Systematic Genocide of Tamils1956.. 1958.. 1961.. 1974.. 1977.. 1979.. 1981.. 1983.. .. 2008 State-sponsored anti-Tamil violence in 1956, 1958, 1961, 1974
Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
Your War Our Lives
Posted by Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj
Srilanka-Ilankai (in Tamil) / Lanka (in Sinhala)
An island located in the Indian ocean, off the southeast tip of India
Three times as larger than the state of New Jersey - 25,000 sq miles in area
Shared History Dates Back to 500BC.
• Sinhala-speaking people - 77%,
• Tamil-speaking people - 23%
When Portuguese took possession of the island in 1505 there were 3 Kingdoms
• Tamil Kingdom in the North-East - Tamil Homeland - (yellow)
• Sinhalese Kingdoms in the South-West (grey).
History
1505 -1658: Portuguese held the island
1658 – 1796: Dutch usurped control
1796: the British took over
Portuguese and Dutch ruled the Tamil and Sinhala Kingdoms separately, but, the British artificially joined them for their administrative convenience only in 1833.
On Feb. 4, 1948 - British left the Island leaving it as one country, CEYLON, leaving political power in the hands of the ‘majority’ Sinhalese. Read More
An island located in the Indian ocean, off the southeast tip of India
Three times as larger than the state of New Jersey - 25,000 sq miles in area
Shared History Dates Back to 500BC.
• Sinhala-speaking people - 77%,
• Tamil-speaking people - 23%
When Portuguese took possession of the island in 1505 there were 3 Kingdoms
• Tamil Kingdom in the North-East - Tamil Homeland - (yellow)
• Sinhalese Kingdoms in the South-West (grey).
History
1505 -1658: Portuguese held the island
1658 – 1796: Dutch usurped control
1796: the British took over
Portuguese and Dutch ruled the Tamil and Sinhala Kingdoms separately, but, the British artificially joined them for their administrative convenience only in 1833.
On Feb. 4, 1948 - British left the Island leaving it as one country, CEYLON, leaving political power in the hands of the ‘majority’ Sinhalese. Read More
Is July Still Black? – Sinhalese Factor In The Aftermath Of Black July
Rasika Jayakody
Thirty years ago, there was a July that turned out to be black. The blackness of that July was made up of discriminate and indiscriminate violence against Tamil civilians, state-sponsored terrorism coupled with the inaction of armed forced, impunity and immunity seamlessly enjoyed by goons and killer squads all over the country etc. Reasons, consequences, ramifications and repercussions of the infamous black July have been discussed over and over again for the last three decades with great fervour and enthusiasm. Good!
Some argued the ‘Black July’ was a well-orchestrated plan while some claimed it occurred on the spur of the moment. The general perception was that the Jayawardena regime triggered the anti-Tamil violence by arranging the funeral of the 13 soldiers at the General Cemetery, Borella, in the vicinity of President J.R. Jayawardena’s residence. However, there is a flip side to this argument. Had the government sent the dead bodies to the hometowns of the slain soldiers, it would have taken the risk of anti-Tamil riots in thirteen different parts of the country. Instead, the UNP government decided to hold the funeral ceremony at the heart of the capital city of Colombo, which was one of the safest areas during the previous anti-Tamil incidents and the 1971 JVP insurgency. Nevertheless, things didn’t quite work that way. Anti-Tamil riots erupted in Colombo and spread across the country. But this does not mean that the Jayawardena regime should be exonerated for not being able to bring the anti-Tamil violence to a halt. Moreover, some of its ministers and some members of the armed forces went on to sponsor it, overtly and covertly. President J.R. Jayawardena, in my view, went by the mood of the moment.Read More
