'We cried out that we were civilians, but we were attacked' - Tamil survivors testifiy

Groundviews
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"Although we cried out that we were innocent civilians and asked the troops not to harm us our boats were shelled 8 times as a result of which many were killed" said Ratnasingham Easwary, a Tamil civilian from Vanni, on Monday (20), making a representation at the hearing of the SL Government appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

'At around 3 am on 10 May 2009 we escaped by boat via the lagoon without the knowledge of the LTTE. Along the way our boats were intercepted by the Navy. We called out that we were civilians and asked them not to shoot at us. Yet minutes later 8 shells were directed towards our boats from the Navy ships. Of the 20 who travelled in our boat 8 were killed. The rest who were struggling to keep afloat were rescued by small navy boats. We were then taken to Pullmodai, where my sister’s husband was taken away by the Navy. Today, we do not know of his whereabouts. Although we have made complaints to the ICRC and the Human Rights Commission he has still not been found' he further said, reported Colombo based Tamil Daily "Thinakkural."

A Commissioner who intervened at this point queried whether any LLTE boats were in the vicinity of their boats and if they had any arms on board when they were attacked by the Navy. The woman replied in the negative and said the boat’s inhabitants were all civilians and that they shouted out many times that they were civilians.'

Kanagasabai Selvanayagi of Vattraapalai in her representation stated as follows:

'On 15 May 2009 I, my daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren escaped from Mullaivaaikkal and were en route to the government controlled areas. During a shell attack at the time my daughter died instantly. When we were trying to lift my daughter’s body my son-in-law was killed on the spot in another shell attack while my granddaughter was seriously injured. The army carried my injured granddaughter away. My grandson remained on the spot. I was escorted away from the area by the army. Those who passed by the spot later informed me that the bodies of my daughter and son-in-law were lying on the bridge. To date I have no idea about the whereabouts of my granddaughter and grandson.

Many people made representations about the failure to allow IDPs to return to many areas of the Mullaitivu district. They said that the most number of disappearances had taken place in the Mullaitivu district and requested once again that the government make available information about those who have disappeared.

(The above account was extracted from a more detailed report compiled by the Groundviews website. To read the full report click here.)

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