Sri Lanka is still trying to emerge out of the darkness of its three decade long ethnic war that ended in 2009. Unfortunately, the Easter Sunday bombings linked to the Islamic State (IS), and the damaging reaction to it by those who ought to be responsible political leaders, are taking our country once again in […]
Black July
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July 1983 in retrospect: Ten days that shamed Sri Lanka
Image: President Jayewardene did not appeal to stop the violence and never made a apology. [Extracted from the Report of The Presidential Truth Commission on Ethnic Violence (1981-1984)] On the night of 23rd July, around 11.30 p.m. 13 soldiers on a routine patrolling in the North, travelling in a jeep and a truck came under […]
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Lest we forget: The anti-Tamil pogroms in Sri Lanka
It is of no doubt, that Sri Lanka has tainted its history with the blood of the innocent. After gaining independence from the British we turned our attention towards, quite literally, “killing each other”. Some call it nationalism, some ethnic cleansing and some pure mundane madness. Whatever it may be, it is essential that we […]
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Black July, Government Promises and Our Future
(Image: Sunset in NuwaraEliya (c)SLB) by Ruki Fernando. I’m thankful to British Tamils Forum (BTF) for inviting me to share some reflections and thoughts on this occasion. Many of you gathered for this commemoration might be Tamils. Some may be survivors and families of victims of Black July and numerous other abuses which may have […]
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Activists Commemorate ‘Black July’ in Sri Lanka
( Jayathilaka Bandara singing at the Commemoration) No true reconciliation without justice for victims, priest says. As Sri Lankan Tamils mark the anniversary of the “Black July” riots, which triggered a quarter-century of civil war, activists say the lines of division still run deep through the island nation. On July 23, 1983, fighters with the […]
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Red Alert: Is a Black July being threatened through the state media?
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka A spectre is haunting Sri Lanka: the spectre of Cyril Mathew. Are the Tamils of the Western Province regarded as potential hostages in the event of a TNA victory in the Northern Provincial Council and a legitimate assertion of Constitutional rights by that Council? Is a veiled threat being issued through the […]
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Day of mourning for all those who have suffered: the most suitable day for this would be (Black) July 23rd
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha M.P.Perhaps the clearest test of a pluralistic outlook amongst Sri Lankans, to say nothing of basic decency too, is their response to the events of July 1983. Anyone fit to pass the test sees it as an aberration in Sri Lankan history, an outrage in which defenceless Tamils were systematically persecuted.Those who […]
