August 1, 2025 – Colombo / Geneva / Jaffna
The Tamil community, both in the homeland and diaspora, urgently calls for an independent international investigation into grave human rights violations allegedly committed by Douglas Devananda and his paramilitary group, the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), between 1992 and 2009.
These calls are now amplified following the declassified May 18, 2007 cable from then-U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Robert O. Blake, which revealed harrowing details of EPDP’s involvement in:
- Abductions, rape, and forced prostitution of Tamil women and girls;
- Child trafficking and child soldier recruitment from refugee camps;
- Extortion and assassinations of Tamil activists and politicians;
- Massacres and extrajudicial killings coordinated with the Sri Lankan military.
Ambassador Blake documented how the EPDP, under Douglas Devananda’s leadership, operated with impunity, protected and facilitated by high-ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
These crimes, the report says, were often conducted in tandem with Sri Lankan Army patrols—who would “take coordinated breaks” during killings, allowing paramilitary gunmen to murder Tamil targets with full immunity.
Time to Unearth the Truth
We demand that the Sri Lankan government allow a fully independent international or hybrid investigative body—such as one under the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) or International Criminal Court (ICC)—to:
- Thoroughly investigate Douglas Devananda and all EPDP leadership,
- Exhume and identify additional mass grave sites beyond the already discovered Chemmani grave, where dozens of Tamils, including surrendering youths, were found buried,
- Preserve and protect other suspected burial sites in Velvettithurai, Allaipiddy, Kayts, and Delft Island, where Tamil families report similar atrocities.
No More Cover-Ups
Although the Colombo government claims progress through local commissions and domestic inquiries, the Tamil people do not trust the impartiality of internal investigations. For decades, these so-called “inquiries” have produced no convictions, no accountability, and no justice for the families of the disappeared.
If the Government of Sri Lanka is sincere about reconciliation and healing, it should cooperate fully with international mechanisms, allow independent forensic investigations, and open all military-controlled lands for excavation where Tamil families believe their loved ones were buried.
Justice Is Not Optional
We owe it to the thousands of Tamil children, mothers, students, and activists who were abducted, tortured, and silenced. Justice delayed is justice denied. The world cannot stay silent any longer.
“According to a U.S. Embassy cable reported by the Tamil Guardian, the Sri Lankan government has been accused of complicity in serious human rights abuses, including crimes involving Douglas Devananda and his paramilitary group, the EPDP.”
Source: The Guardian – US Embassy Cables
