Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Sinhala extremist group disrupts Black July commemoration in Colombo

25 July 2023

Sinhala extremist group, Sinhala Ravaya, disrupted a Black July commemoration event in Colombo over the weekend. 

Video footage from the commemoration shows a member of Sinhala Ravaya calling those particiapting in the commemoration 'kottiya' - a Sinhala term used to describe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). 

 

 

Sri Lankan riot police then violently pushed the crowd to the floor, in an attempt to disperse the protest. 

Sinhala Ravaya is known to be an extreme Sinhala Buddhist nationalist group that strongly aligns itself with the Bodu Bala Sena, founded and headed by the extremist Galagoda Aththe Gnasara Thera. In the recent past, members of the two extremist groups have been known to be responsible for instigating multiple misinformation campaigns against minority groups and for the harassment and intimidation of activists.

In May, a similar incident occured when individuals from the extremist group "Ravana Balaya" tried to disturb an event organised by activists in the South outside Borella cemetery to mark the 14th anniversary of the Tamil genocide at Mullivaikkal.  Tamil memorialisation events, particularly in the North-East are repressed or disrupted by the state and Sinhala extremists, either by enforcing legal restrictions or by harassment and intimidation by the state's security forces. 

Related Articles: 
24 July 2023 : British Tamils commemorate 40th anniversary of Black July in London
23 July 2023 : University of Jaffna students commemorate Black July
23 July 2023 : Canadian Prime Minister remembers Black July victims and renews calls for accountability for human rights violations in Sri Lanka
23 July 2023 : 'Wounds from July 1983 have yet to heal' - Canadian ambassador marks 40th anniversary of Black July
23 July 2023 : Remembering Black July 40 years on
  • Facebook icon
    Twitter icon
    e-mail icon

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.

Tamil Guardian