1989 Kandy massacre
The 1989 Kandy massacre was a series of retaliatory attacks on the villages of Menikhinna, Arangala, Mahawatta, and Kundasale in the Kandy District of Central Province, Sri Lanka during the 1987-89 JVP Insurrection. While the massacre was officially attributed to the vigilante group Eagles of the Central Hills,[1] other reports and eyewitness accounts claim that it was a joint operation conducted by the army and police.[2] It was one of the largest single incidents reported to Amnesty International during the JVP Insurrection.[2]
| 1989 Kandy massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of 1987-89 JVP Insurrection | |
  | |
| Location | Kandy District, Sri Lanka |
| Coordinates | 7°18′N 80°42′E |
| Date | 14 September 1989 |
| Target | civilians (possibly JVP sympathisers) |
| Deaths | 100+ |
| Perpetrators | Ukussa Paramilitary (possibly members of Army, Police) |
Background
The Sinhalese-Marxist organization the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) engaged in a low-intensity conflict with the Sri Lankan government in response to the presence of the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF)] during the Sri Lankan Civil War. The JVP garnered much sympathy from impoverished Sinhalese and university students, especially among young to middle-aged men. In response, the army and police, operating both on-duty and off-duty as vigilante groups, would arrest, torture, and kill people suspected of being sympathetic to the JVP. When the JVP killed servicemen or their families, vigilante squads, made up of off-duty policemen and soldiers, would kill JVP members or supporters in retaliation.
Incident
In Kundasale on 13 September 1989, the JVP allegedly killed sixteen family members of three security forces personnel.[3]
The following night, armed men in uniform set fire to a number of residential dwellings in Menikhinna, killing approximately 52 people. The Menikhinna area was a stronghold of members of the Bathgama caste, who were known to be supporters of the JVP.[3] The armed group then moved onto the villages of Kundasale and Aranagala, where they killed a further 30 people. Residents of Kandy found over 100 bodies floating in the river, and it was suspected that there were at least 50 additional deaths.[4][5] It is believed that the killers were pro-government vigilantes seeking revenge for the earlier murders. Amnesty International later estimated that over 100 villagers were killed.[2]
Aftermath
On 5 October, armed vigilantes shot or beheaded fourteen workers at a Peradeniya University residential complex for custodial and clerical staff. Police later received a message from the vigilantes, who called themselves the Eagles of the Central Hills, claiming responsibility for the murders and that the victims were JVP supporters who had engineered the murder of T. E. Nagahawatte, an assistant registrar at the university and a captain in the local army volunteer reserve force.[1]
References
- Athas, Iqbal (5 October 1989). "Vigilantes kill 14 at university residential complex". United Press International. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- Sri Lanka: Extrajudicial Executions, 'Disappearances' and Torture, 1987 to 1990 (PDF). United Kingdom: Amnesty International. September 1990. pp. 29–30. ISBN 0862101867. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- Chandraprema, C. A. (1991). Sri Lanka, the years of terror: the J.V.P. insurrection, 1987-1989. Lakehouse Bookshop. p. 296. ISBN 9789559029038.
- "Sri Lanka Gunmen Massacre 82 Civilians in Village Rampages". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 17 September 1989. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- "Gunmen Kill 82 Sinhalese in Sri Lanka". New York Times. Associated Press. 17 September 1989. Archived from the original on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.