"Clearly this was not a spontaneous upsurge of communal hatred among the Sinhala people - nor was it as has been suggested in some quarters, a popular response to the killing of 13 soldiers... It was a series of deliberate acts, executed in accordance with a concerted plan, conceived and organised well in advance."- Paul Sieghart; 'Sri Lanka: A mounting tragedy of errors';
International Commission of Jurists Report, March 1984
A Sinhalese mob stopping cars looking for Tamils (July 1983)"Motorists were dragged from their cars to be stoned and beaten with sticks... Others were cut down with knives and axes."
-London Daily Telegraph 26 July 1983
A Burnt Out Mini Bus (July 1983)
'A mini bus full of Tamils were forced to stop in front of us in Colombo... A Sinhalese mob poured petrol over the bus and set it on fire. They blocked the car door and prevented the Tamils from leaving the vehicle...'
- Mrs. Eli Skarstein (a tourist from Norway) reported in the London Daily Express
29 Aug 1983
Dr. Rajasunderam, Mr. Kuttimani and Mr. Thangathurai, were among the 52 Tamil political prisoners murdered under government custody in a maximum security prison.
(August 1983)
Kuttimani, a nominated member of Sri Lankan parliament... was forced to kneel in his (prison) cell by his assailants and ordered to pray to them. When he refused, he was taunted by his tormentors about his last wish... He had willed that his eyes be donated to someone so that at least that person would see an independent Tamil Eelam. The assailants then gouged his eyes... He was then stabbed to death and his testicles were wrenched from his body.'
-Madras Hindu 10 August 1983
A Sinhala mob looting a Tamil shop, with uniformed policemen looking on (July 1983)
"Army personnel actively encouraged arson and looting of business establishments and homes in Colombo and absolutely no action was taken to apprehend or prevent the criminal elements... In many instances army personnel participated in the looting of shops."-The London Times 5 August 1983
Buildings on Fire, Cars overturned and looters walking away with goodies (July 1983).
"Throughout the early hours of the violence it was clear that neither police nor defence forces had been given orders to re-establish control... At one point several army vehicles drove through the city, packed with troops who shouted encouragement to the rioters."
-London Daily Telegraph 26 July 1983
Tamil properties thrown out of shops and being burnt (July 1983)
"Mobs of Sinhala youth rampaged through the streets, ransacking homes, shops and offices, looting them and setting them ablaze, as they sought out members of the Tamil ethnic minority."
- London Daily Telegraph 26 July 1983
A spring tries to spring back once it is compressed. So does all the human beings. Our brothers and sisters living there have experienced nothing but oppression, torture, dictatorship and brutal killings. There have been many ceasefires and wars, and many speak about peace, but for these people the word peace does not exist in their dictionary. The worst of all is that people in Yazhpanam now are facing a artificial famine and are awaiting death due to hunger. I would like to recall Anton Balasingham’s statement when he was ill. His words were “it is a great personal tragedy that I am confronted with this illness. But , when compared with the vast ocean of sorrow that my people face, this is not even a drop.”
For tamilans, problems where never a problem! We have always come out of that easily. There is nothing to stop us! Let us stand together again to confront this critical situation.
“War is the art of doing politics with weapons!
Politics is the art of warfare without weapons!”
Be it war or politics, let peace prevail for those human beings in that island!!
Lets fight united!!
Long live Classical Divine Tamil
