- 2006 Trincomalee massacre
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For other uses, see Trincomalee massacre (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 8°33′58″N 81°13′59″E / 8.566°N 81.233°E
2006 Trincomalee Massacre 
Location Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Date January 2, 2006 Target Sri Lankan Tamil students Attack type Armed massacre Weapon(s) Automatics rifles Death(s) 5 Suspected perpetrator(s) Special Task Force The incident referred to as Trincomalee massacre in 2006 happened when five(5) minority Sri Lankan Tamil high school students playing by the beach were briefly detained and then shot dead.[1]
Contents
Incidents
Murder of students happened on January 2, 2006. Initially the Sri Lankan police and the government claimed these students were, in fact, LTTE terrorists killed in a premature detonation of a grenade that they were about lob into government troops.[1][2]
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.[2] 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.[2]
Investigation
The official inquiry into this incident is still undergoing and Special Task Force personnel have been questioned thus far and no progress has been reported in apprehending the culprits.[2].[1]
Related to the incident
Witness
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.[3]
Journalist
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.[4]
See also
- List of massacres in Sri Lanka
- List of attacks attributed to Sri Lankan government forces
- List of attacks attributed to the LTTE
References
- ^ a b c "Is the State complacent?". The Nation. http://www.nation.lk/2006/07/23/newsfe3.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-30.[dead link]
- ^ a b c d Unfinished Business of the Five Students and ACF Cases– A Time to call the Bluff
- ^ "'Murder of five Tamil youths highlights need to end impunity' – Govt must protect witnesses to Trinco killings – HRW". Human Rights Watch. http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2006statements/612/. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
- ^ "Tamil journalist gunned down in Trincomalee after covering paramilitary abuses". RSF. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16252. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
Categories:- Political repression
- 2006 in Sri Lanka
- Mass murder in 2006
- Civilian massacres in Sri Lanka
- Mass murder of Sri Lankan Tamils
- Sri Lanka Police
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