind the Boys Town camp toward Sathurukondan Colony. They seized a man named Rasa from a house, along with his wife Nesamma and their four children. They then brought out families from adjacent houses\u2014including the families of Kanapathipillai, Alagiah, Kathirkama thamby, Kanmani, and Narkunasingam, along with his wife, sister-in-law, and their three-month-old infant. The soldiers reassured them, saying: “Do not be afraid; we are here to offer protection and assistance. Come with us.” They then gathered everyone at the Panichaiyadi junction.<\/p>\n Subsequently, soldiers brought around 40 people sheltering nearby\u2014including the families of Kirubairatnam, Perinbam, and others\u2014to the same junction.<\/p>\n Among them were Perinbam’s wife Paranjothi, her child Nandhini, and four disabled children who were unable to walk or speak. When the family mentioned that the disabled children could not be easily carried, the soldiers told them to carry them along anyway, claiming they would take them to the camp to treat and care for them. Unaware of the deception, the villagers carried the disabled children to the junction.<\/p>\n The soldiers then rounded up about 20 families gathered at Paramakutti’s house and combined them with the others.<\/p>\n All those detained from Panichaiyadi, Kokkuvil, and Pillaiyarady were brought together at the Kothukkulathu Mariyamman Kovil junction.<\/p>\n Around 7:00 PM, soldiers brought all 177 people, belonging to 63 families, into a large building (a former rice mill) inside the Boys Town camp and locked them inside.<\/p>\n Trapped in the dark building, panic and terror set in, and the detainees began to cry. Families held each other, whispering prayers for rescue. Outside, the soldiers removed their uniforms and began drinking alcohol.<\/p>\n Under the influence of alcohol, the soldiers took swords and knives and opened the locked door. Seeing them partially in the dark, the crowd panicked.<\/p>\n The soldiers pulled out three men, stating: “We need to interrogate them privately, and no one else should make noise while we do so.<\/strong>” They blindfolded the three men.<\/p>\n The three\u2014Kumar (age 27), Jeevanantham (age 33), and Krishnakumar (age 22)\u2014were taken behind the camp, tortured, and stabbed with knives. Krishnakumar, whom the soldiers presumed dead after stabbing him, remained conscious despite severe knife wounds to both eyes and witnessed the horrific events that followed.<\/p>\n The soldiers then brought out the elderly men one by one, beat them to death with iron rods, severed their limbs and heads, and threw them into a pre-dug pit.<\/p>\n Next, elderly women were brought out, beaten with iron rods and wooden poles, and thrown into the pit. Married men were then brought out blindfolded and hacked to pieces.<\/p>\n Married women were killed in the same brutal manner. Young men were brought out blindfolded; the soldiers severed their hands and feet, watching them writhe in pain before chopping them into pieces and throwing them into the pit. Small children and infants were laid across a fallen cashew tree and chopped in two before being thrown into the pit.<\/p>\n Infants were stomped on and had their necks wrung. The four speech- and mobility-impaired children were not spared either; they were placed on the cashew tree and hacked to pieces.<\/p>\n The soldiers tore a three-month-old baby named Priya from the arms of her 25-year-old mother, Jeevamalar, hacked the child, and threw her aside. They then dragged Jeevamalar away, sexually assaulted her, and chopped her to death.<\/p>\n After taking a short break, the soldiers brought out the remaining young women, stripped them, subjected them to severe physical mutilation and torture, and killed them.<\/p>\n To suppress their screams, the soldiers stuffed black cloth into their mouths and threw their partially conscious bodies into the pit. The pit became filled with bodies, some still hovering between life and death.<\/p>\n The soldiers then poured petrol and kerosene over the bodies. Running short of fuel, some left to retrieve more, while others lay down, exhausted and intoxicated.<\/p>\n Seizing this moment, Krishnakumar\u2014who had been lying motionless among the corpses pretending to be dead\u2014slowly crawled away from the site and hid in the nearby thickets.<\/p>\n When the soldiers returned with fuel, they noticed the trail of blood left by Krishnakumar and searched in his direction. However, due to their heavy intoxication, they failed to locate him.<\/p>\n From his hiding place, Krishnakumar watched as the soldiers poured the remaining petrol over the pit and set everyone on fire. A thick column of smoke rose, accompanied by the sound of burning bodies and cracking skulls.<\/p>\n Around 2:00 AM, Krishnakumar crawled to a nearby house. With the assistance of locals, he was admitted to a hospital for treatment. Upon learning that an eyewitness had survived and was hospitalized, military personnel surrounded the hospital to search for him.<\/p>\n Members of a peace committee, aided by an American Mission priest, secured Krishnakumar’s safety. They recorded his statement and later presented him as a witness before the Presidential Commission.<\/p>\n The remains of the victims burned at the camp continued to smolder for two days until they were rendered unrecognizable.