Ongoing excavations at the mass grave site at Chemmani in Sri Lanka’s Tamil-dominated Jaffna peninsula have resulted in the unearthing of over 140 skeletons so far, including those of women, children, and even infants. Among the artifacts found at the site are a school bag, bangles, and a feeding bottle. The excavations have reopened wounds and reawakened memories of savagery and brutal torture that Sri Lankans suffered during the two bloody insurgencies and the 26-year-long civil war. It has rekindled hope among the kin of thousands of people who were forcibly disappeared during these armed conflicts that the excavations could bring them closer to the truth about what happened to their loved ones and provide reckoning. Or will the truth be buried yet again as investigations throw up uncomfortable secrets?
There are innumerable sites like Chemmani in Sri Lanka. Just a few of these graves have been identified, and fewer still have been excavated.
Noted Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and senior researcher at the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives, Bhavani Fonseka, told The Diplomat’s South Asia editor, Sudha Ramachandran, that successive Sri Lankan governments initiated constitutional reforms, established commissions of inquiry into human rights violations, and put in place initiatives with compensation, resettlement, and other forms of reparations. But the lack of political will was an impediment to the pursuit of truth and justice.
“The government must create a conducive environment for the excavation of Chemmani and other sites, and provide the required resources for the necessary follow-up work in the pursuit of answers and accountability,” Fonseka said.
What do we know about the Chemmani mass graves so far?
Chemmani is yet again in the spotlight with the recent initiatives at the excavation of the mass graves at the site. However, it was in 1998 that the site first made the news due to the testimony of Lance Corporal Somaratne Rajapaksa, who was convicted in the Krishanthi Kumaraswamy rape and murder case. He stated that Chemmani allegedly held the remains of 300 to 400 Tamil civilians killed during the Sri Lankan Army’s 1996 recapture of Jaffna from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Rajapaksa’s statement resulted in excavations that uncovered 15 bodies, but the investigations and excavations came to a halt soon after.
This year, the site has again hit the headlines with new excavations that have resulted in the discovery of over 140 bodies so far. The present excavations are conducted under court supervision with forensic officers, archaeologists, police, lawyers for victims, and the Office on Missing Persons (OMP). In early August, technical scans operated by the University of Sri Jayewardenepura revealed more areas in Chemmani that require attention.
On August 5, items recovered from the Chemmani site were displayed for family members of the disappeared to identify items belonging to their missing loved ones. Over 200 family members visited the site on that day to view clothing, jewelry, toys, school bags, and other items recovered from the mass graves. This, as documented by those present at the site and by the media, showed that despite the passage of time, the search for disappeared loved ones continues. The events in 2025 have reignited interest in what lies beneath Chemmani and raised questions about Sri Lanka’s past and previous attempts at uncovering the truth and pursuing justice.
Chemmani is not the only mass grave site in Sri Lanka. But it is unique in that eyewitness testimony, forensic evidence, documentation from state entities and others, is available on this site, which have thrown up questions that can no longer be ignored. With renewed interest in the Chemmani mass grave site, will Sri Lanka finally be able to have a genuine process of finding the truth, pursuing justice, and providing closure?
Do you see a transitional justice moment opening up with the recent excavations at Chemmani?
The change of regime in 2024, when the National People’s Power (NPP) was voted to power, reopened space for reforms and reckoning in Sri Lanka. In its election manifesto, the NPP had promised a range of steps on justice and truth, including pursuing emblematic cases, establishing a public prosecutor’s office, and setting up a truth and reconciliation commission. The promises reignited hope among sections of society, including minorities in the former conflict areas in the North and East of Sri Lanka, who voted in large numbers for the NPP in the presidential election in September 2024, followed by the parliamentary election in November.
Many see the clear mandate given to the NPP government as an opportunity for a change in political culture and style in governance, with high hopes riding on delivering on a set of confidence-building measures and reforms. Chemmani has reignited hope for truth and justice, but it is to be seen whether the government is able to address the root causes of conflict and push through their own promises.
Are you hopeful of justice being done under the NPP government?
