Contrary to this belief, the Black July pogrom against Tamils was a series of deliberate acts, executed in accordance with a well crafted plan in a systematic manner by the Sinhalese and ultra nationalists and systematically organized well in advance and executed by the Sinhala ultra nationalists, law enforcing agencies of Sri Lanka and the government was in power at the time.

The gap between Sinhalese and Tamils widened well before the July 83 riots due to the unprovoked attack on the Tamil students by the Sinhalese students in Peradeniya University on May 11th, 1983. The May 1983 attack on the Tamils students in the University had a greater damaging effect on the Tamils and their sense of belonging to Sri Lanka as it targeted the Tamils student community.

These uncivilized acts by the Sinhalese students against their fellow Tamil students brought dreadful feeling of shock and numbness to the entire Tamil student community in Sri Lanka.

The student community recalling the horrific events, the attack on them was shocking and horrifying to experience and witness knowing their fellow Sinhalese student’s hands were soaked with Tamil blood and flushes.

Tamil student community had experienced the brunt of hatred by the Majority Sinhalese student community and also experienced the un-expected of the University authorities, intellectuals, and the country’s ruling authorities did absolutely very little to stop the violence against the Tamil Students during those 3 days.

Weapons like steel rods, cycle chains, wooden rods from broken chairs, tables, knives, ropes, and burning tires were used extensively used my the Sinhalese mops to massacre innocent Tamil men, women, children and even infants in the July 1983 pogrom.

In 23 1983 July in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka alone, thousands of Tamils were killed and hundreds of them burnt to death by the Sinhalese mobs, which were well aided by the state forces and the government of Sri Lanka.

The riots, which began in Colombo, spread to Kandy, Matale, Nuwara Eliya, Kalutara and Trincomalee where Tamils were concentrated. Many hundreds of Tamils lost their hard earned properties and over 100,000 Tamils were displaced and were made refugees over night in their own country by their fellow citizens and sent back to North and East. The Sinhalese government and its law enforcing agencies did very little or nothing to prevent this pogrom against the un-armed and innocent Tamils.

58 Imprisoned Tamil prisoners were massacred by the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka on July 25, 1983 and July 27, 1983 with stones, knives and swords in the Welikade Prison by the prison guards and Sinhalese inmates who were allowed to execute the crimes against humanity by the Sri Lankan authority.

The Tamils’ perception of being proud citizens of Sri Lanka changed forever. Tamils arrived to the stark realty and realization that no matter what, if Tamils are not prepared to stand up to the Sinhalese hegemony then Tamils in Sri Lanka would face many riots and pogrom against them like July 1983.

By remembering the Tamils’ holocaust on black July of 1983, the Tamils are continue to remind themselves, they need to be united and strong wherever they live, they need to stand up against the Sri Lankan state oppression, they need to fight for their freedom to live with dignity and self rule in their homeland.

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