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The 1981 anti-Tamil pogrom occurred in Sri Lanka during the months of June, July and August 1981. Organised Sinhala mobs looted and burnt Tamil shops and houses in Jaffna, Ratnapura, Balangoda, Kahawatte, Colombo and in the border villages in the Batticaloa and Amparai districts.[3][4] Further looting, arson and killings then spread to the rural interior:
"In the hill country, crowds armed with clubs, iron rods, bicycle chains, swords and knives roamed the estates burning, pillaging, looting and killing. Police and army units stood watching, often encouraging the rioters. In the eastern border villages, entire villages were burnt down. People ran into the forests to save their lives. They then took refuge in government schools and Hindu temples. Over 25,000 Tamil plantation workers were rendered homeless in the hills and over 10,000 villagers were made refugees in the east.”[5]
| 1981 anti-Tamil pogrom | |
|---|---|
Location of Sri Lanka | |
| Location | Sri Lanka |
| Date | June, July, August 1981 |
| Target | Primarily Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian Tamil civilians |
Attack type | Pogrom, ethnic cleansing, mass murder, arson |
| Weapons | Knives, clubs, iron rods, fire |
| Deaths | 25[1] |
| Perpetrators | Sinhalese mobs, UNP, Sri Lankan government, Sri Lanka Police[2] |
Brian Eads in the London Observer of 20 September 1981 reported that an orgy of arson and looting was planned, orchestrated and carried out in Jaffna by the predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist police force in the area.[6]
During the violence the Jaffna public library was burned, as well as the offices of a Tamil newspaper, and the home of a Tamil MP.[7] The violence was said to have been organized by members of the ruling United National Party.[8] In all, 25 people died, scores of women were raped, and thousands were made homeless, losing all their meager belongings.[9]
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