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Why revisit July 1983

Considering that it proved a decisive development in this country's post-independence history, the murderous communal violence of July 1983 could indeed be described as "ten days that shamed Sri Lanka".

The multifaceted impact which it had on this country was such that Sri Lanka has never been the same since then.

Looking back, it could be said that the communal violence of July 1983 laid the basis for a process which is continuing to unravel in our times.

That is, unprecedented estrangement among our communities and the thorough going polarization of local politics on ethnic and now religious lines. Rather than stymie separatist tendencies in the politics of the North-East, the riots had just the opposite effect: the strengthening of the separatist call among militant Tamil opinion.

Besides, the "ethnic holocaust" brought ignominy to Sri Lanka on an unprecedented scale and almost completely disrupted our development prospects. We are yet to recover from this shock of July 1983.

There are tell tale signs of the hell fires which swept Sri Lanka on those shame-filled days in the pictures illustrating the content of the main article on this page. The horrors unleashed were of such a magnitude that Sri Lanka was compared in some sections to the racially-segregated, South African apartheid state of those times.

That is the cruel price we paid for an ugly orgy of violence which we now know was State-inspired and directed. The UNP government of those times was apparently working to a plan. The then authorities worked with ruthless efficiency while feigning helplessness and shock.

For instance, the bodies of the 13 soldiers who were killed by the Tigers were brought down to Colombo, knowing fully well that the decision would spark off a riot. This came to pass and before Sri Lanka could know what hit it, the country was plunged into a frenzy of rioting.

Tamil lives in the hundreds were snuffed out, and Tamil houses were put to the torch. Subsequently, Tamil properties and wealth were plundered by marauding mobs who worked with ruthless efficiency. That they were State-sponsored goon squads were plain to see because some mobsters were apparently armed with voter lists and even used State-owned vehicles.

Government collusion was further proved when sections of the police and the armed forces looked the other way, when the mobsters went on their demonic course of destruction.

The clinching evidence of government involvement in the riots was the long delay in clamping a curfew on the country and President J.R. Jayawardene's address to the nation, four days after the riots were ignited.

Our sympathies are with the Tamil people for this long night of suffering which was visited on them by those who wanted to "teach them a lesson".

The problem here is that the blame for the atrocities of a few terrorists was laid at the doorstep of the Tamil people, the majority of whom were completely innocent.

Likewise, those who ran berserk in Southern Sri Lanka on July 23 and on the following ten days were not the "Sinhala people" but a few hoodlums who were in the employ of ruthless politicians. In fact, numerous members of the majority community offered succour and sustenance to affected Tamils.

The "July 1983 holocaust" has to be visited every year because we dare not forget the great evil which was visited on a section of our people by a few scheming politicians who wanted to convert innocent blood into votes.

We dare not forget this ignominy, lest we overlook the lessons of history. There is every possibility of the Machiavellian scheming of those days making a comeback. 'Black July' revisited will hopefully still their hands.

Despite President Kumaratunga's valiant efforts to resolve our conflict over the years, we wonder whether the opponents of peace have learnt their lessons. Our minds go back to the year 2000 when the PA Government's draft constitution was burnt in Parliament by some UNP MPs.

This proved that they found peace to be anathematic. Are these enemies of peace sincere now when they subject the Government to the severest of strictures over the peace process? They masquerade as peace-makers to curry favour with the TNA but would pull the rug from under the Government's feet, when they think the time's ripe to pander to the prejudices of ethnic and religious chauvinists. To them we say: 'Do not cause the ruin of Lanka'.

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