The NPP received a massive mandate from across Sri Lanka in 2024, with much hope among the citizens that an NPP government would address the grievances of a cross-section of communities and initiate difficult reforms. The country is confronted with multiple challenges that range from poor governance, socio-economic problems, and weak security to questions relating to past cycles of violence and impunity. In the eleven months since the NPP’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) won the presidency, the government has initiated work with some reforms. But the process has been slow, with limited information available in the public domain. For example, several committees and task forces were established over the last several months, but limited information is available in terms of process, raising questions of transparency and inclusivity. Investigations into some emblematic cases have resulted in some movement, with a few arrests made and indictments filed in court, but questions remain in relation to delays and setbacks, yet again highlighting the challenges surrounding justice in Sri Lanka.
These are some reasons for sections of victims not trusting domestic mechanisms and demanding accountability internationally. The challenges with addressing impunity in Sri Lanka and the need for action were also highlighted most recently by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in his report to the 60th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to be held in September 2025. With the AKD presidency marking one year in office in September 2025, it is to be seen whether the government is able to deliver on its promises moving forward.
Ongoing excavations at the Chemmani mass grave site in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna peninsula.
X/Tamil Genocide Education Project
How do the “four pillars of transitional justice” work to ensure truth, justice, and that atrocities do not happen again? How is Sri Lanka situated with regard to the four pillars?
The four pillars of transitional justice relate to four key areas — justice, truth, reparations, and non-recurrence — that should inform a genuine and credible process of addressing past violence and reckoning. Aspects of the four pillars have been seen in the past in Sri Lanka with attempts at accountability, the appointment of truth-seeking mechanisms, initiatives on compensation, resettlement, and other aspects of reparations and constitutional, legal and structural reforms. Yet, many victims faced challenges in obtaining answers and justice, with no real progress regarding reparations and non-recurrence.
In 2015, Sri Lanka co-sponsored Resolution 30/1 at the UNHRC, which initiated a process of transitional justice that led to the establishment of the OMP and the Office for Reparations. Promises were made during this period in the other areas of the four pillars, including the pledge to establish a hybrid court, a truth commission, and introduce a new constitution. However, these and many other promises made during the 2015-2019 period failed to materialize due to a range of reasons, including lack of political will, heightened ethnonationalism, and security developments such as the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019.
The election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president in 2019 — he was defense secretary during the last stage of the war that witnessed massive human rights violations — saw a paradigm shift in areas of justice and reconciliation. The Rajapaksa presidencies (Mahinda Rajapaksa was president during 2005-2015 and his younger brother, Gotabaya, was president during 2019-2022) witnessed heightened ethnonationalism and militarization and a surge in human rights violations, attacks, harassment and surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders, and those working on human rights and accountability.
Despite the promise of economic prosperity, Sri Lanka experienced its worst economic crisis during the Gotabaya Rajapaksa tenure, with the economic collapse resulting in thousands of people across Sri Lanka taking to the streets in 2022, demanding a “system change,” including justice for economic crimes. Months of peaceful protest termed the Aragalaya saw the resignation of the government and the opening up of spaces for reforms, which included the demand for a new Constitution, justice and truth. These were also reflected in the election manifestos of several candidates in 2024, with notable promises made by the NPP.
With the NPP receiving a significant mandate in 2024, it is to be seen whether they are able and willing to implement their campaign promises, including those related to human rights and transitional justice.
Successive Sri Lankan governments made efforts towards transitional justice. How did they fare? What was lacking?
Successive governments in Sri Lanka have initiated work on transitional justice. They have made several attempts at constitutional reforms, established a long list of commissions of inquiry and other investigations into human rights violations, and initiatives with compensation, resettlement and other forms of reparations. Despite these efforts, the realization of fully implementing and having the full impact of the four pillars in Sri Lanka has been elusive.
This can be attributed to several reasons. One of the key impediments has been the lack of political will to initiate and fully implement reforms that address the root causes of the conflict and the culture of impunity. For example, despite the ambitious promises made between 2015 and 2019 regarding transitional justice, there was no clear plan and political will to implement the reforms, such as introducing a new Constitution and establishing a hybrid court. This was against the backdrop of heightened ethnonationalism and militarization in the post-war years, aspects that created new challenges in initiating reforms.
Another was the inability to sequence and plan through reforms. For example, the government’s prioritization of constitutional reforms in the 2015-2019 period meant that transitional justice did not receive the same attention and resources. Despite much attention being given to constitutional reforms by the government, political parties and sections of civil society, the reforms suffered setbacks, resulting in Sri Lanka yet again missing out on a new Constitution and seeing through a credible transitional justice process in 2015-2019.
