NPC minister condemns Colombo for twisting facts on Moongkilaa’ru victims

On 28 February, a bunker with dead bodies was located at Moongkilaa’ru in Mullaiththeevu district. Those who perished were people slain in the genocidal onslaught in 2009. But, the Sri Lankan government is only interested in twisting facts and the relatives of the victims are denied of establishing the identity of their kith and kin, said T. Krukularajah, the education minister of the Northern Provincial Council at a meeting organised in Ki’linochchi on the International Women’s Day on Saturday. In the meantime, a social worker from Vanni told TamilNet on Sunday that the 9 people exhumed at Moongkilaa’ru were victims of Sri Lankan military attack on civilians and that he was among those who burried them to give the family a decent burial.

“To my memory, all of the victims looked like the members of a single family,” the social worker, who was able to produce a map of the locality, told TamilNet.

“Witnesses like me are unable to come to public as we would be harassed by the occupying military. A conducive situation could only be established when the occupying Sinhala military is withdrawn and an international guarantee is given for our protection,” the eyewitness further said.

The people of Vanni are even unable to light a candle at the burial sites of their loved ones who were slain in the war, said Mr Kurukularajah.

“In my own family, we have been searching for my mother-in-law who was reported missing during the onslaught in 2009. It took more than three years for us to establish the truth. Now, we know where she is buried. We want to at least light a candle at the site of the burial. But, we are even denied to do that by the Sri Lankan military,” he said.

There are hundreds of such bunkers along the road from Paranthan to Mullaiththeevu.

When the people, uprooted from their villages were on the move towards Mullaith-theevu, they were systematically targeted from the air and by the artillery fire. Those who were not identified were buried along the road.

[Full Coverage]

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