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Black July is the commonly used name for the pogroms starting in Sri Lanka on July 23, 1983. A pogrom is a form of Riot directed against a particular group whether ethnic religious or other and characterized by destruction of their Homes Businesses Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) It is estimated that 1,000[1] Tamil people were killed, tens of thousands of houses were destroyed, and a wave of Sri Lankan Tamils left for other countries. Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern Sri Lankan Tamil people ( or Ceylon Tamils, are an Ethnic group native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka who predominantly speak The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers. Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka to create an independent Tamil Eelam. "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the three armed services of Sri Lanka and is responsible for overseeing land-based military and

Black July is generally seen as the start of full-scale armed conflict between Tamil separatists and the Sinhalese-dominated government of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Civil War is an Ongoing conflict on the Island -nation of Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese are the main ethnic group of Sri Lanka. They speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and number approximately 15 million people with the [2][3][4]

Contents

Background

Main article: Origins of the Sri Lankan civil war
Location of Sri Lanka
Location of Sri Lanka

The impetus for violent conflict between the Tamil minority and the Sinhalese majority began when the British Colonialists favored the Tamils for administrative, educational, and economic control of Sri Lanka due to their policy of divide and conquer. Origins of the Sri lankan civil war is highlighted by the continuous political rancor between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism With the 1956 Sinhala Only Act which initially restricted the fair use of Tamil and English languages. The Sinhala Only Act (formally the Official Language Act) was a law passed in the Sri Lankan parliament in 1956 Protests against this policy by the Tamils was met with mob violence that eventually snowballed into the 1958 riots. Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern In May 1958 Sri Lanka was hit by Riots between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities on the island state

Throughout the 1960s protests and state repression against protests created further animosity. In 1971 the Standardisation policy and other restrictive measures towards Tamil students regarding affirmative action for Muslim and Sinhalese students motivated many Tamil students into Tamil militant groups. The policy of standardization was a policy implemented by the Sri Lankan government in 1973 to rectify disparities created in university enrollment in Sri Lanka under Affirmative action in the United States|Employment equity (Canada|Reservation in India|Numerus clausus The term affirmative action describes many policies aimed at a historically The Sinhalese are the main ethnic group of Sri Lanka. They speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and number approximately 15 million people with the Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka to create an independent Tamil Eelam. Police action against these nascent rebel groups in the Jaffna and Batticalo regions created further distrust between Tamil civilians and the state. Batticaloa (மட்டக்களப்பு in Tamil මඩකළපුව in Sinhala) is the provincial capital of the eastern province of Sri Lanka

There was also a series of notable ethnic riots known as the 1977 riots following the United National Party coming to power in 1977. The Sri Lankan riots of 1977 followed the 1977 general elections in Sri Lanka where the Sri Lankan Tamil nationalistic Tamil United Liberation Front won a plurality The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP Sinhalese: එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය (pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays [5] In 1981 the renowned public library in Jaffna was burnt down by a violent mob. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 The burning of the Jaffna library was an important event in the ongoing Sri Lankan civil war. Until 1983 there were similar incidents of low level violence between the government and the mushrooming Tamil militant groups with a significant number of murders, disappearances and cases of torture attributed to both sides.

Events of July 1983

The events dubbed Black July began after members of the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the Tamil Tigers or the LTTE) organization ambushed a military convoy in the North of Sri Lanka on the evening of July 23, 1983 outside the town of Jaffna in the North of Sri Lanka. "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. Jaffna or Yazhpanam (யாழ்ப்பாணம் in Tamil meaning யாழ்= Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Initially, a remote controlled Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was detonated beneath the jeep that was leading the convoy injuring at least two soldiers on board. A remote control is an electronic device used for the remote operation of a Machine. An improvised explosive device ( IED) is a Bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional Military action As soldiers traveling in a truck which was following the jeep dismounted to help their colleagues, they were ambushed by a group of Tamil Tiger fighters, who fired at them with automatic weapons and hurled grenades at them. An automatic firearm is a Firearm that automatically extracts and ejects the fired cartridge case and loads a new case usually through the energy of the fired In the ensuing clashes, one officer and 12 soldiers were killed, while two more were fatally wounded, bringing the total death toll to 15. [6] Kittu, a regional commander of the LTTE later admitted to planning and carrying out the ambush. [7]

