-Caveat Lector- Mass Grave Probe Opens in Sri Lanka BY GEMUNU AMARASINGHE .c The Associated Press JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (AP) - Workers began digging Wednesday at a suspected site of a mass grave thought to hold the remains of nearly 300 minority Tamils who disappeared while in military custody three years ago. Relatives of the missing people watched the excavation together with five Western observers, including a representative from Amnesty International. The Sri Lankan government ordered the digging after a soldier convicted last year of the rape and murder of a Tamil family told judges he had helped bury the victims of other soldiers. The convicted soldier, Lance Cpl. Somaratne Rajapakse, was brought in handcuffs to the excavation site. Raising his right hand, he pointed out spots where he claimed to have helped bury the bodies. More than 58,000 people have been killed in fighting between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels since 1983. The rebels have been fighting to establish a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils, accusing the majority Sinhalese of widespread discrimination in education and jobs. The rebels seized the Jaffna peninsula at the island nation's northern tip in 1990 and proclaimed a government for more than 1 million people, mostly Tamils, living in northern Sri Lanka. The army recaptured the area in 1996 after a 50-day offensive, and some 600 Tamils disappeared while in military custody. The army has been in control of the area since then, but rebels continue intermittent attacks from surrounding jungles. A Jaffna court on Wednesday permitted Sri Lanka's Justice Ministry to start the excavation at Chemmani near Jaffna, 185 miles north of Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. Amnesty International had accused the government of stalling the digging, but the government blamed delays on floods and difficulty in finding specialists. Investigators said that during two hours of digging Wednesday, workers found part of a human body - a man's knee. The army said it had cleared the area of land mines, which are used both by the rebels and the army. The digging will resume Thursday. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