Mass graves at Sooriyakanda, Kalawanchikudy, and Chemmani, among others, tell us that Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims suffered mass atrocities in Sri Lanka. Why has this shared suffering not brought a united quest for justice and peace?
The cycles of violence over the decades impacted all communities, with victims spread across Sri Lanka. Active hostilities during the war years, predominantly in the North and East of Sri Lanka and surrounding areas, impacted large sections of minorities. The ethnonationalism seen among and within communities created new divisions and tensions, fueling political rhetoric and campaigns that have undermined efforts at coexistence and reconciliation.
Further, failures with domestic efforts at truth and justice resulted in incomplete or delayed investigations, inability to address deep wounds, and mistrust among and within communities. This has further entrenched impunity, with victims not having confidence in domestic initiatives that have fueled demands for international accountability. The present moment of excavations in Chemmani and the revival of the demands for truth and justice are taking place in a country with a complex past, and it is to be seen whether the present moment opens up processes and initiatives that are able to learn from past experiences, break from the past, and do things differently.
This is also when we must recognize the persistence and courage of many victims who continue to demand truth and accountability. Their resilience amidst failures with past initiatives is a testament that the work must continue. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is the work of victims and civil society from across Sri Lanka, who have overcome numerous setbacks and collaborated and sustained their work. In the 1980s and 1990s, the work of the Mothers’ Front is notable, with mothers from across the ethnic divides searching for their disappeared loved ones and standing united in their demand for truth and justice. Such solidarity has been witnessed over the decades, with victims uniting during the war and post-war years in protests, vigils and other campaigns in their demand for truth and justice. These examples demonstrate the ability to unite, though also recognizing that such work is complex and sensitive and must be victim-centered.
Why and in what role could international bodies/expertise be involved?
The excavations underway in Chemmani and other sites in Sri Lanka are a reminder of the expertise, resources, and technical support required for work around mass graves. Whilst Sri Lanka has some expertise in this regard, past work in Chemmani, Mannar, and other sites demonstrates the gaps in terms of present structures, expertise and resources. Countries such as Argentina, Bosnia, Cyprus, Guatemala, and Iraq, among many others, have undertaken and continue to work on excavations and forensics, and support others in this work. Further, those with the required experiences and skills who have worked in comparative countries such as Argentina and Guatemala have in the past supported the work of those based in Sri Lanka. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and U.N. special procedures, which have expertise in such work, can continue to play a constructive role in this area so that local capacity is strengthened and resources improved. Finally, international donors should engage with the government, relevant state entities, victims, civil society, and others to identify gaps in resources and expertise, and support in strengthening local capacity and knowledge.
Excavation of mass graves could lead to closure and peace, but also reopen wounds, revive memories, and reignite conflict. How can Sri Lanka use it for reconciliation?
Initiatives that examine past abuses and pursue transitional justice can have diverse reactions for victims, affected communities, and society at large. It can range from revisiting painful memories and trauma to acknowledging and recognizing the pain and loss that was suffered. Victims of enforced disappearances from across Sri Lanka have, over the years and decades, demanded truth and justice, helping keep the issue alive and subsequently resulting in certain reforms such as the establishment of the OMP and criminalizing enforced disappearances, and action in particular emblematic cases. It was also the continued pressure on the need for accountability in emblematic cases that resulted in investigations into specific cases and indictments filed in others, though concerns remain with setbacks and delays linked to several other cases.
The government must give political leadership and support a credible transitional justice process that addresses the grievances and demands of victims in finding answers and supporting them on the difficult road of healing and closure. In relation to mass graves, the government must create a conducive environment for the excavation of Chemmani and other sites, and provide the required resources for the necessary follow-up work in the pursuit of answers and accountability. Equally important is the vision and leadership required to ensure that the culture of impunity is addressed and that non-recurrence is set in motion via constitutional and structural reforms. Sri Lanka has previously undertaken a similar journey and it is critical to reflect on past experiences, learn lessons and ensure the path forward does not repeat past mistakes but is able to navigate the setbacks and give leadership to a process that is victim-centered, independent and credible.