The incident referred to as Trincomalee

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

in 2006 happened when five

minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

high school students playing by the beach were briefly detained and then shot dead by Special Task Force.

Reactions

Sri Lankan government

The government claims were contradicted by the results of the local

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

, who said that they were killed by gunshot wound in execution style. Although a court case is still pending, a

Human Rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

agency known as

UTHR *''For the figure in Norse mythology, see Urðr'' The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) or UTHR(J) was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna, in Sri Lanka, as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human ...

accused that a local police superintendent as the mastermind of the operation to kill the students.

Investigation

The official inquiry into this incident is still undergoing and Special Task Force personnel were remanded in connection with the murder and further remanded on 18 July 2013 by the Trincomalee Magistrate court.

Witnesses

The only witness who came forward is the target of threats to his safety. Dr. Manoharan, the father of one of the victims, has been threatened by some elements of the Sri Lankan security forces.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

has called on the government to provide adequate protection for the doctor. According to RSF a minority

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

journalist

Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan (1970 – 24 January 2006), popularly known as SSR, was a journalist working for the Tamil language daily Sudar Oli. On 24 January 2006 during the ongoing Sri Lankan civil war, he was shot dead in the Eastern port city ...

who took pictures of the slain students that proved that they died of gunshot injuries not by an explosion of a

grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

as claimed by local military authorities was shot dead by unknown gunmen suspected to be paramilitary men.

Court Judgement

In 3 July the accused IPs Sarath Chandra Perera and Rohitha Vijithakumara, Sgt. M.G. Jayalath, A.P. Amal Pradeep, PCs R.K. Ratnayake, M. Chaminda Lalitha, R.M. Udhaya Mahinda Bandara, M.G.H. Sanjeewa, K.A. Tharaka Ruwansiri, J.M. Nimal Bandara, J.M. Senarath Dissanyake, S.J. Indika Thushara of the STF and SI (Retired) P.G. Ananda Bulanawewa of the Police were acquitted by Chief Magistrate M.M. Mohammed Hamza after a lengthy hearing due to the non-availability of evidence against the accused.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trincomalee massacre of students, 2006 2006 crimes in Sri Lanka January 2006 crimes January 2006 events in Asia Attacks on civilians attributed to the Sri Lanka Police Massacres in Sri Lanka Massacres in 2006 Mass murder of Sri Lankan Tamils People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan government forces attacks in Eelam War IV Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 2006 Student massacres