In order to avoid a violent backlash from the population due to the ambush,[8] the government decided to quietly bury the 15 soldiers at the Kanatte cemetery in Colombo. They would therefore be going against standard procedure where the fallen members of the armed forces were buried in their home villages. [9] On the 24th of July, the day the 15 servicemen were to be buried, some Sinhalese civilians who had gathered at the cemetery, angered by news of the ambush, which was magnified by wild rumor,[10] formed mobs and started killing, raping, and assaulting Tamils, while looting and burning their properties in retribution for what happened. The Sinhalese are the main ethnic group of Sri Lanka. They speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and number approximately 15 million people with the A crowd is a group of people. The crowd may have a common purpose or set of emotions such as at a political rally, at a Sports game, or during Looting While a number of Tamils fled the city, many of the Sinhalese people tried to save the lives and properties of Tamils despite the activities of the gangs. Many Tamils were sheltered in Sinhalese houses during following days. [11][12][13]

The government declared an emergency curfew in Colombo on the evening of the 24th, however the Police were unwilling, or unable[14] to enforce the curfew due to the extremely violent nature of the rioting. A curfew can be one of the following An order by a Government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time The Army was then called in to help the Police.

The violence continued the next day however, and began to spread all across the country engulfing areas with sizeable Tamil populations, including Kandy (where curfew was declared at 6 p. Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern Kandy ( maha nuvara, mahaˈnuərə in Sinhala, கண்டி kaṇṭi, ˈkaɳɖi in Tamil) is the English name for the city of m), Matale, Nawalapitiya, Badulla and Nuwara Eliya. Matale is a town in the hill country of Sri Lanka, 142 kilometres (90 miles from Colombo and 26 kilometres (17 miles from Kandy. Nawalapitiya is a town in the hill country of Sri Lanka and home town of the renowned Tamil film actor and politician M Badulla (බදුල්ල in Sinhala; பதுளை in Tamil) is the Capital of Uva Province, Sri Lanka. Nuwara Eliya ( Sinhala: නුවරඑළිය Tamil: நுவரேலியா (pronounced nuːrəliːjə meaning "the city in the open plain (table Vehicles on the streets were burnt, and Tamil people were dragged from cars and beaten or hacked to death with knives and axes. [15] Fire-engines were also driven away by the mobs.

One of the most notorious single massacres of the riots[16] took place at the Welikada high security prison on July 25. The Welikada prison massacre happened during the 1983 Black July pogrom against the Sri Lankan Tamil minority in Colombo, Sri Lanka Thirty-seven Tamil prisoners, most of them detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, were killed by Sinhlase prisoners using knives and clubs. Survivors claimed that the prison officers allowed the keys to fall into the hand of the Sinhalese prisoners, while at the subsequent inquest, the prison officers claimed the keys were stolen from them. [17] A second massacre at the prison took place on July 28, in which a further 15 prisoners were killed. [18]

The curfew was extended nationwide on July 26 as a precautionary measure, as there were more outbreaks of violence against Tamils in areas where various ethnic groups lived together. By the evening of the 26th, the mob violence began to slack off, as the police and army patrolled the street in large numbers and began to take action against the rioters. [19] The soldiers killed in the Jaffna ambush were quietly buried during the night curfew. [20] The daytime curfew was lifted in Colombo the next day, although sporadic violence continued in other parts of the country over the next few days, mainly in response to rumors that "kotiyas" (i. e. Tamil Tiger) were coming to attack the city. [21]

Brief rioting broke out on the 29th, after which police shot dead 15 rioters. [22] A 24-hour curfew was imposed on the capital, and the security forces were able to regain control of the city.

