Black July

‘Black July’ is the colloquial term used to refer to the Sri Lankan anti-Tamil pogrom which took place in, July 1983. The common narrative regarding the riot was that it was premeditated, government funded and was set into motion after the terrorist militant group, the Tamil Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) caused the death of 13 Sri Lankan army soldiers in a deadly ambush on the 23rd of July, 1983. In the events that followed, multiple Tamil civilians were murdered, raped, dismembered & burnt while their properties and businesses were looted and set ablaze.

Black July, is considered to be the darkest period in the modern history of Sri Lanka, since there was a full - fledged genocide taking place in the heart of Colombo and even though the government of the time was very well aware of the ongoing riots, the saddening truth is that, they deliberately chose to not help the hunted and to not prosecute any of the rioters, as the rioters belonged to the major ethnic community of Sri Lanka, the Sinhala Buddhists.

Chronological Accounts

23rd July, 1983 –

The LTTE ambushed the ‘Four Four Bravo’ military patrol squadron in Thirunelveli, near Jaffna. In the ensuing clash that took place, 12 soldiers and 1 officer were killed.The regional commander of the LTTE, Kittu admitted that the ambush was pre-planned and executed as retaliation for the killing of Charles Anthony (founding member of the LTTE) & the abduction and rape of multiple Tamil school girls by the government forces.

24th of July, 1983–

The final decision was made to hold the funeral of the soldiers, with full military honours at the Borella Cemetery. Prime Minister R. Premadasa, fearing violence was against holding the funeral in Colombo but his requests were overruled by President J. R. Jayewardene. A crowd consisting of approximately 3,000 people started gathering at the cemetery, angered by news of the ambush. Violence broke out between the crowd and police.

The mob which by that time numbered around 10,000, attacked, looted and set fire to any building near Borella Junction that had a Tamil connection.The crowd then dispersed in the direction of Dematagoda, Maradana, Narahenpita, Grandpass, and Thimbirigasyaya where they attacked, looted and committed arson.

The rioters started to use voter registration lists to target Tamils civilians and their properties which implied prior organization and cooperation by elements of the government

Government’s Response

During the early stages of the riots, it is alleged that the local police and military stood by and did nothing, or even assisted the mobs. Numerous eyewitness accounts suggest that "in many places police and even military personnel joined the rioters".

The Sri Lankan government was internationally accused of being complicit during the pogrom and of machinating plans for the Sinhalese mobs. President Jayewardene has been accused of failing to condemn the violence, express sympathy to the survivors or take any meaningful measures to punish the perpetrators of the violence, while he mercilessly blamed the Tamil civilians for bringing the riots upon themselves&praised the mobs as heroes of the Sinhalese people.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph on 11 July 1983, about two weeks prior to the riots, Pres. Jayewardene expressed the state's ignorance with regards to the violence against the Tamils:

“I am not worried about the opinion of the Jaffna (Tamil) people now. Now we cannot think of them. Not about their lives or of their opinions about us. The more you put pressure in the north, the happier the Sinhala people will be here... really, if I starve the Tamils, Sinhala people will be happy....”

Aftermath

The estimates of casualties vary. While the government initially stated just 250 Tamils were killed, various NGOs and international agencies estimate that around 3,000 people believed to be Sri Lankan Tamils or Hill Country Tamils, were killed in the riots. 53 political prisoners alone were killed in the Welikade prison massacre. Eventually the Sri Lankan government put the death toll at about 300 dead.

More than 18,000 houses and numerous commercial establishments were destroyed, and thousands of Tamils fled the country to Europe, Australia and Canada. Many Tamil youths also joined various Tamil groups, including the Tamil Tigers. The estimated monetary cost of destruction stands at $300 million +.

The Future?

History cannot be erased nor can it be corrected. ‘Black July” is a term that would forever strike fear into the hearts of many Lankan Tamil civilians from Colombo due to the exorbitant amounts of violence, loss and fear they experienced during the riots. The civilian Sinhalese members of different neighbourhoods that lent a helping hand, risking the lives of their own families are the unsung heroes of this riot. Only a unified community that glorifies values of mutual respect for cultures, religions and traditions could stop the re-emergence of such violence in this country.

MAY GOD FORBID SRI LANKA OF SUCH BRUTALITY IN THE FUTURE AND MAY RACISM PERISH.

“While travelling on a bus when a mob laid siege to it, passengers watched as a small boy was hacked 'to limb-less death'. In another incident, two sisters, one eighteen and one eleven, were decapitated and raped, the latter 'until there was nothing left to violate and no volunteers could come forward', after which she was burned. While all this was going on, a line of Buddhist monks appeared, arms flailing, their voices raised in a delirium of exhortation, summoning the Sinhalese to put all Tamils to death.”

Content By: Rtr. Adheeb Anwar ,LLB, 1st Year

Design By: Rtr. Nethmi Hasna Fernando, BSc. Economics and Management , Alumini