Ilayathambi Tharsini
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ilayathamby Tharsini (also Tharsini Ilayathamby) was a minority
Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...
woman who was raped and killed in her home town of Pungudutheevu on December 16, 2005.


Incident

On 16 December 2005 Tharsini Ilayathamby was on her way to her aunt's place. She was allegedly abducted by unknown men close to a
Sri Lankan Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...
post. Her body was found the next day, completely naked, in an abandoned well near the Sri Lankan Navy camp at a place called Maduthuveli. According to the
post mortem An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; ...
report conducted at
Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...
Teaching Hospital, she was brutally raped before being strangled to death. Several injuries caused by fingernails and biting had been found on several parts of her body. One of her breasts had been severely bitten.


Reactions

After the body was found locals violently protested in front of the Navy camp. One person was injured in the subsequent shootings. The locals destroyed an administrative building as a result.
Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora refers to the global diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. It can be said to be a subset of the larger Sri Lankan and Tamil diaspora. Like other diasporas, Sri Lankan Tamils are scattered and dispersed around the g ...
groups also organized protest meetings in the UK. Human Rights groups such as
UTHR The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) or UTHR(J) was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna, in Sri Lanka, as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human Rights. Its public activities as a constituent ...
initially reported that she may have been killed by the rebel LTTE operatives to discredit the government and create an environment of protest. UTHR eventually retracted the statement that the victim had known the naval persons previously. Subsequent to her death, there were number of attacks on the Sri Lankan Navy. The rebel LTTE denied attacking the naval personnel. Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission ruled that such attacks were a violation of the
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
sponsored ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. But number of websites that are known for their pro rebel stance reported that subsequent to the rape and murder, a front organization calling itself resurgence people's force, widely believed to be a front of the rebel
LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam ...
group claimed responsibility for attacks on the Sri Lankan Navy that lead to 15 deaths and another 15 being seriously injured. According to
Tamilnet TamilNet is an online newspaper that provides news and feature articles on current affairs in Sri Lanka, specifically related to the erstwhile Sri Lankan Civil War. The website was formed by members of the Sri Lankan Tamil community residing in ...
, Sri Lankan Tamil political parties such as the
Tamil National Alliance The Tamil National Alliance (TNA; ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu'') was a political alliance in Sri Lanka which represented the Sri Lankan Tamil minority of the country. It was formed in October 2001 by a group of moderate T ...
and others requested that the Sri Lankan government take appropriate actions to protect civilian life.


Government investigation

International and local Human rights organizations such as the ACHR, Home for Human Rights and
UTHR The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) or UTHR(J) was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna, in Sri Lanka, as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human Rights. Its public activities as a constituent ...
have requested a thorough investigation be done to apprehend the culprits. Currently the government is investigating the rape and murder.


See also

* Sexual violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka * Krishanti Kumaraswamy * Ida Carmelitta *
Sarathambal Sarathambal Saravanbavananthatkurukal or better known as Sarathambal was a minority Sri Lankan Tamil woman who was gang raped and killed on 28 December 1999. This became an internationally known incident of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Incident A ...
* Murugesapillai Koneswary


References


Further reading


Rape in Custody in Sri Lanka:Amnesty International


External links


Press release: Pearl:USA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilayathambi, Tharsini 1985 births 2005 deaths Sexual violence in the Sri Lankan civil war People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Rape in Sri Lanka People murdered in Sri Lanka Pungudutivu Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan murder victims Sri Lankan Tamil people 2005 murders in Sri Lanka