MULLAITIVU, Sri Lanka — A Tamil mother who spent nearly 17 years searching for her two sons and son-in-law, who disappeared after surrendering to Sri Lankan military forces during the final days of the country’s civil war, has died without learning their fate.
Murugesupillai Sellamma, 74, from the Muthaiyankattu area of Mullaitivu District, died on April 27, according to relatives and local advocacy groups. Her death comes after years of public protests, appeals, and activism demanding truth and accountability for thousands of Tamils who were forcibly disappeared at the end of the war in 2009.
Sellamma became one of many symbolic figures in Sri Lanka’s long-running struggle over enforced disappearances, joining demonstrations by families across the country’s North and East who have sought answers about relatives last seen in government custody.
On May 18, 2009, during the final stage of the war in Mullivaikkal, Ms. Sellamma and her family crossed into Sri Lankan military-controlled territory through the Mullivaikkal-Vattuvagal bridge, according to family members.
Relatives said she surrendered her two sons and her daughter’s husband to Sri Lankan military personnel after being assured that former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) members and affiliates would undergo rehabilitation and eventually be reunited with their families.
They were never seen again.
For years afterward, Ms. Sellamma participated in roadside protests, hunger strikes, and advocacy campaigns organized by families of the disappeared, calling for international investigations into enforced disappearances and wartime abuses.
Her daughter, Sasikumar Ranjinithevi, has continued that campaign while also caring for younger family members and elderly relatives. She now serves as secretary of the Mullaitivu Association of Relatives of Enforced Disappearances and remains active in efforts to secure justice for her missing family members.
Rights groups and Tamil advocacy organizations say thousands of Tamils remain unaccounted for since the war’s conclusion, including many who witnesses say surrendered directly to Sri Lankan security forces.
Despite years of demonstrations and international scrutiny, successive Sri Lankan governments have failed to provide comprehensive or credible explanations regarding the fate of many of the disappeared.
