Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond

UNP, the party of the urbanised and westernised Sinhalese hasbeen responsible for some of the worst atrocities against theTamils. These include:• The state condoned pogrom of August 1977 directed againstthe Tamils in response to their overwhelming support forindependence at the General Elections held that year.• The state sponsored pogrom of July 1983 that claimedwithin a space of two weeks 3,000 Tamil lives.• The burning of the Public Library in Jaffna with over95,000 books and several rare manuscripts by hoodlumsin August 1981 under the direct orders of GaminiDissanayake and Cyril Mathew, both senior members ofthe cabinet in which Ranil Wickramasinghe was a juniorminister at that time.• The disappearances, torture and massacre of Tamils (welldocumented by Amnesty International) between 1984 and1987 in the course of unbridled terror unleashed by thearmy operating under the direct command of the Ministerof National Security, Lalith Athulathmidali, anothercabinet colleague of Ranil Wickramasinghe.Then there was J R Jayawardene, a founder member of the UNPand Sri Lanka’s President between 1977 and 1990, whose singleminded opposition to political power sharing with the Tamilpeople was a major factor in escalating the conflict into a fullfledged war.It ought to be noted that Wickramasinghe was not only a kinsmenof Jayawardene but also someone thought to be his protégé.During his tenure as Prime Minister Wickramasinghe wasreluctant to communicate to the Sinhala people the case forpolitical power sharing, and during the Presidential Electionshe was decidedly ambiguous in articulating his commitment28