June 30, 2025 – July 6, 2025 | Vol.15, #25 | ISSN 3084-9330
Photo credits: Tamil Guardian
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Analysis
Over the past week, the Sinhala media – across print, television and social media (as observed through the social media monitoring tool Junkipedia) – provided little to no coverage of the ongoing excavations at the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna (please refer to the graph depicting TV coverage on Chemmani published in this issue of MPA).[1] By contrast, the Tamil media has allotted significant coverage to the excavations since their commencement in mid-May 2025.[2]
This week’s analysis of the Chemmani mass grave is presented under four headings.
I. What were the key events that were covered in the Sinhala and Tamil media?
Three events in the news cycle were discussed in relation to the Chemmani mass grave in the Sinhala and Tamil media.
1. The recommencement of the excavations at Chemmani
In mid-May 2025 a committee appointed by the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court recommenced excavations at the Sinthupathi Hindu Cemetery in Chemmani, Jaffna.[3] In the late 1990s several skeletal remains were uncovered at the site following investigations into the rape and murder of Krishanthi Kumaraswamy in 1996.[4]
The Jaffna court ordered the renewed excavation after skeletal remains were discovered during construction work at the site in February 2025.[5] As of July 7, a total of 52 human skeletons have been identified.[6]
2. The launch of the ‘Unextinguishable Flame’ vigil at Chemmani
On June 23, relatives of missing persons, human rights activists, politicians, religious leaders and civil society organisations launched a three-day vigil in Chemmani under the title ‘Unextinguishable Flame’ to demand accountability, including calls for UN intervention in the excavations at Chemmani.[7]
3. The visit of the UN high commissioner for human rights
On June 23, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk arrived in Sri Lanka.[8] During his visit, Türk engaged with several stakeholders ranging from politicians to relatives of missing persons.[9]
On June 25, Türk visited the Chemmani mass grave, paid tribute to the victims and spoke with protesters who had urged him to visit the site.[10]
II. Divergence of Sinhala and Tamil media on Chemmani
The Sinhala and Tamil press, as well as social media commentary, largely diverged in their reporting on the investigations into Chemmani. Table 1 maps out two key polarised narratives discerned from the Sinhala and Tamil media discourse.
Table 1: Diverging narratives on the investigations into Chemmani
III. Where does the government sit within the Sinhala-Tamil media polarity?
The government appears to be navigating a middle path between the polarised positions of the Sinhala and Tamil media. As highlighted in a previous issue of the MPA, the NPP government has adopted a position that might be characterised as one of “unsupportive acceptance” – engaging with international actors on issues of reconciliation and accountability, while maintaining distance from domestic political narratives.[11]
IV. How is the current government’s international engagement evaluated in comparison to previous governments?
The government appears to distance itself from fully endorsing the Sinhala media narratives, while also refraining from aligning with those of the Tamil media. This balancing manoeuvring by the government appears to be sympathetic to Sinhala viewpoints while maintaining a degree of pragmatism that prevents alienation of Tamil-speaking communities.
Additionally, based on the media coverage, the NPP government appears to have maintained cordial relations with Türk regarding grievances raised by Tamil-speaking communities. The NPP government’s engagement with Türk marks a notable departure from past government interactions with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In particular, the engagement between former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former UN High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay, especially between 2013 and 2014, was widely perceived as confrontational.[12]
While engaging in cordial relations with international actors, the NPP government has largely avoided engaging with the positions presented by Tamil political leaders and Tamil media outlets. This has led to a noticeable dissonance – where the government’s international engagement is not matched by corresponding engagement with domestic Tamil political actors or media.
[1] The MPA team monitored Facebook profiles, TikTok handles and YouTube channels using Junkipedia for the keywords Chemmani and LTTE in Sinhala, from June 30 to July 4, 2025.
[2] For more information, see: https://x.com/verite_tma/status/1938263056997666891; https://x.com/verite_tma/status/1941084725671788646; https://x.com/verite_tma/status/1937517847955284256 and https://x.com/verite_tma/status/1925184292856197445.
[3] For more information, see: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/6/16/new-sri-lanka-mass-grave-discovery-reopens-old-wounds-for-tamils#:~:text=Her%20mother%2C%20brother%20and%20family,in%20mass%20graves%20in%20Chemmani and https://groundviews.org/2025/07/07/chemmani-mass-grave-renewed-excavation-raises-old-questions/.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] For more information, see: https://x.com/kumanan93/status/1942211323162660983 and https://x.com/Prabhakaranlk/status/1942223511453639031.
[7] For more information, see: https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/06/25/lamp-lit-in-chemmani-calling-for-intl-probe-into-mass-graves/ and https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Continuous-protest-begins-in-Jaffna-demanding-justice-for-Chemmani-mass-grave/108-312490.
[8] For more information, see: https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/UN-High-Commissioner-for-Human-Rights-arrives-in-Sri-Lanka/108-312320#:~:text=Colombo%2C%20June%2023%20(Daily%20Mirror,Sri%20Lanka%20after%20nine%20years and https://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=109903.
[9] Ibid.
[10] For more information, see: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d341/d3417493 and https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/06/turk-ends-mission-sri-lanka.
[11] See MPA Vol.15, #13.
[12] For more information, see: https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/08/447932 and https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28832483.
To view this week’s news summaries, please click here.
To view this week’s social media data, please click here.
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