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{{Short description|Massacres of Sinhalese in the Eastern Province by Tamil militant groups}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = 1987 Eastern Province massacres
| map = Sri Lanka Eastern Province locator map.svg
| coordinates = {{coord|8|35|N|81|13|E|display=inline,title}}
| location = [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka]], [[Sri Lanka]]
| target = Primarily [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] civilians
| date = {{start date|1987|09|29|df=y}}–<br />{{End date|1987|10|8|df=yes}}
| fatalities = 200+
| perps = Tamil mobs, [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]], other Tamil nationalist militant groups, [[Indian Peacekeeping Force]] (to a degree)
}}

The '''1987 Eastern Province massacres''' were a series of massacres of the [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] population in the [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern Province]] of [[Sri Lanka]] by Tamil mobs and [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] during the [[Sri Lankan Civil War]]. Though they began spontaneously, they became more organized, with the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam|LTTE]] leading the violence. Over 200 Sinhalese were killed by mob and militant violence, and over 20,000 fled the Eastern Province. The violence has been described as having had the appearance of a [[pogrom]].<ref name="rubin">{{cite book |last1=Rubin |first1=Barnett |title=Cycles of Violence: Human Rights in Sri Lanka Since the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement |publisher=Human Rights Watch |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=b7F-dUh5_j8C&pg=PA52 |access-date=8 December 2018|isbn=9780938579434 |year=1987 }}</ref>

== Background==
The Eastern province was a highly contested zone between the [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] and [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Tamils]]. Since the 1930s, the majority Sinhalese government settled Sinhalese in the Eastern province, with the explicit intention to restore what they saw as lost ancient Sinhala settlements,<ref name = "peebles" /> as well as to reduce the Tamils' claim to local autonomy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Report No.7, The clash of ideologies and the continuing tragedy in the Batticaloa & Amparai Districts, Chapter 8, Colonisation - Issues and Non-Issues|url=http://www.uthr.org/Reports/Report7/chapter8.htm |website=uthr.org |publisher=University Teacher of Human Rights - Jaffna |access-date=3 January 2020}}</ref> Tamil nationalists viewed this as an attempt to [[Sri Lankan state-sponsored colonisation schemes|alter the demographics]] of their 'traditional Tamil homeland', thus weakening the Tamils' stake in it.<ref name = "peebles" >{{cite journal |last1=Peebles |first1=Patrick |title=Colonization and Ethnic Conflict in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |date=February 1990 |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=30–55 |doi=10.2307/2058432 |jstor=2058432 }}</ref>

During the [[Black July|1983 riots]], Trincomalee was the site of anti-Tamil violence at the hands of Sinhalese sailors. During [[1985 Trincomalee massacres|1985 massacres]], there was widespread, systematic destruction of Tamil villages and massacres in [[Trincomalee District]], by the [[Sri Lankan Army]] with the help of Sinhalese settlers nearly destroying the Trincomalee Town and displacing its population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Can the East be won through Human Culling? |url=http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport26.htm#_Toc173926127 |website=uthr.org |publisher=University Teacher of Human Rights - Jaffna |access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="gaasbeek">{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Gaasbeek |first=Timmo |date=2010 |title=Bridging troubled waters? Everyday inter-ethnic interaction in a context of violent conflict in Kottiyar Pattu, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka |publisher=Wageningen University |url=https://edepot.wur.nl/138278 |page=144-157}}</ref><ref>The Hindu, 22 September 1985, 52 Tamil villages in Trincomalee District razed to the ground in two months</ref> Following this, there had been a series of massacres of Sinhalese by Tamil militants and Tamils by the Army and home guards in the Trincomalee District that continued into 1986.<ref name='gaasbeek'></ref>

