Burning of Jaffna library
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| Background |
| Origins of the Civil War |
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• Origins of the Civil War |
| LTTE |
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• LTTE • Attributed Terrorist attacks • Child Soldiers |
| Major figures |
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• Mahinda Rajapakse |
| Indian Involvement |
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• Operation Poomalai |
| See also |
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• Military of Sri Lanka |
The burning of the Jaffna library was an important event in the ongoing Sri Lankan civil war. An organized mob went on a rampage on the nights of May 31 to June 2, 1981, burning the market area of Jaffna, a city in northern Sri Lanka, the office of a minority Tamil newspaper, the home of the Member of Parliament for Jaffna, a Hindu temple and the Jaffna Public Library and killing four people.[1] It was at that time one of the biggest libraries in Asia [2]
Contents |
[edit] Incident
Nancy Murray, Director, Bill of Rights Education Project with American Civil Liberties Union [3] wrote in a journal article in 1984, that several high ranking security officers and two cabinet ministers were present in the town of Jaffna, uniformed security men and plainclothes [4] mob carried out organised acts of destruction. [5]
The government owned Daily News, newspaper in an editorial in 2001 termed the event as an act by goon squads let loose by the then government.[6]
[edit] Reaction
The destruction of the Jaffna Public Library was the incident which appeared to cause the most distress to the people of Jaffna.[7][8] At the time it was South Asia's second largest library.[8] The 95,000 volumes of the Public Library destroyed by the fire included numerous culturally important and irreplaceable manuscripts.[9]
[edit] President Ranasinghe Premadasa
In 1991 the then president of Sri Lanka Premadasa publicly proclaimed that
| “ | During the District Development Council elections in 1981, some of our party members took many people from other parts of the country to the North, created havoc and disrupted the conduct of elections in the North. It is this same group of people who are causing trouble now also. If you wish to find out who burnt the priceless collection of books at the Jaffna Library, you have only to look at the faces of those opposing us | ” |
He was accusing his political opponents within his UNP party Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake, who had just brought an impeachment motion against him, as directly involved in the burning of the library in 1981 [10]
[edit] President Mahinda Rajapakse
In 2006 the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse was quoted as saying,
| “ | UNP is responsible for mass scale riots and massacres against the Tamils in 1983, vote rigging in the Northern Development Council elections and burning of the Jaffna library. | ” |
He was also further quoted to say referencing a prominent local Tamil poet, reminding the audience that
| “ | Burning the Library sacred to the people of Jaffna was similar to shooting down Lord Buddha | ” |
He concluded in that speech that as a cumulative effect of the all these atrocities, the peaceful voice of the Tamils is now drowned in the echo of the gun referring to the rebel LTTE's terrorism. [11]
[edit] Government investigation
According to Orville H.Schell, Chairman of the Americas Watch Committee, and Head of the Amnesty International's 1982 fact finding mission to Sri Lanka, the UNP government at that time did not institute an independent investigation to establish responsibility for these killings in May and June 1981 and take measures against those responsible.[citation needed]
[edit] Reopening of the Library
Since the incident all succeeding governments in Sri Lanka have accepted responsibility for the action and under president Chandrika Kumaratunga rebuilt it with contributions from all Sri Lankans.[12] Reopening of the rebuilt library was opposed by the rebel LTTE leading to the Jaffna municipal council to resign en mass as a protest,[13] but eventually it was opened to the public. [14]
[edit] Photos
- Photo of the burnt and rebuilt libraryPhoto credit gives date of burning incorrectly as 1977.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Destroying a symbol. IFLA. Retrieved on February 14, 2007.
- ^ Fire at Kandy public library. BBC. Retrieved on March 14, 2006.
- ^ Nancy Murray: Hyper-Nationalism and Our Civil Liberties. Democracy Now. Retrieved on March 15, 2006.
- ^ Chronology of events in Sri lanka. BBC. Retrieved on March 14, 2006.
- ^ Nancy Murray (1984), “Sri Lanka: Racism and the Authoritarian State,” in issue no. 1 of Race & Class, vol. 26 (Summer 1984), James Manor
- ^ EDITORIAL, DAILY NEWS. Daily News. Retrieved on March 14, 2006.
- ^ Peebles, Patrick [2006]. "chapter 10", The History of Sri Lanka, The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, pp. 133 & 134. ISBN 0313332053.
- ^ a b Ponnambalam, Satchi [1983]. Sri Lanka: The National Question and the Tamil Liberation Struggle. London: Zed Books Ltd., pp. 207 & 261. ISBN 0862321980.
- ^ Jaffna Library rises from its ruins. Daily Mirror. Retrieved on March 15, 2006.
- ^ Over two decades after the burning down of the Jaffna library in Sri Lanka. The Independant. Retrieved on March 15, 2006.
- ^ Mahinda promises compensation for high security zone. BBC. Retrieved on March 14, 2006.
- ^ Lesson a picture taught. The Sunday Times. Retrieved on March 15, 2006.
- ^ Jaffna library opening put off as Mayor, councilors resign. Tamilnet. Retrieved on March 14, 2006.
- ^ Story of Jaffna Library. The Hindu. Retrieved on March 15, 2006.
[edit] External links
- History of the public library
- Burning Books - Reported by Kevin Sites
