Members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held a commemoration event in Jaffna on Saturday, to mark 39 years since Black July.
Lawmakers including M A Sumanthiran were present at the event, held at the Vadamarachchi office of the Tamil political party.
During the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983, thousands of Tamils were killed by Sinhala mobs backed by the then-UNP government and state forces.
Around the world, the event has been commemorated as an act of genocide.
Read more here: Remembering Black July - 39 years since the pogrom