Between 1983 and 1990, Trincomalee District experienced the presence of different armed forces, ethnic violence, civilian displacement and political protest. No single document provides the complete truth about this period. Comparing an international jurist’s report, contemporary periodicals, civil-society reports and United Nations records nevertheless reveals important historical evidence.

Some information presented here concerns recorded administrative action; other information consists of allegations made by witnesses or organisations. Readers should distinguish between them. References that could not be verified in the original source are explicitly identified.

1. 1983: An “Unauthorised Rampage” by Naval Personnel in Trincomalee

In Sri Lanka: A Mounting Tragedy of Errors, published in March 1984, jurist Paul Sieghart, who visited Sri Lanka on behalf of the International Commission of Jurists and its British section, JUSTICE, recorded that some members of the security forces participated in the 1983 violence in Jaffna and Trincomalee.

According to the report, the admitted civilian death toll attributed to security personnel in the two places was 51. This is not a separate total for Trincomalee District.

Sieghart described the conduct of some naval personnel in Trincomalee as a wholly unauthorised rampage. He also recorded being told that 120 soldiers and 105 sailors had subsequently been dismissed from service as a result of those incidents. Dismissal is not equivalent to a criminal conviction; the figures represent information supplied to him.

Source details: Paul Sieghart, Sri Lanka: A Mounting Tragedy of Errors, International Commission of Jurists and JUSTICE, March 1984, pp. 19, 70–71.

2. 1987: Seven Civilian Deaths and a Proposed Court Martial

A report in the January 1989 issue of Tamil Times stated that, on 21 November 1987 near Trincomalee, Naik Baldev Singh of the Indian Peace Keeping Force’s 270 Engineers Regiment fired his service rifle, killing seven civilians and injuring four others.

The report said that army authorities proposed trying him by General Court Martial in Sri Lanka under section 69 of the Army Act, in relation to sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code concerning murder and attempted murder. It also discussed contemporary legal questions about conducting such a trial in Sri Lanka for an alleged offence committed abroad.

This document provides an important indication that the allegation was being considered within the Indian military justice system. It does not establish whether the proposed trial was completed, what verdict was reached or whether a sentence was imposed. The appropriate description is therefore that a court martial was proposed, rather than that guilt was judicially established.

Source details: Kanwar Sandhu, “IPKF Men Face Court Martial”, Tamil Times, January 1989, p. 15; reproduced from Sunday Observer, Bombay, 18–24 December 1988.

3. 1988: The Trincomalee Mothers’ Front’s Peace Protest

Suseela Ganeshan’s hunger strike provides a rare contemporary record of women’s political opposition to war in Trincomalee.

According to Tamil Times, Suseela Ganeshan of the Trincomalee Mothers’ Front began a fast unto death on 10 April 1988 at the Sivan Kovil premises in Trincomalee. Her demands, as reported, were for India to declare an unconditional ceasefire, for the LTTE to lay down its arms, and for India and the LTTE to negotiate towards a just solution.

Her statement said that around 200 mothers, together with young men, young women and children, had participated in 24-hour relay fasts begun on 9 March. This is the organisation’s own account, rather than an independently verified total of participants.

The document demonstrates that Trincomalee’s history was shaped by women and civilians who raised an independent political voice for a ceasefire, alongside the actions of governments and armed movements.

Source details: “Fast Unto Death — Mother Suseela Ganeshan”, Tamil Times, May 1988, p. 11.

4. 1989: A Reference to 614 Tamil Refugees Leaving Trincomalee for India — Verification Pending

The reference supplied for this compilation identifies a report entitled “Refugees Forced to India?” in the October 1989 issue of Sri Lanka Monitor. The supplied account says that the ship Akbar left Trincomalee for India on 28 August 1989 carrying 614 Tamil refugees, approximately 400 of whom were government employees and their family members.

It also raises questions about whether the journey was wholly voluntary. According to the supplied account, government employees feared losing employment or pension rights if they remained in India, while EROS reportedly alleged in the Indian media that some people had been sent to India despite wishing to remain in Trincomalee.

However, this report could not be verified on page 2 of the copy catalogued by Noolaham as The Sri Lanka Monitor 1989.10 (2.7). The departure date, the figure of 614, the approximately 400 employees and family members, and the allegation of forced departure are therefore not presented here as verified historical facts. This entry requires correction when the relevant original issue or page is located.

Reference requiring verification: “Refugees Forced to India?”, Sri Lanka Monitor, No. 20, October 1989, p. 2. This citation currently does not correspond to the available Noolaham copy.

5. 1990: An Allegation Recorded at the UN Concerning 40 Displaced Tamils in Pulmottai

The United Nations Special Rapporteur’s report on summary or arbitrary executions, E/CN.4/1991/36, lists allegations received about civilian killings in the north and east in June 1990.

Paragraph 472(e) records an allegation that, on 30 June 1990, 40 displaced Tamil people were killed by gunfire from a Sri Lankan navy vessel in the Pulmottai area of Trincomalee.

This is an important allegation recorded in an official UN document. It is not a judicial finding established by a UN investigation. The report explicitly introduces these incidents as allegations. Although the Sri Lankan government’s response discusses the security situation and investigative difficulties more generally, the relevant section does not provide a specific response to this Pulmottai incident.

Source details: United Nations, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Summary or Arbitrary Executions, E/CN.4/1991/36, paras. 471–472(e), document pp. 115–116.

Conclusion

These records reveal interconnected aspects of Trincomalee’s history between 1983 and 1990: allegations against security personnel, limited attempts at internal accountability, women’s opposition to war, questions concerning refugees’ freedom of choice, and the recording of allegations about civilian deaths at the United Nations.

The information cannot all be treated as equally established. Reported dismissals, a proposed court martial, the Mothers’ Front’s own statement, a refugee-departure reference awaiting verification, and the Pulmottai allegation recorded by the UN have different evidential statuses.

Preserving these records openly and carefully is an important historical task, helping ensure that the experiences of Trincomalee’s people are not forgotten.

Category: Documents — Trincomalee. Period: 1983–1990.

Tags: Trincomalee, Pulmottai, Indian Peace Keeping Force, Mothers’ Front, Tamil refugees, 1983 ethnic violence, human rights, documentary history.

Document compilation: Eelam Mannin Suvadugal. Readers with additional testimony, lists of names or primary documents that could correct the record may share them in the comments with full reference details.