What Happened
Cheddikulam is a border village in the Vavuniya district located 20 Kms from Vavuniya town along the Vavuniya-Mannar Road. Farmers, business people, labourers and government employees live in this area.
On 02.12.1984, the Sri Lankan military imposed curfew throughout Cheddikulam. The military began cordoning off the area at 5:30am. Most of the people in the village were still asleep. The military that came into the village took the males for inquiries. 52 men were taken in the military vehicles to the adjacent town of Mathavachchi.
There has been no information about these 52 men since. The people say that the 52 men were taken to a Sinhala village in Mathavachchi, and there they were chopped up with sharp knives and heavy vehicles were run over them.
A teacher at Cheddikulam Mahavidhyalayam says: "Following the incident people displaced to Vanni, Madhu and India. Among the 52 people killed were my younger brother, my brother-in-law and two more people living with us."
Perpetrators
Sri Lankan Army
Sources & References
- NESOHR - Lest We Forget Volume I