By Pitasanna Shanmugathas –

Pitasanna Shanmugathas

The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) developed a detailed reparations claim in collaboration with the Valvettithurai Citizens’ Committee that was submitted Friday to the Sri Lankan Office for Reparations seeking USD $15 million (LKR 4.5 billion) for victims of a 1989 massacre in the Jaffna peninsula where at least 66 civilians were killed and 34 injured by the Indian Peacekeeping Forces (IPKF). Valvettithurai is a small coastal town in Northern Sri Lanka. This marks the first time in Sri Lankan history that victims have filed a comprehensive compensation claim for a historic mass atrocity crime.

The IPKF was deployed in the North-East in 1987 under the Indo-Lanka Accord, ostensibly to enforce peace between the Sri Lankan state and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The IPKF became implicated in widespread atrocities against Tamil civilians, including killings, disappearances, and sexual violence.

The claim is significant as it establishes a precedent in Sri Lanka for calculating damages from decades-old conflict-era violations and applies internationally recognized reparation principles to Sri Lankan transitional justice processes. The reparations submission follows a March 2025 publication by the ITJP of eyewitness testimony documenting the massacre that unfolded in August 1989, during which IPKF soldiers killed civilians, tortured detainees, and committed sexual violence, and systematically destroyed homes and businesses while the town was under curfew.

One witness described the executions at a house where civilians had gathered for safety:

“The kneeling pairs were shot in the presence of their mothers, wives and children and other relatives. The horrible sight was over in five minutes. The IPKF threatened to shoot anyone who cried.”

Another witness recounted an instance of rape committed by IPKF soldiers. The report details her testimony in an affidavit:

“At 4pm soldiers came and demanded to search the house. I tried to step outside, but was forced back and taken into a room at gunpoint.” When her child tried to run away crying through fear, another soldier made the child sit in the corner of the room. Two Sikh soldiers then undressed her and raped her in turn, while a third clamped a hand over her mouth. She stated that she was warned to “keep silent or her whole family would be killed.”

The reparations framework includes restitution of property and legal status, compensation for quantifiable losses, rehabilitation through health and psychological support, satisfaction including a formal apology from the Government of India, and guarantees of non-repetition through legal and institutional reform. The claim calculates damages based on 1989 valuations adjusted for interest using the Sri Lankan one-year Treasury rate, following commercial dispute resolution methodologies.

The Citizens’ Committee emphasized that ultimate responsibility for the massacre lies with the Government of India, under whose command the IPKF operated, though the claim was submitted to Sri Lankan authorities who bear duty to initiate reparations.

The question of accountability for IPKF actions remains  contentious. When contacted by this writer regarding whether senior IPKF figures should publicly apologize as part of the Valvettithurai  reparation efforts, retired Colonel Ramani Hariharan, who served as head of intelligence for the IPKF, responded:

“Who are you to ask me to apologize? What do you know about the Tamil struggle except [hearsay]? Who am I to apologize for IPKF? I was a soldier serving the army to who I’m accountable.”

The exchange reflects broader debates about individual versus institutional responsibility for military conduct during the Sri Lankan conflict, and the role of symbolic gestures like apologies in comprehensive reparations schemes.

Yasmin Sooka, Executive Director of the ITJP, stated in a press release that the submission represents a historic step in seeking accountability for foreign military abuses on Sri Lankan soil and sets a precedent for other communities to demand justice where states have failed them. The Citizens’ Committee noted that for 35 years survivors have received neither recognition nor redress for losses that extended beyond immediate casualties to include long-term displacement and intergenerational trauma.

The Sri Lankan Office for Reparations has not yet publicly responded to the reparations claim.