2006 Trincomalee massacre of students

Murder of five Tamil schoolboys in Sri Lanka 8.566 81.233 title February 2021 2006 Trincomalee massacre of students Sri Lanka 300 right Trincomalee 8 Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Tamil civilians 2 January 2006 massacre 5 Special Task Force Automatics rifles 2006 Trincomalee massacre of students or "Trinco 5" was the murder of five Tamil schoolboys by the Special Task Force (STF) in Trincomalee town on 2 January 2006.http://www.nation.lk/2006/07/23/newsfe3.htm Is the State complacent? 2007-01-30 The Nation dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070930224026/http://www.nation.lk/2006/07/23/newsfe3.htm 30 September 2007 http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/Spreport30.htm Unfinished Business of the Five Students and ACF Cases– A Time to call the Bluff 9 May 2008 28 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160328230921/http://uthr.org/SpecialReports/Spreport30.htm usurped https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/trinco-5-operations-commander-reappointed-to-trinco-as-dig-ahead-of-northern-election/ Trinco-5 Operations Commander Reappointed To Trinco As DIG Ahead of Northern Election 23 April 2020 Colombo Telegraph 9 July 2013https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sri-lanka-seeks-fresh-trial-over-student-massacre-105502555.html?guccounter=1 Sri Lanka seeks fresh trial over student massacre 23 April 2020 AFP 12 July 2019http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=23259 12 STF personnel remanded over Trincomalee massacre 23 April 2020 Adaderana 5 July 2013https://srilankabrief.org/2016/03/killing-of-5-students-at-trincomalee-it-must-be-the-stf-who-killed-them-says-hrc-sl-report/ KILLING OF 5 STUDENTS AT TRINCOMALEE: IT MUST BE THE STF WHO KILLED THEM, SAYS HRC-SL REPORT 23 April 2020 Sri Lanka Brief 16 March 2016 3 June 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200603161223/https://srilankabrief.org/2016/03/killing-of-5-students-at-trincomalee-it-must-be-the-stf-who-killed-them-says-hrc-sl-report/ deadTrinco 5 Murders: Acquittal of Sri Lankan Forces Raises Questions of Accountability The Wire 8 Jul 2019 https://thewire.in/south-asia/sri-lanka-trinco-5-murder-tamil-students-special-forces 24 Apr 2023 The case has received considerable international attention and is regarded as an emblematic case of impunity since no one has been held accountable for the crimes.Jeyaraj D.B.S. 5 January 2022 Killing of five Trinco students: Emblematic case of impunity https://www.ft.lk/columns/Killing-of-five-Trinco-students-Emblematic-case-of-impunity/4-728650 Daily FT Motive The possible motive behind the murders were revealed in threatening letters written in broken Tamil sent to the families of the victims by a group calling itself "The Vigilant group for the Elimination of the Enemy". One letter stated:19 April 2007 The Five Students Case in Trincomalee https://uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport24.htm#_Toc160272436 https://web.archive.org/web/20070719164538/http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport24.htm#_Toc160272436 usurped 19 July 2007 University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna)2 January 2024 Still searching for justice - 18 years on from Trinco 5 killings https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/still-searching-justice-18-years-trinco-5-killings Tamil GuardianWe shot your five sons because they are supporters of the Tigers who are attempting to link our Eastern Province with the North. This land (the East) belongs to the Sinhalese. All Tigers, Tiger supporters and besides Tamil loyalists (pattalarkal) will soon be evicted or killed...This is our sole kingdom, our earth...Meka ape rata, Sinhala rata (This is our kingdom, a Sinhalese kingdom)...According to the UTHR(J), the letters came from within the security forces and implied the agenda of "Sinhalisation of the East", reflecting the growing dominance of Sinhalese extremists in the Defence Ministry since the Rajapaksa government assumed power. Reactions Sri Lankan government The government claims were contradicted by the results of the local coroner, who said that they were killed by gunshot wound in execution style. Although a court case is still pending, a Human Rights agency known as UTHR accused that a local police superintendent as the mastermind of the operation to kill the students. In October 2006, Basil Rajapaksa, then a special adviser to the president, admitted to the US ambassador Robert O. Blake Jr. that the Special Task Force was responsible for the murders. Investigation and trial 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. There were over a hundred witnesses but none were willing to come forward due to intimidation and fear. 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 has called on the government to provide adequate protection for the doctor.http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2006statements/612/ 'Murder of five Tamil youths highlights need to end impunity' – Govt must protect witnesses to Trinco killings – HRW 2007-01-30 Human Rights Watch 8 January 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090108034108/http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2006statements/612/ deadRigby Jennifer Sri Lanka: one man’s search for justice for his son Channel 4 News 15 Apr 2011 https://www.channel4.com/news/sri-lanka-one-mans-search-for-justice-for-his-son 24 Apr 2023 According to RSF a minority Tamil journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan who took pictures of the slain students that proved that they died of gunshot injuries not by an explosion of a grenade as claimed by local military authorities was shot dead by unknown gunmen suspected to be paramilitary men. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16252 Tamil journalist gunned down in Trincomalee after covering paramilitary abuses 2007-01-31 Reporters Without Borders https://web.archive.org/web/20070228034727/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16252 28 February 2007 dead A Tamil three-wheeler driver who had been an eyewitness to the murders was also killed by unknown persons before he could testify in a trial. On 3 July 2019, 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.Killing five people including two undergrads: Accused acquitted http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Killing-five-people-including-two-undergrads:-Accused-acquitted/108-170475 3 July 2019 See also List of attacks on civilians attributed to Sri Lankan government forces References Category:2006 crimes in Sri Lanka Category:January 2006 crimes in Asia Category:January 2006 in Sri Lanka Category:Attacks on civilians attributed to the Sri Lanka Police Category:2000s massacres in the Sri Lankan civil war Category:Massacres in 2006 Category:Massacres of Sri Lankan Tamils Category:People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Sri Lanka Category:Sri Lankan government forces attacks in Eelam War IV Category:Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 2006 Category:Student massacres Category:Massacres of protesters in Asia Category:Police brutality in the 2000s