The Havelock Road Bombing was the detonation of a remote controlled
car bomb on March 2, 1991, during rush hour in Thimbirigasyaya (also known as Havelocktown) a suburb of
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 m ...
,
Sri Lanka. According to
Jane's Information Group
Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane.
History
Jane's Informat ...
it was carried out to assassinate
Ranjan Wijeratne
General Ranjan Wijeratne (4 April 1931 – 2 March 1991) was a Sri Lankan planter and politician. He served in the Premadasa cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Minister of Plantation Industries, while holding the office of State ...
, the
Sri Lankan
Foreign Minister and
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
for Defense
[Suicide terrorism: a global threat, www.janes.com](_blank)
/ref> (deputy defense minister) by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
(LTTE)[Jane's Sentinel examines the success of the LTTE in resisting the Sri Lankan forces]
/ref> which was a terrorist organization fighting for a separate land for Tamils in the country. The bomb was detonated as the Minister's armored car passed it, killing 19 people including the minister, five security personal and 13 civilian by standers. Minister Wijeratne was known to have a hard line stance towards the LTTE.[The Rediff Special]
/ref>
The blast occurred on Havelock Road (a stretch of the Highlevel road) close to Police Field Headquarters during morning rush hour when the minister was on his way to office from his home. In 2008, Tamil Tigers
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
accused that Ranjan Wijeratne tried to kill their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran
Velupillai Prabhakaran (; ta, வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன்; , (26 November 1954 – 18 May 2009) was a Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ...
during the 1990 peace process.
See also
* 2008 Weliveriya bombing
References
{{coord missing, Sri Lanka
Attacks on civilians attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Car and truck bombings in Sri Lanka
Massacres in Sri Lanka
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks in Eelam War II
Mass murder in 1991
Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 1991
1991 murders in Sri Lanka
Massacres in 1991