Memorial for Chemmani mass graves vandalized again
A memorial lamp tower erected as part of the ‘unextinguished lamp’ protest demanding justice for the Chemmani mass grave victims has once again been vandalized by unidentified individuals, reports tamilguardian.com.
In October, the candle-lit structure was found smashed and damaged by unknown perpetrators.
By the following morning, local residents had already returned to relight candles and rebuild the destroyed lamp.02 6
At the time, the vandalism sparked anger among residents, who described the destruction as a deliberate attempt to erase collective memory and silence demands for justice.
Local civil society groups condemned the attack and pledged to continue restoring the memorial as a lasting symbol of resistance and remembrance.
The memorial was constructed in June by a youth-led volunteer collective following a three-day peaceful protest held in June.
The protest called for international justice for the forcibly disappeared and sought to expose the continued silence surrounding the Chemmani mass grave.
During the protest, a small memorial tower bearing an eternal flame was installed as a symbol of remembrance for those believed to have been secretly buried at the site.
The Chemmani mass grave site has long been linked to allegations of extrajudicial killings carried out by the army during its occupation of Jaffna in the mid-1990s.
The site gained international attention in June when UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk visited Chemmani and laid flowers before the memorial flame, amid renewed calls for international accountability over wartime atrocities.
