Black July 1983

3000 Tamils killed within 10 days

The events of July 1983 are poignant for the entire Tamil population around the world. Between July 24 and 29, Tamils were systematically targeted with violence in Colombo and many other parts of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan Governments officials categorized the violence as uncontrollable race riots instigated by the killing of 13 Sinhala soldiers on the night of July 23. However, history and the course of events during Black July illustrate the Sri Lankan Governments undeniable involvement in the genocidal acts against Tamils.

July 24 (Day 1): At 1 oclock in the morning of July 24, the army rounded up hundreds of Tamils in Trincomalee, Mannar, and Vavuniya in the Northeast who had fled the anti-Tamil riots of 1977 and 1981. These Tamils were forcibly taken and left without possessions in the central hills.

Before the riots broke out in Colombo, the army in Jaffna went on rampage killing 51 innocent Tamil civilians. In Trincomalee, similar violence broke out as members of the Navy randomly shot at civilians and burnt down Tamil property.

In the evening in Colombo, the state funeral was being organized for the soldiers. Thousands of people arrived at the cemetery but the bodies failed to appear. After waiting several hours, much of the crowd objecting the burial in Kanatte and demanded the bodies to be returned to the next of kin. As the large crowd began to leave the grave, a new group of people (identified as government gangs) entered the Borella junction and raised antiTamil cries. As the anti-government cry subsided and anti-Tamil cries became dominant, arson and murdering of Tamils broke out.

July 25 (Day 2): After the midnight lull, mobs were led by people with voter registration lists in hand torched Tamil homes, looted and destroyed Tamil businesses. All traffic was searched, and any Tamils found were killed, maimed, or burned alive. Cyril Matthew, Minister of Industries, was witnessed directly pinpointing shops to be burned down.