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The Agony and Ecstasy of a Pogrom: July 1983
Two Survivors Not all Tamils in Sri Lanka are Tamils. A few who have been born and bred in the South-Western parts of the island have been de-Tamilicised. They know very little…
Two Survivors Not all Tamils in Sri Lanka are Tamils. A few who have been born and bred in the South-Western parts of the island have been de-Tamilicised. They know very little…
Sri Lanka’s Muslim women are being denied family and other rights available to other women under this country’s constitution. The government committee set up nine years ago to reform the out-dated and…
Fort Railway Station was eerily quiet on August 9. The ticket-counters and the Station Master’s office were empty and unstaffed. There was a heavy police presence at the station, but none of…
On July 23, former UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, Ben Emmerson released a report following on from his visit to Sri Lanka in 2017. Emmerson pulled no punches in…
Writer S Karunakaran reflects on Black July from the perspective of a marginalised and often forgotten community – the Malaiyagha Tamils – and specifically those who tried to resettle in the North…
“When we talk of the 1983 unrest, the word ‘riot’ is used very often,” M Mayuran of the Mass Movement for Social Justice says. “But that word is quite complicated. A riot…
On August 2, the Joint Opposition held the “Jana Bala Sena” rally, beginning at Lipton Circus and ending at the Vihara Maha Devi Park amphitheatre. The protest at Lipton Circus was broadcast…
“If the majority thinks that a minority community is posing a threat to them or are developing in a manner that creates fear among them, then it is a problem for the…
The phenomenon of democratic decay has gained attention around the world by various different academics, especially in light of countries such as Poland, Hungary and the United States. Scholars such as Tom…
“Fear Allah! Do not do injustice to your own community women and girls” This was the plea on placards held by many of the women who stood near the Parliament opposing Muslim…
“There is no proper record of what happened, or how the killings took place during that time. We do not have any information or documentation to pass it on to our future…
The flat, cardboard boxes are stacked almost to the ceiling. The neatly glued label of one of them is clearly visible when a door opens – briefly releasing a puff of air-conditioned…
The violation of the language rights following the enactment of Official Languages Act No. 33 of 1956, started the process of human rights violations of the Tamils of Sri Lanka which eventually…
July 23 marked the 35th anniversary of one of post independent Sri Lanka’s darkest chapters, the July 1983 pogrom against Tamil civilians throughout the country. An ambush of an Army patrol in Jaffna,…
“As we travelled a small distance, I stretched my feet under the seat and I saw swords and rods. There were around 11 people in the van. None of them could speak…