The year 1987 saw notorious violent incidents against Sinhalese civilians by the LTTE in or near the Eastern Province. On April 17, an LTTE unit had waylaid a bus carrying southbound Sinhalese from Trincomalee at Aluth Oya and [[Aluth Oya massacre|massacred]] them. The week after, the village of Jayantipura near Kantale was attacked and over 15 Sinhalese were killed.<ref name=so>[http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/04/14/sec04.asp When Tiger terrorists massacred 127 civilians in Habarana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924133516/http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/04/14/sec04.asp |date=2015-09-24 }}, Sunday Observer, K.M.H.C.B. Kulatunga</ref> On June 2, an LTTE unit [[Aranthalawa massacre|massacred]] novice Buddhist monks and other Sinhalese civilians in Aranthalawa.<ref name="lawrence">{{cite book |first1=Patricia |last1=Lawrence |chapter=Violence, Suffering, Amman: The Work of Oracles in Sri Lanka's Eastern War Zone |editor1-last=Das |editor1-first=Veena |editor2-last=Kleinman |editor2-first=Arthur |title=Violence and Subjectivity |date=2000-10-02 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0520216083 |page=172 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KsEcQnb2VIC&pg=PA172 |access-date=30 July 2019}}</ref>

In July 1987, [[India]] sent the [[Indian Peacekeeping Force|IPKF]] to the island as part of an attempt to negotiate a political solution between the [[Government of Sri Lanka]] and the Tamil militant groups. The [[Indo-Sri Lanka Accord]] was signed on 29 July 1987, and one of its terms was that the Sri Lankan security forces would be confined to their barracks in the north and east.<ref name="ILA">{{cite web |title=Indo-Lanka Accord |url=https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/IN%20LK_870729_Indo-Lanka%20Accord.pdf |website=peacemaker.un.org |publisher=United Nations |access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref> Sinhalese settlers were also disarmed.<ref name='rubin'/>

In late September 1987, [[Thileepan]] began a hunger strike. On the 21st of September, a scuffle broke out between a Tamil group of '[[Satyagraha|satyagrahis]]' who gathered in support of Thileepan and a Sinhalese group at the Anuradhapura Junction in Trincomalee. Ethnic violence had begun where the Sinhalese and Tamils were both perpetrators and victims. On September 24, Sinhalese from Mihindupura had left in bullock carts; the next morning, the carts returned without them and 9 charred bodies were found with a burnt cart. The LTTE was suspected to have perpetrated the killings.<ref name="hoole">{{cite book |last1=Hoole |first1=Rajan |title=Sri Lanka: The Arrogance of Power: Myths, Decadence & Murder |date=July 2001 |publisher=University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) |isbn=9559447041 |page=226 |edition=1st }}</ref> Thileepan eventually died from his hunger strike, inviting grief from the Tamil community. Around the same time, the IPKF had nominated members for the Interim Council of the North and East, a majority of them being LTTE representatives.

== Incident==
=== Trincomalee riots===
After the Interim Council was announced to be mostly LTTE nominees, anti-Sinhalese violence flared in Trincomalee, an ethnically heterogeneous city, on September 29. On September 30, 2 Tamils were found hacked to death; in retaliation, a Tamil group killed 3 Sinhalese men in a truck.<ref name="hoole" /> The violence became more organized on October 1, with LTTE members leading rioters and warning Sinhalese to evacuate their homes lest they be killed. In Trincomalee and throughout the Eastern Province, properties were set on fire, and over 2,000 people, mostly Sinhalese, were rendered homeless.<ref name = "rubin" /><ref name = "hoole" /> In Trincomalee, Tamil rioters, with the help of militant leaders, brutally killed Sinhalese men and raped Sinhalese women. A Sinhalese truck driver was burnt to death along with his truck and an elderly Sinhalese man was beaten to death. Sinhalese had been burned in their homes, and Sinhalese patients had been thrown out of the hospital, killing some.<ref name="barber">{{cite news |last1=Barber |first1=Ben |title=In Sri Lanka, the Killing Goes On |work=Newsday |publisher=Newsday LLC |date=1987-10-13 |location=Long Island, N.Y}}</ref> Around 50 Sinhalese who were well established in the community had been killed in the area of the main Sinhalese school. Corpses were thrown into wells that were covered up.<ref name="uthr sp8">{{cite web |title=Trincomalee: State Ideology and the Politics of Fear |url=http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport8.htm#_Toc515698017 |publisher=University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) |access-date=27 March 2019}}</ref> The IPKF prevented any intervention by the [[Sri Lankan Army]]. They fired at a crowd of Sinhalese gathered at the King's Hotel Junction, killing one. At [[J. R. Jayawardene]]'s request, the IPKF had 11 platoons come into Trincomalee to restore order. On October 4, the IPKF shot a Sinhalese Buddhist monk who had demonstrated against them.<ref name="hoole" /> On the same day, the IPKF had attacked Abeypura, a Sinhalese colony near Trincomalee. The Indian soldiers engaged in assault, arson, and murder of the Sinhalese in the colony.<ref name="rubin"/>

