German ambassador visits Mannar mass graves

by Sivakami
Dec 3, 2018

Germany's ambassador to Sri Lanka, Joern Rohde, visited the site of the Mannar mass graves on November 27. 

Over 230 skeletons have been recovered from the site, with excavation work ongoing. 

Ambassador Rohde also met with the medical office in charge with the work, Dr Chaminda Rajapakse. 

Excavation work was suspended on November 12 reportedly due to officers having to undertake official court duties. 

The remains are being held at a special chamber in the Mannar Court Complex. Though samples of the remains were supposedly due to be sent to a laboratory in the United States for carbon dating, the decision to send them lies with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Justice. The ministry is yet to reply, and is only expected to respond in December.

There has also been controversy over the announcement in August by the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) that the office would fund the excavation, with concerns being raised about the independence of the office.

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