Government's actions

Main articles: Human rights in Sri Lanka and State terrorism in Sri Lanka

There was a growing tension between the Sinhala and Tamil communities of Sri Lanka, even before the actual riots, and with the formation of militant Tamil groups, there was a rising anti-Tamil sentiment among the Sinhalese majority. Major human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United States Department of State and the European Union, Various Non-governmental organizations and individuals have accused the Sri Lankan government of committing state terrorism

Although it started as a spontaneous reaction by Sinhalese mobs gathered at the Colombo Cemetery where the bodies of the soldiers were to be buried, elements associated with the ruling United National Party (UNP) was actively involved in the organization of the riots. A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP Sinhalese: එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය (pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya [23]

Also, during the early stages of riots, the local police officers and military stood by doing nothing. [24]

By July 26, however, police and the army were out in the streets taking actions against the mobs and most of the violence died out. The government extended the curfew to prevent violence from spreading to other parts of the country. A brief span of rioting broke out on July 29 when police shot dead 15 Sinhalese looters.

Even though some Tamil politicians accused the ruling UNP for not taking appropriate actions to prevent the riots, the government in fact took vital counter measures from the very early stages to combat rioters and safeguard the Tamil community. Curfew was enforced immediately after the riots broke out. The attacks, according the government, were carefully organized and government properties such as trains, buildings and buses were the initial targets.

Prime Minister Ranasingha Premadasa formed a committee to organize shelter and feeding for an estimated 20,000 homeless Tamils in Colombo. Ranasinghe Premadasa ( June 23, 1924 - May 1, 1993) was the 3rd President of Sri Lanka from January 2, 1989 These temporary shelters were situated at five school buildings and an aircraft hangar. These shelters, better known as Welfare Centers to the public, were protected by the army soldiers and not a single act of violence nor any discrimination towards Tamils were reported inside them. It should be also noted that the number of refugees increased to around 50,000 and the Government even took measures to send Tamils to north by ships. [25]

Eyewitness accounts

The rioters initially targeted government properties. As it had happened many times before and after, most of the people who gathered at the Borella Kanatta, where the Dead army soldiers were supposed to be buried, directed their anger towards the Government. Later it developed into a full scale violence, targeting Tamil citizens and their properties.

The murder, looting and general destruction of property was well organized. Mobs armed with petrol were seen stopping passing motorists at critical street junctions and, after ascertaining the ethnic identity of the driver and passengers, setting alight the vehicle with the driver and passengers trapped within it.

Mobs were also seen stopping buses to identify Tamil passengers and subsequently these passengers were knifed, clubbed to death or burned alive. One Norwegian tourist saw a mob set fire to a minibus with 20 people inside, killing them all. [23][26]

Tamil civilians in other cities, including Galle, Matara, Gampola, Nawalapitiya, Pusselawa, Ginigathena, Hatton, Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Badulla, and Anuradapura, were also attacked by Sinhalese mobs. Galle (ගාල්ල in Sinhala; காலி in Tamil) (pronounced as one syllable in English gɔːl the same as "Gaul" and in Sinhalese Matara can refer to Matara Eritrea Matara Sri Lanka Matará, Cangallo Province, Peru Gampola is a town located near Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka Nawalapitiya is a town in the hill country of Sri Lanka and home town of the renowned Tamil film actor and politician M Hatton is a small town in the Nuwara Eliya District, Central Province of Sri Lanka, a notable centre of Ceylon Kandy ( maha nuvara, mahaˈnuərə in Sinhala, கண்டி kaṇṭi, ˈkaɳɖi in Tamil) is the English name for the city of Anuradhapura, (අනුරාධපුර in Sinhala, அனுராதபுரம் in Tamil) is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous [23]

Casualty estimation

The estimates of casualties vary. While the government initially stated just 250 Tamils were killed, various NGOs and international agencies estimate that between 400[27] and 3000[27] people suspected of being Sri Lankan Tamils or Hill Country Tamils were killed in the riots. Sri Lankan Tamil people ( or Ceylon Tamils, are an Ethnic group native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka who predominantly speak The Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. 53 political prisoners alone were killed in the Welikade prison massacre. A political prisoner is someone held in Prison or otherwise detained perhaps under House arrest, for his or her involvement in political activity The Welikada prison massacre happened during the 1983 Black July pogrom against the Sri Lankan Tamil minority in Colombo, Sri Lanka Eventually the Sri Lankan government put the death toll at about 1000 dead[1]

More than 18,000 houses and numerous commercial establishments were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Tamils fled the country to India, Europe, Australia and Canada. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page [1] Many Tamil youths also joined the various Tamil militant groups including the LTTE. Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka to create an independent Tamil Eelam. "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie.

