Thread by @PEARLAlert

THREAD ahead of the #BlackJuly commemorations over the following days. An often repeated myth is that the 1983 Black July pogroms, in which thousands of Tamils were killed, were a response to the killing of 13 soldiers by the LTTE on July 23, 1983. This is false. #Tamil #lka

Violence from state actors had been increasing in the months ahead of #BlackJuly. Tamils were being killed at will. Human rights activists, political activists and militants were being detained and tortured. Local newspapers, including the Saturday Review, documented the violence

In April, SA David and Dr Rajasundaram of the Gandhiyam Movement were arrested and held. They were severely tortured throughout. The Gandhiyam Movement was a non-violent movement, which assisted refugees, by setting up farms and distributing food.

An inquest into the April 10 death of a Tamil detainee at the Gurunagar army camp found 35 injuries. Navaratnarajah, 28, of Kiliveddy, Trincomalee was detained two weeks prior, under the PTA.

After a call for a boycott of the May 18 local elections by the LTTE, a shoot out killed one army corporal. Later that day the army went on a rampage, leaving Jaffna in flames. Sinhala soldiers burnt homes, shops and vehicles, while looting and robbing. #blackjuly #lka #Tamil

In the south of the island, Tamils were facing increasing discrimination, harassment and violence, including at universities, hospitals and government offices. See articles in the Saturday Review from 21.05. and 04.06.1983. #BlackJuly

On 30.05.1983, Sabaratnam Palanivel from Valvettithurai was dragged into the towns army camp and killed. As his relatives watched, a truck was driven over his dead body by a soldier, flattening his body. #BlackJuly #lka #Tamil

Meanwhile, verdicts of homicide were returned in two separate judicial inquiries into Tamil deaths in military custody. Kathirgamathamby Navaratnarajah (28, Kiliveddy - as above) and Ratnasingham Sriskandarajah (25, Karainagar) were both killed in army custody #BlackJuly

On 01.06.1983, after two Sri Lankan Air Force men were killed in a Tamil ambush in Vavuniya, military personnel went “berserk”, burning buildings and attacking Tamils. Gandhiyam’s offices and farm were also attacked. #BlackJuly #lka #tamil

On 03.06.1983 emergency regulations were gazetted which permitted the disposal of dead bodies by armed forces without a judicial inquest and a post-mortem. The regulations came into effect soon after judicial inquiries found the army to have killed Tamil men in Jaffna (above)

Throughout June, racist violence occurred all over the island. Dozens of Tamils died. The army killed and refused to hand over the bodies of several Tamil youths in Jaffna. In Trincomalee homes and businesses were burned. Bombs were thrown at Sampanthan’s house during curfew.

More Tamils were killed, including in Trinco, Jaffna, Negombo, Ratmalana and Kurunegala. Tamil businesses were being attacked, including a garment factory in Kurunegala. Harassment of Tamil students at universities also continued. Under the new regulations, no inquests were held

In their June issue, the London-based Tamil Times reported that “Not a single day has passed since 18th of May without attacks upon Tamils in some part it other of the country”. #BlackJuly #lka #Tamil

On 01.07.1983 the government banned the publication of Saturday Review and Suthanthiran, the two main papers reporting and printing in Jaffna. Information beyond this point was largely reported in diaspora media, as strict censorship was imposed. The last issue before #BlackJuly:

Throughout July, violence increased further. On July 22, the army abducted three Tamil girls in Jaffna and took them to their camps. News spread that they were raped and one had killed herself. #BlackJuly #lka #Tamil

On 23.07.1983 the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam conducted the most successful attack on the Sri Lankan military by the Tamil resistance movement till date. 13 Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in an ambush in Thinnevely.

Violence against Tamils spread across the country. The premeditated violence caused over 3,000 Tamil deaths mostly in Colombo and in other Sinhala majority areas. The Tamil economy was destroyed. Over one hundred thousand were displaced, with thousands fleeing abroad #BlackJuly

As the news of the pogroms reached the outside world, it became apparent that the violence occurred with support of the state and the security forces and was planned “well in advance”.

The International Commission of Jurists in December 1983 said:

“The evidence points clearly to the conclusion that the violence of the Sinhala rioters on the Tamils amounted to acts of genocide.”

icj.org/wp-content/upl…

The thread does not delve into the violence of the pogrom itself. The sheer horror and evil committed by Sinhala mobs in #blackjuly remains a deep wound for the Eelam Tamil people. Many of those responsible for are still alive. Till date, justice has not been served. /threadend

PS: our deepest gratitude to Noolaham.net and sangam.org who have archived many, many documents that are impossible to find otherwise, including copies of the Saturday Review.