Prison Massacres In Sri Lanka
Following is a list of riots and protests in Sri Lanka, an island nation situated in South Asia. Throughout its history, Sri Lanka has experienced a number of riots. Since 1915, many of them have stemmed from ethnic tensions between the Sinhalese majority and minority Tamil and Moor populations. 19th century 1850–1900 * 1883 - 1883 Kotahena riots, Kotahena, Western Province - Riots began once Buddhists who were proceeding in procession to Deepaduttarama Viharaya at Kotahena were attacked by a group of Roman Catholics. 20th century 1900–1950 * 1915 - 1915 Ceylonese riots, Kandy, Central Province - Riots between Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Moors erupted after a group of Moors attacked a Buddhist pageant with stones. Riots soon spread across the entire island. 1950s * 1953 - 1953 Ceylonese Hartal, Western, Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces - a nationwide demonstration, a hartal which eventually led to civil unrest. It was one of the riots which did not involve ethnicity and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1956 Anti-Tamil Pogrom
The 1956 anti-Tamil pogrom, also known as the Gal Oya riots, was the first organised pogrom against Sri Lankan Tamils in the Dominion of Ceylon. It began with anti-Tamil rioting in Colombo, followed by anti-Sinhalese rioting in Batticaloa. The worst of the violence took place in the Gal Oya valley, where local majority Sinhalese colonists and employees of the Gal Oya Development Board commandeered government vehicles, dynamite and weapons and massacred minority Tamils. It is estimated that over 150 people died during the violence. The police and army were eventually able to bring the situation under control. Background information By 1956, 50% of clerical jobs were held by Tamils, although they were a minority of the country's population. This was partly due to the availability of Western style education built by American missionaries in the Tamil dominant Jaffna peninsula during the colonial era. The overrepresentation of Tamils was used by populist Sinhalese politicians to come ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Burning Of Jaffna Library
The burning of the Jaffna Public Library ( ta, யாழ் பொது நூலகம் எரிப்பு, ''Yāḻ potu nūlakam erippu''; Sinhala: යාපනය මහජන පුස්තකාලය ගිනිබත් කිරීම, ''Yāpanaya mahajana pustakālaya ginibat kirīma'') took place on the night of June 1, 1981, when an organized mob of Sinhalese individuals went on a rampage, burning the library. It was one of the most violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the 20th century. At the time of its destruction, the library was one of the biggest in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts. Background The library was built in many stages starting from 1933, from a modest beginning as a private collection. Soon, with the help of primarily local citizens, it became a full-fledged library. The library also became a repository of archival material written in palm leaf manuscripts, original copies of regionally important historic documents in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), is a centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party, or as part of its governing coalition, for 38 of the country's 74 years of independence, including the periods 19471956, 19651970, 19771994, 20012004 and 20152019. The party also controlled the executive presidency from its formation in 1978 until 1994. The UNP has been led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe since 1994. As of September 2021, the UNP is a member of the International Democrat Union. History Formation (1946–1952) The UNP was founded by Don Stephen Senanayake in 1946 by amalgamating three right-leaning, pro-dominion parties from the majority Sinhalese community and minority Tamil and Muslim communities. Senanayake had earlier ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1977 Anti-Tamil Pogrom
The 1977 anti-Tamil pogrom in Sri Lanka followed the 1977 general elections in Sri Lanka where the Sri Lankan Tamil nationalistic Tamil United Liberation Front won a plurality of minority Sri Lankan Tamil votes in which it stood for secession. An official estimate put the death toll at 125. The Tamil Refugees Rehabilitation Organization estimated that around 300 Tamils were killed by Sinhalese mobs. Human rights groups, such as the UTHR-J, accused the newly elected UNP run Sri Lankan government of orchestrating the violence. Though the majority of victims were Tamils, Sinhalese in Tamil majority areas were also affected by violence committed by Tamil mobs. Background After the independence and especially after the 1956 Sinhala Only Act, Tamil parties were asking for more power for the North and east of Sri Lanka where Tamils are the majority. In 1957, the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact was formed, but later scrapped by then prime minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. Tensions r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sri Lankan Police
(The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = 76,139 (2016) , volunteers = , budget = Rs 64.1 billion (2016) , nongovernment = , country = Sri Lanka , countryabbr = , national = Yes , map = , mapcaption = , sizearea = , sizepopulation = , legaljuris = opsjuris , governingbody = Government of Sri Lanka , governingbodyscnd = , constitution1 = , police = Yes , local = , overviewtype = , overviewbody = National Police Commission , headquarters = Police Headquarters, Church Street, Colombo 1 , hqlocmap = , hqlocleft = , hqloctop = , hqlocmappoptitle = , sworntype = , sworn ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race. The Western Bloc was led by the United States as well as a number of other First W ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ceylonese Protests Against The Vietnam War
In March 1971, various leftist groups in the Dominion of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) protested against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Riots The protesters gathered in the road leading to the U.S. embassy and many of them were youths who were influenced by the worldwide Anti-War Movement including the group within United States itself. The government didn't pay attention to the protests until 10 March 1971 when the protesters threw a petrol bomb towards the United States Embassy in Ceylon. The rioters attacked and damaged the vehicles parked outside the embassy and killed a police officer who was at duty outside the embassy. This attacks were believed to be planned by the political movement, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna which was a revolutionary communist youth front. Although it was new, the party was alleged to many crimes by other leftist groups at the time. JVP denied active involvement and claimed it was government sponsored anti-communism and that it is trying to sto ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Traditions often include gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral garlands, crowning a May Queen (sometimes with a male companion), and setting up a Maypole, May Tree or May Bush, around which people dance. Bonfires are also part of the festival in some regions. Regional varieties and related traditions include Walpurgis Night in central and northern Europe, the Gaelic festival Beltane, the Welsh festival Calan Mai, and May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has also been associated with the ancient Roman festival Floralia. In 1889, 1 May was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day by the Second International, to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago and the struggle for an eight-hour working day. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist)
Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party surged in 1964 following a split in the Ceylon Communist Party. Initially the party just called itself 'Ceylon Communist Party' as well, and was distinguished from the main CCP in Sri Lanka by denominations like 'Ceylon Communist Party (Peking Wing)', etc. In the end of the 1960s the party was one of the major leftist parties in the country. Initially Party was led by Premalal Kumarasiri and N. Shanmugathasan. History 1960s Background In June 1963, K.A. Subramaniam and D.B. Alwis have signed an agreement with All-China Youth Federation on behalf of the Ceylon Federation of Communist and Progressive Youth Leagues for cooperation between the two organizations. They met China's vice premier and foreign minister Chen Yi during this trip to the People's Republic of China in 1963. from CIA report Initial Organising Committee The Organising Committee as on November 17, 1963 consisting of Premal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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SLFP
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Kaṭci) is one of the major and most well known political parties in Sri Lanka. It was founded by S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in 1951 and, since then, has been one of the two largest parties in the Sri Lankan political arena. It first came to power in 1956 and since then has been the predominant party in government on a number of occasions. The party is generally considered as having a democratic socialist or progressive economic agenda and is often associated with nationalist Sinhalese parties. The party follows a Non-Aligned foreign policy but always had close ties to socialist nations. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is a Second Main constituent party in the Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance. History After independence, the SLFP represented a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 in the Municipality. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is itself within the urban/suburban area of Colombo. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments. Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |