Jaffna, Sri Lanka – Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader and Parliamentarian Kajendrakumar Ponnambalam today accused the Ministry of Justice of interfering in the ongoing excavation of the Chemmani mass grave site in Jaffna, raising alarm over political pressure and alleged intimidation of victims’ families during the judicially sanctioned process.
Speaking in Parliament during a heated debate to unseat former IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon, MP Ponnambalam alleged that the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice is directly in contact with those conducting the sensitive excavations — a move he described as political interference in a judicial matter.
“As this identification process is currently underway, the Secretary to the Justice Ministry is in direct contact with those who are engaged in excavation activities. I am saying this with responsibility,” he told Parliament. “Isn’t this political interference? Won’t this pressure the teams working under court order?”
Ponnambalam, a long-time advocate for Tamil rights and justice for war victims, said that if the Ministry wanted access to any information about the excavation, it should have approached the court instead of acting unilaterally. “I have much respect for the Secretary, but I would not have expected her to behave like this. It is happening.”
He also accused the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of placing officers around the excavation site to intimidate relatives of the disappeared. “The presence of CID personnel at the entrance and nearby areas appears intended to deter victims’ families from participating in the identification of recovered artifacts,” he charged.
The Chemmani excavation, taking place under court supervision, has already uncovered a total of 141 skeletons, 130 of which have been fully exhumed and remain under judicial custody at the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court. The site is believed to contain the remains of Tamil civilians who were allegedly subjected to enforced disappearance during the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war.
Six more sets of human remains were discovered today, while over 200 individuals — mostly relatives of the disappeared — visited the site to assist in identifying personal belongings unearthed from the grave. Among 43 recovered artifacts were a child’s feeding bottle, pieces of children’s clothing, a bag, and bangles — each potentially linked to lives lost.
The MP also expressed disappointment with the current government, led by the National People’s Power (NPP), accusing it of continuing a legacy of insensitivity toward ethnic and war-related grievances. “There is no difference between this NPP government and the previous one when it comes to issues affecting the Tamil community,” he said.
The Chemmani site has long stood as a painful symbol for families of the disappeared in northern Sri Lanka. As excavation efforts intensify and evidence mounts, calls for transparency, accountability, and non-interference grow louder — particularly among communities still awaiting answers decades after the war’s end.
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