Tamil Genocide Begins — 70th Year Commemoration
Tamil Genocide Begins — 70th Year Commemoration: 11.06.2026
The Gal Oya Project in the Eastern Province, Ampara area of the Batticaloa District, was initiated in 1949 by Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake. It was originally developed as part of the “Gal Oya Development Scheme” and the construction of the Inginiyagala reservoir, and initially the area became housing for workers involved in the project.
During the rule of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike served as Prime Minister from 12 April 1956 to 26 September 1959 (he was assassinated by Somarama Thero on 26/08/1959). It was during his administration that what is described here as the first genocide began in the Gal Oya–Inginiyagala area of the Batticaloa District.
From 1948 to 1961, Ampara District had not yet been created and remained part of the Batticaloa District.
On 19 March 1960, a new electoral constituency called Ampara was created within the Batticaloa District.
On 10 April 1961, Ampara District was officially separated from Batticaloa District.
The administrative district name “Ampara” was later changed to “Digamadulla” electoral district under the 1978 constitutional amendments. The “Dehiattakandiya” area belonging to Badulla was also later incorporated, forming today’s Ampara (Digamadulla) District.
When the Ampara District was renamed Digamadulla in 1978 under the new constitutional amendment, no Tamil or Muslim Members of Parliament opposed the change.
On 05 June 1956, the “Sinhala Only Act” was passed in the Sri Lankan Parliament, declaring Sinhala as the sole official language of the country. In response, a satyagraha protest organized by the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi under the leadership of S. J. V. Chelvanayakam (“Thanthai Chelva”) took place at Galle Face Green in front of the Parliament in Colombo. During this protest, violent attacks by Sinhala mobs on Tamil protesters began, marking the first major bloodshed against Tamils in history.
However, the first mass violence described as genocide occurred in the Eastern Province, in the then Batticaloa District, following protests against the Sinhala Only Act, particularly in Gal Oya and Inginiyagala.
The Gal Oya massacres, described as the first Tamil genocide, began on Monday, 11 June 1956. This planned violence continued for six days—11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 June 1956. Local police reportedly took no action. Local Sinhala settlers reportedly used government vehicles to travel toward Tamil settlements. In Inginiyagala settlement areas and surrounding sugarcane plantations, more than a hundred Tamils were killed by Sinhala attackers.
On Wednesday, 13 June 1956, Sinhala attackers and army personnel entered the village of Thuraineelavanai. In the confrontation that followed, local Tamil fighters are reported to have killed 13 people, including members of the army and attackers. This is described as the first attack by Tamils against the Sri Lankan military in the North-East.
The site of this incident in Thuraineelavanai is marked by a statue installed by me (P. Ariyanethran) on 27 April 2017 at Seerpathadevi junction, where the attack took place on 13 June 1956.
Tamil people were brutally attacked by local majority Sinhala settlers.
This is considered the first large-scale genocide against the Tamil minority carried out with the support of the state apparatus after Sri Lanka’s independence.
The violence that began on 11 June 1956 continued until 18 May 2009.
During the final phase of the war in May 2009 alone, Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph stated through documented evidence that 146,679 Tamils were killed. To this day, the exact number of Tamils killed has not been officially recognized by the international community.
Although large-scale killings have not continued after 18 May 2009, it is stated that structural genocide and ongoing ethnic destruction have continued over the past 17 years up to the present day.
Genocide / structured ethnic destruction has continued for 70 years. The history of a people must be known by that people.
“Those who forget history forget life.”
— P. Ariyanethran
11/06/2026
Translation by Hari
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