Black July which out broke in 1983 was the climax of the dramatic incidents which occurred during a period of time creating tension among Sinhala and Tamil communities. The incident has ended up creating a black scar on the face of nation and because of the rebound reactions, Sri Lanka has suffered a 30 year war and still trying to find a proper way to reconciliation among the two ethnic groups torn into two parts.
The Incidents which Gave Way to Black July
-Source: Wikipedia
After the colonial period a majority of government jobs were held by Tamils, although they were a minority of the country’s population. In 1956, the Sinhala only act was introduced. This new act replaced English with Sinhala as the nation’s official language. For which Tamil Sri Lankans felt that they were deprived of their rights.
The 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom and riots in Ceylon, also known as the 58 riots,
refer to the first island wide ethnic riots and pogrom to target the minority Tamils
occurred. The riots lasted from 22 May until 27 May 1958. The estimates of the
murders range, based on recovered body count, from 158 to 1,500. Although most
of the victims were Tamils, majority Sinhalese civilians and their property was
also affected both by attacking Sinhalese mobs who attacked those Sinhalese who
provided sanctuary to Tamils as well as in retaliatory attacks by Tamil mobs
throughout the Batticaloa and Jaffna districts. The events of 1958 shattered
the trust the communities had in one another and led to further polarization.
Throughout the 1960s, protests, and state repression in response, created
further animosity.
After that, more than 75,000 plantation Tamils who became victims of racial violence and were forced to relocate to parts of North and East Sri Lanka. The events during the pogrom radicalized Tamil youths. convincing many that legal and constitutional means to achieve independence would never work, and armed insurrection was the only way forward. Many such Tamil activists began to join various Tamil militant groups to fight for separate statehood.
In 1972, the policy of standardization, which restricted Tamils' entry into universities, strained the already tenuous political relationship between the elites of the Tamil and Sinhalese communities. The quota affecting political representation became another cause for contention between Sinhalese and Tamil people.
After that, more than 75,000 plantation Tamils who became victims of racial violence and were forced to relocate to parts of North and East Sri Lanka. The events during the pogrom radicalized Tamil youths. convincing many that legal and constitutional means to achieve independence would never work, and armed insurrection was the only way forward. Many such Tamil activists began to join various Tamil militant groups to fight for separate statehood.
In 1972, the policy of standardization, which restricted Tamils' entry into universities, strained the already tenuous political relationship between the elites of the Tamil and Sinhalese communities. The quota affecting political representation became another cause for contention between Sinhalese and Tamil people.
There was also a series of ethnic riots in 1981, the renowned public library
in Jaffna was burnt down by a violent mob. Until 1983, there were similar
incidents of low-level violence between the government and the mushrooming
Tamil militant groups. There were many murders, disappearances, and cases of
torture attributed to both sides.
On 23 July 1983 at around 11:30 pm, the rebel LTTE ambushed the military
patrol near Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka and Killed 15 soldiers in total.
The decision
was made to hold the funerals, with full military honors, at Colombo's General
Cemetery, at Kanatte, a large crowd, including around 3,000 people from the
Wanathamulla slum, started gathering at the cemetery, angered by news of the
ambush, which was magnified by wild rumor.
By the time the plane carrying the bodies arrived at Airport at
7:20 pm, the crowd at the cemetery had swollen to more than 8,000. The
crowd wanted the bodies to be handed over to the families rather than to be
buried at the cemetery. Violence broke out between the crowd and police, and
the riot squad was summoned. The president then decided to cancel the military
funeral and hand the bodies over to the families.
A section of the crowd marched up various
parts of the Colombo streets, where they attacked and looted Tamil properties
and set them alight. Members of criminal gangs came to join the ensuing chaos.
Although the violence began as a spontaneous reaction by Sinhalese mobs who
had gathered at the Colombo cemetery where the bodies of the soldiers were to
be buried, they were later joined by elements associated with Sinhalese
political activists involved in the organization of the riots. During the early
stages of the riots, it is alleged that the local police and military stood by
and did nothing. Numerous eyewitness accounts suggest that "in many places
police and even military personnel joined the rioters". by 26 July the police and army were out in the
streets taking action 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.
An illustration drawn to show the gravity of Black July
The reporting from the witnesses clearly testimonies the graveness of the events out broke.
London's Daily Telegraph (July 26) wrote:
Motorists were dragged from their cars to be stoned and beaten with sticks.
Others were cut down with knives and axes. Mobs of Sinhala youth rampaged
through the streets, ransacking homes, shops and offices, looting them and
setting them ablaze, as they sought out members of the Tamil ethnic minority. A
mob attacked a Tamil cyclist riding near Colombo's eye hospital. The cyclist
was hauled from his bike, drenched with petrol and set alight. As he ran
screaming down the street, the mob set on him again and hacked him down with
jungle knives.
Paul Sieghart of the International Commission of Jurists stated in Sri
Lanka: A Mounting Tragedy of Errors, two months after the riots, that:
Clearly this (July 1983 attack) was no spontaneous upsurge of communal
hatred among the Sinhala people – nor was it as has been suggested in some
quarters, a popular response to the killing of 13 soldiers in an ambush the
previous day by Tamil Tigers, which was not even reported in the newspapers
until the riots began. It was a series of deliberate acts, executed in
accordance with a concerted plan, conceived and organized well in advance.
Although the outbreak was sudden act the sparks of the devastating
flame was a gradually formed mistrust between Sinhalese and Tamils which was
backed by certain political activities during that era. However, the result was
the 30 years of war between Sri Lankan army and the LTTE. Still the scars of
mistrust are visible between two nationalities and will take a long term of
reconciliation process to reunite the trust which lost long before.
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