The Black Cat group, or the Black Cats, was a pro- UNP

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

organization in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The Black Cats were initially formed following the electoral victory of

Ranasinghe Premadasa Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa ( si, රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස ''Raṇasiṃha Premadāsa'', ta, ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா ''Raṇaciṅka Pirēmatācā''; 23 June 1924 – 1 May 1993) was t ...

. It was the predominant

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

paramilitary of the

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), ...

. The group was not publicly recognized until the late 1989. It was one of the 13 death squads sponsored by the Sri Lankan government to suppress opposition during the period of the 1987–1989 JVP insurgency.

Suppression of the press

The Black Cat group killed 830 politicians who were involved in the anti-UNP newspaper of the

Communist Party of Sri Lanka The Communist Party of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ කොමියුනිස්ට් පක්ෂය, ''Sri Lankavay Komiyunist Pakshaya'' ta, இலங்கை கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சி, trans ...

. These killings were only partially counted by the government due to the ongoing JVP insurgency.

Eppawela attack

The group was found guilty of a massacre in Eppawela, killing suspected JVP members and other civilians. This was said to be a retaliation attack.Sri Lanka brief: A human rights crisis
(1990)

References

Anti-communist organizations United National Party 1987–1989 JVP insurrection Guerrilla organizations Paramilitary organisations based in Sri Lanka {{SriLanka-stub