One of the first attacks on Sinhalese civilians by Tamil militants. At least 146 men, women and children are killed at the central bus stand at the Anuradhapura town.
Sources
The Broken Palmyra – The Tamil Crisis in Sri Lanka: An Inside Account, Rajan Hoole, Daya Somasundaram, K.Sritharan and Rajani Thiranagama, The Sri Lanka Studies Institute, 1990; Letter from Amnesty International to President J.R Jayewardene, 7 June 1985.
Quotation
“The tragic events of the past weeks, including the killing of at least 146 mostly Sinhalese men, women and children in Anuradhapura by unidentified men alleged to be Tamil extremists, have further increased the heavy burden on security forces charged with maintaining law and order and the protection of the lives and safety of all citizens,” Letter from Amnesty International to President J.R Jayewardene, 7 June 1985.
Extract from The Broken Palmyrah, 1990
“In reprisal for the killing by the Sri Lankan forces of 70 civilians in Valvettithurai and the damage to the homes of Prabhakaran and several other LTTE leaders, the LTTE on 14 May 1985 conducted what came to be known as the Anuradhapura massacre. A few LTTE men drove into Anuradhapura and gunned down about 150 persons with ruthless efficiency and got away. In the ancient Sinhalese capital, the government forces were caught off guard. This gave the LTTE the reputation of being an efficient “killer machine,” that was to be both feared and respected. The many who approved of the Anuradhapura massacre little realised that such readiness to play around with lives of Sinhalese would result in making Tamil lives more insecure.”
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Lakshman Gunasekara said,
I was pleased to see this entry of the massacre of civilians by Tamil militants in 1985 in Anuradhapura. The “first” part is important, because the Tamil militants were initially admired for their discipline – that is, for initially not committing such atrocities despite the Sri Lankan State forces’ already long and bloody record of massacres of civilian Tamils.