1971 JVP uprising
Formed in the 1960s by radical Marxist Rohana Wijeweera, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) launched an open revolt against the government under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike in April 1971. Caught off guard the government was able to subdue the insurgency in a matter of weeks. The insurgency lead to the death of 4-5000 (unofficial) people and over 20,000 suspected rebels, mostly youth, were arrested in the amnesty period that followed. The arrested youth were released after rehabilitation.
Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera known as Rohana Wijeweera, was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician, revolutionary and the founding leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. Wijeweera led the party in two unsuccessful insurrections in Sri Lanka, in 1971 and 1987 to 1989.
Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan stateswoman. She became the world's first non-hereditary female head of state or government in modern history, when she was elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1960. She served three terms: 1960–1965, 1970–1977 and 1994–2000.
Rohana Wijeweera and the leaders of the insurgency were sentenced to prison terms and the JVP banned. However all of them were released in 1977 by J. R. Jayewardene after the UNP formed a government after they won the general election.
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP, is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main ruling party in the government of Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe. The UNP is considered to have right-leaning, pro-capitalist, and liberal conservative policies.
Early 1980s
During the early 1980s, as the Tamil insurgency to the north became more intense, there was a marked shift in the ideology and goals of the JVP. Initially Marxist in orientation, and claiming to represent the oppressed of both the Tamil and Sinhalese communities, the group emerged increasingly as a Sinhalese nationalist organization opposing any compromise with the Tamil insurgency. Rohana Wijeweera recorded the third place at the presidential elections in 1982 and the Jayawardena government did not like their up rise. There are no convincing evidence as to say whether JVP actively involved in 1983 ethnic riots but it was once again banned with several other left wing parties and its leadership went underground.
The Sri Lankan Civil War was an armed conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on 23 July 1983, there was an intermittent insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the north and the east of the island. After a 26-year military campaign, the Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009, bringing the civil war to an end.
The group's activities intensified in the second half of 1987 in the wake of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. The prospect of Tamil autonomy in the north together with the presence of Indian troops stirred up a wave of Sinhalese nationalism and a sudden growth of anti-government violence. During 1987 a new group emerged that was an offshoot of the JVP—the Patriotic Liberation Organization (Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya—DJV) led by Saman Piyasiri Fernando or Keerthi Vijayabahu a person who led the JVP after the death of Rohana Wijeweera. The DJV claimed responsibility for the August 1987 assassination attempts on the president and prime minister. In addition, the group launched a campaign of intimidation against the ruling party, killing more than seventy Members of Parliament between July and November.
The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act of 1987. Under the terms of the agreement, Colombo agreed to a devolution of power to the provinces, the Sri Lankan troops were to be withdrawn to their barracks in the north and the Tamil rebels were to surrender their arms.
Saman Piyasiri Fernando, was the military wing leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna during the 1987-89 insurrection in Sri Lanka, the JVP's military wing also known as Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (DJV). Saman Piyasiri a graduate of the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka later joined the JVP and promoted to the higher ranks of the party, appointed as the militarty wing leader and finally led the party after the death of the founding leader Rohana Wijeweera.
The 1987 grenade attack in the Sri Lankan Parliament took place on August 18, 1987, when an assailant hurled 2 grenades into a room where government Members of Parliament were meeting. The grenades bounced off the table at which Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayawardene and Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa were sitting, and rolled away. A Member of Parliament and a Ministry secretary were killed by the explosions.
Along with the group's renewed violence came a renewed fear of infiltration of the armed forces. Following the successful raid of the Pallekelle army camp in May 1987, the government conducted an investigation that resulted in the discharge of thirty-seven soldiers suspected of having links with the JVP. In order to prevent a repetition of the 1971 uprising, the government considered lifting the ban on the JVP in early 1988 and permitting the group to participate again in the political arena. With Wijeweera still underground, however, the JVP had no clear leadership at the time, and it was uncertain whether it had the cohesion to mount any coordinated offensive, either military or political, against the government.
Insurgency
Adroitly exploiting the arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Force and the widespread nationalist sentiments of large sections of the Sinhala people, the JVP began to terrorise both the state machinery and those sections of civil society opposed to its thinking and almost brought the State to its knees.
Organised in cells of three people and based around Matara in the south, the JVP murdered probably thousands of people and crippled the country with violently-enforced hartals (general strikes) for two years. Government forces captured and killed JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera and his deputy in November 1989 in Colombo; by early 1990 they had killed or imprisoned the remaining JVP politburo and detained an estimated 7,000 JVP members. Although the Government won a decisive military victory there were credible accusations of brutality and extrajudicial killings.
Prominent attacks by the JVP during the insurrection include 1987 grenade attack in the Sri Lankan Parliament and 1989 Temple of the Tooth attack.
