Thugs — they came during the day and in the night, by the hundreds. In the first hours of July 24, 1983 — one day after a deadly ambush by Tamil Tigers which killed 13 Sri Lankan Army soldiers. Day of infamy — a 9/11 if you will — for Sri Lanka’s Tamils. 
As the days ensued, Tamils were targeted on the capital
streets of Colombo as they went about their day, inside busses on the way to work, at their businesses. Even while they were sleeping in their own homes — it didn’t matter. Homes were identified in spectacular Nazi-efficiency with the help of voters-list distributed by the government. The smashing of doors and windows, hinges flying in the midst of screams from inside and outside, even the pitter-patter of terrorized infants feet didn’t matter against the screeching thud of vicious thugs drunk on anti-Tamil rage.When it was over, almost 3,000 members of the country’s Tamils lay dead due to the handy work of government orchestrated mobs. Homes and businesses of Tamils were looted and destroyed, over one million Tamils went into exile — many in Canada. To date, not a single perpetrator has been brought to justice. Few brave Sinhalese who protected Tamils from this unimaginable savagery — the few righteous ones on the island, represent a flickering spark of humanity in a country that had gone dark.
‘Black July’ — as it came to be called still ranks as one of the gruesome assaults suffered by the Tamils of Sri Lanka since its independence. Lawlessness reigning; where were the police, the safeguard of liberty? Marked by Sri Lankan law-enforcement’s quotidian boredom during this grotesque spectacle and the odd twists of fate, set the Tamils on the road to revolution in Sri Lanka resulting in an unconscionable outcome.
Ironically, in July, 1983, then-president of Sri Lanka, J.R. Jayawardene, told Ian Ward of London's Daily Telegraph, “I am not worried about the opinion of the Tamil people, now we cannot think of them, not about their lives or their opinion ... really if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be happy.” His angry bravado is clearly reminiscent of the 1980s, when such callousness created more Tamil Tigers than it destroyed. Full Story>>>
