1983 Genocide – Black July
On the 18th of May 1983, the election for the local councils in the Northern Province was held. Elections were held for four local councils namely Jaffna Municipal Council, Valvettithurai Municipal Council, Parutthurai Municipal Council and Savagacheri Municipal Council. The Tamil Liberation Alliance also contested in this election. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) asked to boycott the local council elections. Their neglect was very severe. On the other hand, the then leaders of the Tamil Liberation Alliance were actively engaged in election campaigning. Selective exclusion is 98% successful. Due to this, the then government of JR Jayawardena was shocked by the change of leadership in Tamil Pradesh. It was a shock to the Sinhalese rulers that the Tamil-speaking people rejected the moderate parliamentary leadership and got to know a leadership that fully embraced Tamil nationalism. Thus JR Jayavardhana was frightened like cowherds at the sight of black umbrellas.
To unleash their forces, they burnt houses in Gandharmadam areas. Civilians were attacked. Their properties were looted. A tense situation developed in Jaffna. These incidents escalated and spread to Vavuniya. Shops were also burnt there. It later spread to Trincomalee. In the whole month of June 1983, every day in a Tamil village somewhere in Tirumala, a Tamil son was being cut to death by a Sinhalese. In this case, on July 1, 1983, against the Trincomalee massacre, six organizations, including the Tamil Eelam Liberation Team and the Jaffna University Students' Union, conducted a full-scale shop shutdown. On the day of this shop closure, at around two o'clock in the evening, the Yadhevi convoy which came from Colombo to Jaffna was kept in Gondavil and set on fire by some radical youths. Following this, Dr. S. A. Dharmalingam, who organized the lockout, and Kowai Mahesan, the editor of Swatanthanan Naled, were arrested by the Jaffna police and taken to Colombo. Both of them were imprisoned in Velikadai Jail. This caused tension in Jaffna. Following this, the Sri Lankan government banned the Jaffna-based Tamil daily Swatantan and the English daily Saturday Review. The presses were sealed and locked. Following this, Dr. S. A. Dharmalingam, who organized the lockout, and Kowai Mahesan, the editor of Swatanthanan Naled, were arrested by the Jaffna police and taken to Colombo. Both of them were imprisoned in Velikadai Jail. This caused tension in Jaffna. Following this, the Sri Lankan government banned the Jaffna-based Tamil daily Swatantan and the English daily Saturday Review. The presses were sealed and locked. Following this, Dr. S. A. Dharmalingam, who organized the lockout, and Kowai Mahesan, the editor of Swatanthanan Naled, were arrested by the Jaffna police and taken to Colombo. Both of them were imprisoned in Velikadai Jail. This caused tension in Jaffna. Following this, the Sri Lankan government banned the Jaffna-based Tamil daily Swatantan and the English daily Saturday Review. The presses were sealed and locked. Following this, the Sri Lankan government banned the Jaffna-based Tamil daily Swatantan and the English daily Saturday Review. The presses were sealed and locked. Following this, the Sri Lankan government banned the Jaffna-based Tamil daily Swatantan and the English daily Saturday Review. The presses were sealed and locked.
Thirteen soldiers were killed in a landmine attack in Tirunelveli on July 23rd of the same year. This was done by JR. Jayawardena's government actively campaigned through the electronic media. JR incited racist propaganda that Tamil Tigers had killed thirteen Sinhalese Buddhist soldiers in Jaffna. Even though the army wanted to bury the bodies of the dead soldiers in Jaffna itself, the then Minister of Commerce Atulat Mudali and JR wanted to bury the body of the thirteen soldiers in Colombo after displaying them among the Sinhalese people. J said that the thirteen dead army soldiers will be buried in Kanatha.
A vegetarian restaurant in Porala was attacked on the evening of the 24th. That night the riot spread to Marudanai, Kotanchenai, Vattalai and Negombo. The next day, on the 25th of July, the incident became more widespread. Kollupitti, Pampalapitti, Kompanitheru, Vellavatti, Thekiwela, Morattuwa, Pananturai spread like wildfire to all the Tamil areas of Colombo. As a result, many lakhs of Tamils living in Colombo were made refugees in two days. Thus Bambalapitty Sen. Refugee camps were opened for lakhs of Tamils in many schools like Peter's College, Bampalapitiya Hindu College.
