Mannar mass grave Magistrate unable to divulge JMO’s report

By Romesh Madushanka  

Mannar Magistrate T.  Swarnarajah yesterday said he was unable to reveal the contents of the report submitted by the JMO on the findings of the Mannar mass grave, until Beta Analytic Institute of Florida, USA directly provides in writing about the Carbon dating report on the time frame to the courts.

findings of the Mannar mass grave, until Beta Analytic Institute of Florida, USA directly provides in writing about the Carbon dating report on the time frame of the Mannar mass grave to the Magistrate courts. 

Therefore, he was not in a position to make the report of the JMO in public. 

 
The  Magistrate made this declaration yesterday in the open court of Mannar, when the court resumed its hearing on a motion submitted by the attorneys representing the relatives of the missing persons was taken up.  When the attorneys representing the relatives of missing persons requested for a copy of the JMOs report submitted in the morning to be provided for them, the Mannar Magistrate made the order as above.  The Magistrate postponed the sessions and fixed the next date for the hearing to February 25.  

The  Carbon Report of the American Research Institute on the samples obtained from the skeletal remains unearthed at the site of the mass grave in Mannar had been handed over to the Mannar Magistrate yesterday, said the specialist JMO Dr. Saminda Rajapakse, who is in charge of the excavations at the site of the mass grave.  

The  research centre in Florida in USA had forwarded by e-mail on February 16 a report on the carbon dating of five samples out of six, sent to them for determination of the age of the skeletal remains. A photocopy of this report had been obtained and steps had been taken to hand over this report yesterday to the Mannar Magistrate courts.  

Speaking further on this matter, Dr. Rajapakse said, “ The Carbon dating report sent by the American research centre was handed over this morning to the Mannar Magistrate T. Swarnarajah under my purview. The court would now decide to notify in due course the matters containing in the report, and the release of such information would depend on the decisions taken by the courts. Even today, the excavations at the Mannar mass grave site is continuing for the 147th day and up to now 323 human skeletal remains had been unearthed, and the skeletal remains belonging to 314 human bodies which were unearthed had been deposited at the Mannar courts. Among the remains, 28 were found to have been of children.”

Florida carbon dating report forwarded by e-mail on February 16