<\/p>\n According to records, those killed in this single incident comprised 63 families totaling 177 individuals:<\/p>\n * 23 men over the age of 50<\/strong> Including those killed on August 17, 1990 (4 persons), September 8, 1990 (2 persons), and April 2, 1991 (3 persons), details account for a total of 186 people killed in the Sathurukondan area.<\/p>\n Accused Srilankan Military Officers<\/strong><\/p>\n Based on the information provided by Krishnakumar, representatives from the Human Rights Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Sathurukondan military camp to inquire about the incident with the officer in charge.<\/p>\n The officer replied: “We did not bring anyone here, nor did any such incident occur at this location.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n However, the Presidential Commission subsequently identified the primary instigators and commanders responsible for the massacre at the Boys Town camp as Captain Gamini Warnakulasuriya, Captain Herath, and Captain Wijenayake, under the overall command of Colonel Percy Fernando.<\/p>\n Judicial Inquiries<\/strong><\/p>\n Two official commissions of inquiry were appointed by the Sri Lankan government to investigate the incident.<\/p>\n Retired Judge K. Palakidnar was appointed by the then-People’s Alliance government to conduct the investigation.<\/p>\n According to the judge’s report, a 27-year-old mother named Mohanasundari and her three-month-old infant were stabbed to death with large knives. In total, the report confirmed the deaths of 5 infants, 42 children under the age of ten, 85 women, and 28 elderly persons.<\/p>\n In his final submission, the judge emphasized that strong evidence existed establishing that the massacre occurred and urged the President to initiate strict legal action against the perpetrators.<\/p>\n To date, there is no record of subsequent police investigations or formal criminal prosecution resulting from these findings. None of those identified were convicted in Sri Lankan courts, and full justice remains unrendered.<\/p>\n Sentiment of the Affected People<\/strong><\/p>\n Visiting Sathurukondan to meet with affected families reveals that those who lost their relatives retain deep anger toward the state forces. Decades without legal redress have left many with little faith in official inquiry mechanisms.<\/p>\n Every family in the village bears the mark of this loss, with many having lost over half their immediate relatives.<\/p>\n Lacking justice or adequate compensation, the community continues to face severe socio-economic hardships, security concerns, and broken family structures.<\/p>\n Families Devastated by Multiple Losses<\/strong><\/p>\n * Kathirakamathamby Thambiah<\/strong> stated that 18 members of his extended family\u2014including his children, uncle, aunt, brother-in-law, and brothers\u2014were killed at the Boys Town camp on September 9, 1990. He added that the family of Sinnathamby Sinnappillai lost 35 relatives in the same incident. Calls for International Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n The surviving relatives note that recent administrations have imposed restrictions on holding public memorial services for the victims, requiring them to commemorate their lost family members under heavy security oversight. They appeal for the freedom to remember their relatives without hindrance.<\/p>\n The victims’ families state that despite those responsible being identified, successive Sri Lankan governments have failed to prosecute the perpetrators over the past decades. Consequently, they express a lack of confidence in domestic processes alone and call for an internationalized judicial mechanism\u2014such as a special court with international judges within a transitional justice framework\u2014to review the established evidence, prosecute the perpetrators, and ensure fair compensation for the survivors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The massacre that took place on September 9, 1990, in the Sathurukondan area of Batticaloa is considered the largest and most brutal atrocity committed in the Batticaloa District. Even as decades have passed since this event took place, the affected people remain deeply aggrieved that none of those responsible have been punished by the Government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-article","category-breaking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1707"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1712,"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1707\/revisions\/1712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eelam24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chat.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n* 18 women over the age of 50<\/strong>
\n* 13 married men under the age of 50<\/strong>
\n* 33 married women under the age of 50<\/strong>
\n* 16 unmarried men under the age of 25<\/strong>
\n* 23 unmarried women under the age of 25<\/strong>
\n* 20 boys under the age of 10<\/strong>
\n* 21 girls under the age of 10<\/strong>
\n* 4 speech- and mobility-impaired children<\/strong>
\n* 2 pregnant mothers<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n* Kulandhaivelu<\/strong> shared that he lost 10 immediate family members, including his mother, father, younger sister, elder sister, her three children, grandmother, grandfather, younger brother, and elder brother.
\n* Jeyanandhi<\/strong> stated that her mother, father, and younger sister were killed.
\n* George Suganthini from Kokkuvil junction expressed that her mother, younger sister, and grandmother were taken by the military and killed.<\/p>\n