Avro plane blown up by LTTE
Avro plane blown up by LTTE
The coalition, which still held onto its parliamentary seats, did not express any opposition to this constitutional law. The LTTE was determined to bring this injustice against the Tamils to the attention of the international community. On the same day that this law was passed in the Sri Lankan National Assembly, the LTTE blew up a government-owned passenger plane, the Avro. Shortly after the passengers disembarked at Ratmalana Airport, a time bomb planted by the LTTE exploded and the plane was destroyed. This incident, the first bombing in Colombo, not only internationalized the Tamil issue but also served as a slap in the face of the arrogant Sinhalese government.
The final period of the decade of the seventies ended with a dark, bloody chapter of ethnic oppression. The Jayewardene government decided to take drastic measures to eliminate the LTTE’s increasingly armed resistance movement and put an end to the Tamils’ freedom struggle.
Accordingly, on July 30, 1979, it brought into force the extremely harsh Terrorism Prevention Act, replacing the LTTE Prohibition Act. The international community strongly condemned this cruel law, which was against democratic principles and violated basic human rights. At the time of the promulgation of this Terrorism Act, a state of emergency was also declared in the Yarlpanam peninsula. Jayewardene, who had mobilized additional military forces under the leadership of Brigadier Weeratunga in Yarlpanam, ordered Brigadier Weeratunga to destroy the LTTE movement and its ‘terrorist’ activities within a period of six months, that is, by December 31, 1979.
(Translation by Tamilpriya)
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