=== Militant action===
Following the suicide of the 11 Tamil Tigers in Sri Lankan police custody on October 5, Tamil militant violence spread throughout the Eastern Province. In Batticaloa, Sinhalese who had long coexisted amicably with Tamils had been attacked, even upsetting some LTTE leaders.<ref>{{cite web |title=Human rights and The Issues of War and Peace |url=http://www.uthr.org/Briefings/Briefing1.htm#_Toc516680630 |website=uthr.org |publisher=University Teacher for Human Rights Jaffna |access-date=10 December 2018 |archive-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506220249/http://uthr.org/Briefings/Briefing1.htm#_Toc516680630 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to Batticaloa residents, the family of a Sinhalese taxi driver had been killed by an LTTE member called Niranjan Kingsley, and a Sinhalese goldsmith had been murdered by two brothers named Dayalan and Puruchotan.<ref name="hamlyn">{{cite news |last1=Hamlyn |first1=Michael |title=Gunmen lose grip of fear on Batticaloa | work=The Times |date=13 October 1987}}</ref> Sinhalese and [[Sri Lankan Moors|Muslims]] were massacred in buses, trains, and villages in various regions in the Eastern province.<ref name="apnews">{{cite news |last1=Cruez |first1=Patrick |title=Rebels Kill 140 Sinhalese in Six Attacks |url=https://apnews.com/df6ef5ec445f9bd6d9548681fbc1ddb2 |access-date=11 May 2019 |agency=AP News |date=October 7, 1987}}</ref><ref name="wapo">{{cite news |last1=Weintraub |first1=Richard |title=Tamils Kill Dozens in Revenge |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/10/07/tamils-kill-dozens-in-revenge/d04a4022-1511-4664-833d-7e1e90573330/ |access-date=11 May 2019 |agency=Washington Post |date=October 7, 1987}}</ref><ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last1=Weisman |first1=Steven |title=160 Die in Sri Lanka; India Vows to Curb Attacks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/08/world/160-die-in-sri-lanka-india-vows-to-curb-attacks.html |access-date=11 May 2019 |agency=The New York Times |date=October 8, 1987}}</ref> One massacre in [[Kiran, Sri Lanka|Kiran]] was masterminded by an LTTE leader named Devi.<ref name="hamlyn"></ref> As in Trincomalee, the IPKF did little to prevent the violence and in some cases appeared to be supporting the militants. Sinhalese refugees specifically accused the Madrasi regiment of the IPKF, composed of Tamils, of complicity in violence against them.<ref name="rubin" /> The Sri Lankan military was still prevented from protecting the Sinhalese. When one Sinhalese man from Mihindupura attempted to inform the Sri Lankan military of an assault on the village, the Indian soldiers would not allow them through, and the man was even assaulted by an Indian soldier.<ref name="crossette">{{cite news |last1=Crossette |first1=Barbara |title=Sri Lanka Rebels and Indian Troops Fight for 3D Day: Heavy Guerrilla Attacks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/12/world/sri-lanka-rebels-and-indian-troops-fight-for-3d-day.html |access-date=27 February 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=12 October 1987}}</ref> By the end of the violence, over 200 Sinhalese civilians were estimated to be dead, and 20,000 were made refugees. The actual number of dead may be higher as some people disappeared and their fates were unknown.<ref name="rubin" />

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

{{Sri Lankan coups}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=1987 in Sri Lanka, 1987 riots, Massacres in 1987, Massacres in Sri Lanka, Ethnic riots, Human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, October 1987 events in Asia, Riots and civil disorder in Sri Lanka, September 1987 events in Asia, Mass murder of Sinhalese, Indian Peace Keeping Force
|description=
}}

[[Category:1987 in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:1987 riots]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1987]]
[[Category:Massacres in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Ethnic riots]]
[[Category:Human rights abuses in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:October 1987 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:September 1987 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Mass murder of Sinhalese]]
[[Category:Indian Peace Keeping Force]]

1987 Eastern Province massacres - Revision history

MetaBOT at 11:25, 13 July 2023