Kumudini boat massacre
15 Mayıs 1985'te bir feribotta
The Kumudini or Kumuthini boat massacre (Tamil: குமுதினி படகுப் படுகொலைகள்) happened on 15 May 1985, when at least 23 minority Sri Lankan Tamil adults and children on a ferry boat named Kumudini sailing from the island of Delft to the island of Nainathivu were killed by Sri Lankan Navy personnel.
According to eyewitness accounts, six men believed to be from the Sri Lanka navy, dressed in T-shirts and blue trousers and some in shorts, boarded the ferry. One by one, the passengers were called to the aft section of the boat, told to shout their name, age, address, and the destination of their journey, and then hacked to death.
Background
Following two LTTE landmine attacks in Valvettithurai killing 11 military personnel, the Sri Lankan Army carried out the Valvettithurai massacre on 10 May 1985 in which 70 Tamil civilians were killed. In response, the LTTE carried out the Anuradhapura massacre in which 120 Sinhalese civilians were killed on 14 May. This was followed by a series of reprisal massacres against Tamil civilians in which dozens were killed.
The incident
A male eyewitness's account was documented by Amnesty International. The government-owned ferry boat, known as a launch in the local Sri Lankan Tamil dialect, was named Kumudini (also Kumuthini) and frequented a number of islets in the Northern province. On the morning of May 15, 1985, after the ferry left the island of Delft en route to the island of Nainativu, a group of eight armed men approached Kumudini in a fiberglass boat and ordered its crew to halt. Six of the perpetrators boarded the ferry while two remained in the other boat, securing it to Kumudini using a rope.
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