According to Human Rights Watch , in 2002 the then Sri Lankan government authorities appeared more willing than in past years to acknowledge official responsibility for atrocities . On January 31 , 2002 Sri Lankan army personnel in Batticaloa publicly acknowledged their role in large-scale massacres of civilians in the east , mentioning notorious attacks in Kokkaddicholai , Sathurukkondaan , Vanthaarumoolai , and Batticaloa . In February 2002 , the attorney general reportedly issued indictments against more than six hundred police and armed forces personnel implicated in disappearances that occurred before 1994 , many in connection with counterinsurgency operations against the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna ( JVP ) organization . On June 28 , two soldiers were sentenced to six years in prison and fined Rs. 2,500 ( U.S. $ 27 ) each for their role in an abduction and murder in 1989
Vanthaarumoolai
Eastern University massacre
1991 Kokkadichcholai massacre