Fatalities
According to international terrorism expert Dr. Rohan Gunaratna's research, JVP killed 30 politicians, 23 academics, 1 clergy, 2 government officials, 89 civilians and 61 service personnel, from July 1987 to January 1990. Rest of the killings (21 armed fighters) are attributed to state or state sponsored death squads. [a] A European delegation estimated the total death toll to be 60,000, while more conservative estimates have placed the death toll at 35,000, with the vast majority being perpetrated by state-sponsored death squads. [1]
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The history of Sri Lanka is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean. The earliest human remains found on the island of Sri Lanka date to about 35,000 years ago. The proto-historical period begins roughly in the 3rd century, based on chronicles like the Mahavamsa, Dipavamsa, and the Culavamsa. The earliest documents of settlement in the Island are found in these chronicles. These chronicles cover the period since the establishment of the Kingdom of Tambapanni in the 6th century BCE. The first Sri Lankan ruler of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, Pandukabhaya, is recorded for the 4th century BCE. Buddhism was introduced in the 3rd century BCE by Arhath Mahinda. The first Tamil ruler of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, Ellalan, an invader, is recorded for the 2nd century BCE.
The 1971 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna insurrection was the first unsuccessful armed revolt conducted by the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the Government of Ceylon under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The revolt began on 5 April 1971 and lasted till June 1971. The insurgents were able to capture and hold several towns and rural areas for several weeks until they were recaptured by the armed forces. Even though its first attempt to seize power in 1971 was quickly crushed by force, in 1987 this group launched another far more potent insurgency in the south, central and western regions of the country.
The Sooriyakanda mass grave is the mass burial ground of murdered school children from Embilipitiya Maha Vidyalaya in Sri Lanka. These school children were killed and buried as part of the counter insurgency during the second JVP uprising in Sri Lanka. It was alleged that over 300 bodies were buried in the location. The mass grave was located in 1994. The Sri Lankan government last reported in 1996 to have conducted a forensic analysis of the burial ground uncovering an unspecified number of bodies. Local media, NGOs and the US state department have claimed that the investigations are not satisfactory.
The Jathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) or National Freedom Front (NFF) is a political party in Sri Lanka was formed by the ten JVP parliamentarians led by Wimal Weerawansa, the breakaway group of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP, started their political activities on 14 May 2008. The party also achieved a historical milestone for the first time in country's history, a political party launched their official Web site (www.nffsrilanka.com) on the same date the political activities started.
Shantha Bandara alias Mahanama (1951−1990) was the first convenor of the Inter University Students' Federation (IUSF) and a key leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a Marxist-Leninist political party in Sri Lanka. He was killed in January 1990.
The assassination of Daya Pathirana took place on 15 December 1986. Daya Pathirana was the leader of the Independent Students Union of University of Colombo during 1985-1986. Pro-Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna activists are accused of his murder. This assassination is considered as a watershed incident in the 1987–1989 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna insurrection.
Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Nandasena alias D. M. Ananda alias Amal Mahattaya (1954–1989) was a senior leader and a politburo member of the Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) during the notorious 1987-89 insurrection. At some point he is rumored to have been in control of the JVP organisation. D.M. Ananda was captured by Sri Lankan government forces in 1989 and apparently died in captivity.
Don Upatissa Gamanayake alias Dias Mudalali (1948–1989) was the deputy leader of the Jantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) during the 1987–89 insurrection. Not a prominent figure during the JVP’s 1971 insurrection, Gamanayake emerged as a leader only after the releasing of the JVP detainees in 1977. He moved up rapidly in the party hierarchy during the JVP’s 1977-83 democratic phase and became the second in command after the founder and the leader, Rohana Wijeweera. He unsuccessfully contested the 1983 Anamaduwa by-election under JVP. Gamanayake was captured and killed by the government forces in November 1989.
1989 Temple of the Tooth attack is an attack on the Temple of the Tooth Relic, located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The shrine, which is considered to be important to the Buddhists in Sri Lanka, houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha, and is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site. It was attacked on 8 February 1989, allegedly by the armed cadres affiliated to Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Marxist-Leninist Communist political party in Sri Lanka.
Fort Hammenhiel is a fort built around a small island between the islands of Kayts and Karaitivu of Jaffna Peninsula in Northern Sri Lanka.
Herath Bandarage Herath was a Sri Lankan politician who was killed by army forces. He was a member of the JVP party in the period 1983-1989.
Lalith Wijerathna was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a member of the JVP party in the period 1983-1990. He was known to be appointed as the third leader of the JVP after Rohana Wijeweera and Saman Piyasiri Fernando. Wijerathna was killed in 1990.
Somawansha Amarasinghe was a Sri Lankan politician and,who was the 4th leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, after Rohana Wijeweera, Saman Piyasiri Fernando and Lalith Wijerathna.
Terrorism in Sri Lanka has been a highly destructive phenomenon during the periods of Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009) and first and second JVP Insurrections. A common definition of terrorism is the systematic use or threatened use of violence to intimidate a population or government for political, religious, or ideological goals. Sri Lanka is a country that has experienced some of the worst known acts of modern terrorism, such as suicide bombings, massacres of civilians and assassination of political and social leaders, that posed a significant threat to the society, economy and development of the country. The Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1978 is the legislation, that provides the powers to law enforcement officers to deal with issues related to terrorism in Sri Lanka. It was first enacted as a temporary law in 1979 under the presidency of J. R. Jayewardene, and later made permanent in 1982.
The following lists events that happened during 1989 in Sri Lanka.
