June 1985 – May 1986: The Final Assault On Trincomalee And The Trappings Of A Colonial War
Dr. Rajan Hoole
Border Aggression and Civilian Massacres – Part 11
During the period June 1985-May 1986 the document Massacres of Civilians lists after the attack on Dehiwatte in June, 3 massacres in August 1985 in which a total of 16 Sinhalese civilians were killed. There was a massacre in Namalwatte, Morawewa colonisation scheme in Trincomalee District during November 1985, where 11 were killed (6 were killed in August in the same place). In December a group abducted and killed 6 pilgrims to the Madhu shrine in the Mannar District. We will deal with another incident in February 1986 not mentioned in the document. These have the character of localised retaliation and do not represent a concerted policy at the leadership level of militant groups.
In the Morawewa area (Pankulam) for ex- ample, the Air Force killed 9 Tamil civilians in May 1985. This was a continuing pattern. In June (1985) itself the violence by the State briefly shifted north of Trincomalee town. On 4th June at Kumburupiddy, Kattukulampattu East, 25 houses of Tamils were attacked and the people were fired at from helicopters as they fled into the thickets and jungles. One civilian was killed and two, including a 12 year old boy, were injured. This was the basis for Athulathmudali’s story about 5 terrorists being killed after they supposedly fired and at a helicopter. The next day Thiriyai was attacked.
On 13th June, violence and arson against Tamils in Cottiar Division resumed. Mr. Athulathmudali was present in the area on this day. 900 houses of Tamils were burnt at Kattaiparichchan, Sambur, Chenaiyoor and Muthur. The arson continued in the coming days and Tamil civilians continued to be shot and killed along the roads and in paddy fields. In one incident in Lingapuram, Mr and Mrs Pathakuddy and their 3 children were shot and killed by the armed forces.Read More
