Genocides In Human History

Ali_Syed · June 9, 2013, 4:17am

Re: Genocides In Human History

Here is what I found, how it all started…pretty sad and infuriating!

"In 1956, the Official Language Act was enacted. This law mandated Sinhala as the sole official language of Sri Lanka. This is the language of Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese community and is spoken by over 70% of Sri Lanka’s population. This was intended to act both as a statement of independence from Britain and as a clear sign of superiority of the Sinhalese over the Tamil. Consequently, this act forced large numbers of Tamil who worked in the civil service, and who could not meet this language requirement, to resign. Affirmative action in favor of Sinhalese was also instituted at the same time. Many Tamil interpreted this deliberate marginalization as proof that they deserved a separate nation-state for themselves.

Ethnic tension exploded in July 1983, expanding Tamil liberation groups and propelling the country into a war between those groups and the Sri Lankan government. On July 23, 1983, thirteen Sri Lankan soldiers were killed when they drove over a landmine in northern Sri Lanka, sparking riots for the next four days throughout the country. Sinhalese crowds burned and destroyed Tamil property and attacked Tamils. The government was slow to respond to end the violence. In some instances, it was reported the state helped Sinhalese rioters by transporting them in governmental vehicles and giving them information so they could more easily find Tamil targets. By July 28, there was an estimated $300 million in property damage, 70 percent of the Tamils in Colombo were refugees, and between 2,000 and 3,000 Tamils were dead."

Source : Sri Lanka | World Without Genocide

I was just 1 1/2yrs old..and I remember July 1983…it called the “Black July” in SL, coz Colombo was covered in black smoke with all the burning up of property and people

I remember my father coming home from work…he was late..mom was worried..he came home and he could not eat because of everything he had seen…

Are you a Sinhalese or a Tamil?