Why Didn’t Volker Türk go digging for 40,000 skeletons in Mullivaikkal?

 

Volker Türk’s recent visit to Sri Lanka felt more like a political performance than a serious humanitarian mission. At a time when the world’s attention is rightfully on the unfolding catastrophe in Gaza with bombings by both Israel & Iran, the UN Human Rights Chief saw fit to spend three days in Sri Lanka — not to address a current crisis, but to mourn at an unverified burial site dating back to the 1990s conspicuously decorated with LTTE flags.

If skeletons are what he seeks, he could have started with Mullivaikkal, where the UN and several Western nations have spent the past 16 years claiming “40,000 civilians were killed” in 2009 without a bone of proof. If such a number had actually perished, there should be evidence — mass graves, bones, forensic trails. Yet, no one — including Türk — has ever taken a shovel to Mullivaikkal to find these missing 40,000. Mind you there are no names, no bones & no graves.

Ironically, mass graves do exist elsewhere on the island — the legacy of Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial massacres as well as LTTE’s torture chamber deaths in Thunnukkai. Why was Turk not interested to visit crime sites of the LTTE? How come these don’t end up inserted to his itinerary?

Skeletons Exist — But Not Where the UN Wants to Look

Dig in Uva-Wellassa, Gannoruwa, Balana, or Randeniwala, and one would likely unearth the brutal truths of imperial conquest. Sri Lankans have not demanded global mourning for these centuries-old crimes. Perhaps its time we should.

Instead, we now have the head of the UNHRC laying flowers at a site from the 1990s — not even verified — surrounded by LTTE insignia and colors, exposing the event as a politicized spectacle aligned with separatist propaganda. Reports suggest the remains there may belong not to civilians, but to rival Tamil militant groups eliminated by the LTTE. Let’s not forget, the IPKF was also in the North at the time, and their “peace keeping” too left a trail of unresolved deaths.

The 40,000 Myth: quoted, repeated, but never verified or proved with facts or evidence

The “40,000 civilians killed” claim first appeared in the 2011 Darusman Report, where the panel vaguely stated that “as many as 40,000 may have been killed.” That “may have” was quickly dropped by media, NGOs, and diplomats who began quoting it as fact.

Let’s be clear — none of the following who quoted 40,000 were even in Sri Lanka during the final stages of the war:

• UK Times
• Channel 4
• International Crisis Group
• Human Rights Watch & Amnesty International
• British MPslike Siobhain McDonagh and Joan Ryan
• Robert Blake, former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka

Even Gordon Weiss, ex-UN spokesperson, initially quoted this figure in his book The Cage — but had to backtrack at his book launch when challenged on the source and credibility.

The only official on-ground UN estimate came from the UN Country Team in Sri Lanka:

7,721 civilian deaths and 18,479 injuries was their figure.
This is based on real-time data, not armchair extrapolation.

Later, Lord Naseby exposed the manipulation further in the UK House of Lords, citing British Defence Attaché reports that estimated fewer than 8,000 deaths, including LTTE combatants.

So where did this “40,000” really come from? It’s now clear — it was part of a post-war revenge campaign by those who saw the LTTE’s defeat as a loss of geopolitical leverage or financial interest. The LTTE’s defeat was not convenient for everyone — especially not for those who benefitted from conflict.

More than 40,000? Fabrication goes further

Several others inflated the number beyond 40,000 without a shred of evidence:

• Frances Harrisoncalled 40,000 a “conservative estimate.”
• Yasmin Sooka, a Darusman Panel member, now claims up to70,000 may have died.
• Diaspora-led LTTE fronts in the West casually toss around figures of100,000+ without accounting for LTTE combatants, people who fled abroad, or those killed by the LTTE itself.

A Just War,

Unlike the United States, which responded to a single 9/11 attack by invading Afghanistan and Iraq (nations not even directly responsible), Sri Lanka endured 30 years of brutal LTTE terrorism before choosing military action. The decision to defeat the LTTE was taken only after multiple peace talks, internationally brokered ceasefires, and three formal offers to surrender were rejected by the LTTE.

To ensure transparency, the Sri Lankan government formed a Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (CCHA), inviting foreign envoys, UN officials, and INGO heads to question senior military and government leaders directly — an unprecedented level of access. If anyone had genuine concerns about indiscriminate attacks or war crimes, that was their platform. No such concerns were raised at the time.

Even when UK and France tried to give the LTTE a lifeline, Sri Lanka’s president refused to bow to pressure. That firm stance marked the LTTE’s end. The loss of the group as a cash cow for foreign agents and NGOs naturally triggered a smear campaign — and voilà: the “40,000” dead was born.

Volker’s Misplaced Priorities

Instead of calling for a prosecutorial office in Sri Lanka based on hearsay and NGO lobbying, Volker Türk should have addressed genuine crises — in Gaza, Yemen, or Sudan.

The UNHRC and OHCHR have acted far beyond their mandate — two flawed reports & an Ivestigation (Darusman & Petrie and OISL) not authorized by the UN General Assembly, UNSC, or UNHRC itself are now being used to justify ongoing harassment of a sovereign nation that defeated terrorism — the only country in the world to do so without foreign troops.

Volker’s flower-dropping tour in Sri Lanka was not humanitarian; it was political theatre — an effort to revive a defeated narrative scripted by NGO networks and separatist lobbyists.

If Volker truly believes 40,000 civilians were killed, let him go to Mullivaikkal with a shovel, dig for skeletons, and present the forensic evidence. After 16 years, even U.S. satellite imagery has revealed nothing. No names, no bones, no graves.

That silence speaks louder than any UN report.

A Final Blow to the Farce

The final blow to this charade came when the United States itself pulled funding for war crimes investigations against Sri Lanka. The country that once drafted UNHRC resolutions against Sri Lanka now officially acknowledges there’s no case to pursue.

That alone should bury the myth of 40,000 — once and for all & bury the prosecutorial office plan with it.

 

 

Shenali D Waduge