Velikada Jail Massacres.
During this period, the most prominent leaders of the Relo movement like Kuttimani, Thangathurai, Devan, Jagan and Vaidyar Rajasundaram of the Vavuniya Gandhi movement were also imprisoned here. When the speeches given by Kuttimani, Thangathurai etc. during the case in the Colombo High Court were published in the newspapers, it aroused great anger and fury among ministers like President JR, Athulathmudi, Kamini Dissanayaka and Cyril Mathew. Due to this, a plan was made to harm their lives by keeping them in prison. For this, a murder squad was kept ready to be punished in court for crimes like murder and robbery. This murderous force was led by Sepala Ekanayaka, who was sentenced to jail for hijacking a Thai airliner. On the morning of the 25th of July, Kamini Disanayaka and Athulatmudly went to Velikkadai jail and showed a green flag to take the Tamil prisoners. Thirty-five Tamil prisoners, including Kuttimani, Thangathurai and Jagan, were killed that evening. The prison administration did not take any action to save them or stop the murderous Sinhalese inmates. As a result, seventeen more prisoners were killed on July 27th. A total of fifty-two prisoners were unjustly murdered in Velikkadai Jail on both days. Thirty-five Tamil prisoners, including Jagan, were killed. The prison administration did not take any action to save them or stop the murderous Sinhalese inmates. As a result, seventeen more prisoners were killed on July 27th. A total of fifty-two prisoners were unjustly murdered in Velikkadai Jail on both days. Thirty-five Tamil prisoners, including Jagan, were killed. The prison administration did not take any action to save them or stop the murderous Sinhalese inmates. As a result, seventeen more prisoners were killed on July 27th. A total of fifty-two prisoners were unjustly murdered in Velikkadai Jail on both days.
Before this, on the twenty-fourth of July, fifty-one innocent civilians were massacred by the Sinhalese army in places like Tirunelveli and Kandarmadam. Among them, Vidyikaman Kala. Parameswaran, ; including his father-in-law Saravanamuthu. More than three thousand Tamil civilians were killed by cutting and shooting in this incident which broke out even more than this. Thousands of Tamils were targeted and injured in the attacks of the Khadaiyars. Houses, shops, buildings, commercial establishments and movie theaters belonging to the Tamil people were razed to the ground. Tamil properties were looted. In Colombo, many companies such as Y.AS Gnanam, Maharaja Company, K. Gunaratnam, a famous businessman, were heavily affected. Rapbia, a company, estimated that the damage to Tamil properties was more than ten thousand crore rupees in this incident. JR Jayawardena did not take any action during this incident. On July 27, 1983, JR appeared on Rupavakini TV without showing any sympathy to the affected Tamil people and commented that the incidents that happened in the past few days were normal sentiments of the Sinhalese people. Following this, a rumor was spread that the LTTE had arrived in Colombo on a Friday, the twenty-ninth of July. Many more Tamils were killed that day. An educationist named Aramutnayagam was hacked to death when he went to visit his home in Nugegodai. The Tamil youths who worked at the Causeway Establishment in the outskirts of Colombo were shot down by the passing Air Force while seeking safety on the roof of the establishment. The government of JR Jayawardana, who did not make any effort to save the Tamil people who were affected by this incident, passed the Sixth Amendment Act of 1978 in the Sri Lankan Parliament on the fourth day of Avani in 1983 in order to suppress the Tamil protest. According to this, things like fighting for a separate country, encouraging and helping it were declared as serious punishable offences. Arjayewardhana's government passed the Sixth Amendment Act of 1978 in the Sri Lankan Parliament on the fourth day of Avani in 1983 to suppress the Tamil struggle. According to this, things like fighting for a separate country, encouraging and helping it were declared as serious punishable offences. Arjayewardhana's government passed the Sixth Amendment Act of 1978 in the Sri Lankan Parliament on the fourth day of Avani in 1983 to suppress the Tamil struggle. According to this, things like fighting for a separate country, encouraging and helping it were declared as serious punishable offences.
By: Tamil Genocide 1956 – 2001 Book.
