SUMMARY

One-sided violence from the Government of Sri Lanka against civilians is first recorded by the UCDP in 1989, although such activities existed before this year. During 1989 the government was fighting armed conflicts with both the Tamil LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) group and the Marxist JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna) party. The LTTE held political grievances of an ethnic nature, being victims of discriminatory policies from the Sinhalese dominated government. The JVP was instead interested in overthrowing the government and instating a Marxist government.

The Government of Sri Lanka attempted to quash these rebellions and the political dissent not only through armed combat, but also through state repression. Indiscriminate firing on crowds, dispersals of political meetings, and the persecution of activists are the most common actions leading to the deaths of civilians in the Sri Lankan context. Repression against Tamil civilians is concentrated on the areas of the island where this group is the majority or near majority, the North and the East. Repression against the leftists of the JVP took place mainly in Sinhalese dominated areas in the West, South, and Central provinces.

The Government of Sri Lanka first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 1989, when the one-sided violence resulted in over 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached in August that year when troops killed at least 20 civilians in Pannipitiya east of Colombo.