Personal data
Name
Thavamani Kannaiya
Date of birth
1934
Age
75
Place of birth
Ganeshapuram, Kilinochchi
Biographical details
Thavamani Kannaiya was 75 years old at the time of her murder and lived in the town of Suthanthirapuram in the Mullaitivu district. This area is under Tamil administration.
Indcident
Date
08.02.2009
Location
Suthanthirapuram, Mullaitivu
Description
Since September 2008, Sri Lankan Government banned access for all the independent monitors, humanitarian workers including UN and the media to the combat zone (Vanni) and systematically isolated the combat zone (Vanni) from the outside world and waged a genocidal war without any witness.
Thavamani Kannaiya is among the 20,000 identified cases who fell victim to the Sri Lankan armed forces. She and her son were attacked and killed in a bombing raid in the “safe zone” by the Sri Lankan Air Force in the town of “Suthanthirapuram” in Mullaitivu. The Sri Lankan Air Force did not distinguish between military targets and civilians. Many of the airstrikes used outlawed munitions, such as cluster bombs and phosphorus bombs. The attack and killing of Tamil civilians continued first by the air force and then by Sri Lankan ground forces with artillery shells. The Commander-in-Chief of these forces at that time was Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He is currently the President of Sri Lanka.
Legal situation (investigation/criminal proceedings)
No one was ever held accountable and there were no criminal proceedings in court. The Sri Lankan officers, who commanded it, and the responsible soldiers have not been convicted to this day.