Prosecutions and compensations

There was a presidential commission appointed during the subsequent People's Alliance government that estimated that nearly 1000 people killed and 18,000 establishments including houses were destroyed and recommended that restitution be paid. The People's Alliance (PA is a front of political parties in Sri Lanka, formed in 1994. Thus far no restitution has been paid or any criminal proceedings against anyone involved begun. [1]

As a remembrance day

July 24, or Black July Day, has become a day of mourning and remembrance amongst the Sri Lankan Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora around the world. The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora refers to the global Diaspora of the people of Sri Lankan Tamil origin The Canadian Tamil Congress sponsored an event in downtown Toronto on July 24, 2006, for Tamil-Canadians to gather and thank Canada for granting them asylum. Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Right of asylum (or political asylum) is an ancient Judicial notion under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his Similar events were held in Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain, and Australia. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. [28]


References

  1. ^ a b c d President Kumaratunga's speech on the 21st Anniversary of 'Black July'. South Asia Terrorism Portal (2004-07-23). "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France.
  2. ^ Senewiratne, Brian (2006-07-28). Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Sri Lanka's Week of Shame: The July 1983 massacre of Tamils – Long-term consequences. Retrieved on 2006-08-01. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman
  3. ^ Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (1989). The Break up of Sri Lanka: the Sinhalese-Tamil conflict. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1211-5.  
  4. ^ Tambiah, Stanley (1984). Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah (born January 16, 1929)He began teaching Anthropology at the University of Ceylon in 1955 where he remained until 1960 Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy. University of Chicago Press. The University of Chicago Press is the largest University press in the United States ISBN 0-226-78952-7.  
  5. ^ Rajasingham-Senanayake, Darini (May 2001). "Dysfunctional democracy and dirty war in Sri Lanka" (PDF). AsiaPacific Issues, No. 52. . East-West Center Retrieved on 2006-08-01. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman
  6. ^ O'Ballance, Edgar (1989). The cyanide war : Tamil insurrection in Sri Lanka, 1973-88. London: Brassey's (UK). ISBN 9780080366951.   p. 21 see also Edgar O'Ballance
  7. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. Colonel Edgar O'Ballance born 1920 is a British military journalist and researcher 21
  8. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 21
  9. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 21
  10. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 22
  11. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 23
  12. ^ Piyadasa, L. (1986). Sri Lanka: The Holocaust and After. Zed Books. ISBN 0-906334-03-9.  
  13. ^ "Anti-Tamil Riots and the Political Crisis in Sri Lanka" (1984). Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars Vol. 16: 27. Questia.  
  14. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 23
  15. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 23
  16. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 23
  17. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 23
  18. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 25
  19. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 24
  20. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 24
  21. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 24
  22. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 25
  23. ^ a b c (April 1990) The Broken Palmyra - The Tamil Crisis in Sri Lanka: An Inside Account. Claremont, CA: The Sri Lanka Studies Institute (online: University Teachers for Human Rights). Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 90 - 61314.  
  24. ^ Swamy, M. R. Narayan (2003). Inside an Elusive Mind: Prabhakaran. Literate World. ISBN 1-59121-003-8.  
  25. ^ O'Ballance, The cyanide war, p. 24
  26. ^ History of Tamil struggle for freedom in Sri Lanka: A photo album. Quoted from the London Daily Express, 1983-08-29. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Events 708 - Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708) Ilankai Tamil Sangam: Association of Tamils of Sri Lanka in the USA.
  27. ^ a b BBC NEWS | South Asia | Twenty years on - riots that led to war
  28. ^ Canadian Tamil Congress (2006-07-19). Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. "Thousands Of Tamil Canadians Say Thank You To Canada As They Remember "Black July"". Press release. A news release, media release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded Communication directed at members of the News

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