1987–1989 JVP insurrection
The 1987–1989 JVP insurrection, also known as the 1988–1989 revolt or the JVP troubles, was an armed revolt in Sri Lanka led by the Marxist–Leninist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna against the Government of Sri Lanka, then led by the right-wing United National Party. The insurrection, like the previous one in 1971, was unsuccessful. The main phase of the insurrection was a low-intensity conflict that lasted from April 1987 to December 1989. The insurgents led by the JVP resorted to subversion, assassinations, raids, and attacks on military and civilian targets while the Sri Lankan government reacted through counter-insurgency operations to suppress the revolt using army and paramilitary groups who were allegedly backed by government.
Guerrilla forces of the insurrection were led by the military branch of the JVP, the Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya. The insurgency reached its peak in 1988 and impacted all Sri Lankan civilians, including those without any political stake in the situation. Attacks on civilians by pro-government guerrillas began after the election of president Ranasinghe Premadasa. A period of mass killings by the government began soon after the ceasefire of the Sri Lankan civil war and the expulsion of the Indian Peace Keeping Force, resulting in the death of many Sri Lankan civilians and multiple Indian expatriates.
The JVP received support from its one-time enemy, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. However, this alliance broke down following the SLFP's participation in the provincial elections which the JVP and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam openly boycotted. The government lifted the ban on both parties in 1987, hoping that they would participate in the elections, but this attempt ultimately failed. For over two years, the state saw mass militancy of youth and workers, mass execution, and feuds between government militias and the JVP. Anti-JVP militias allegedly backed by the UNP government also caused violence, including the Black Cat group, the Eagles of the Central Hills and the leftist People's Revolutionary Red Army along with nine to eleven other groups.
In 1989, Sri Lanka Armed Forces launched Operation Combine. Even after revolutionary leader, Rohana Wijeweera was killed, the insurgency persisted. Violence escalated when the DJV leader Keerthi Vijayabahu took over. DJV members also operated in the LTTE-occupied areas of Trincomalee against the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and the IPKF. The DJV was supported by Tamil militants so that it could also operate as a front against the Indian forces. Many smaller anti-government groups gave up the armed struggle, but the largest threats persisted, with the DJV continuing to operate as an armed group until December 1989. Ranjan Wijeratne, who played a major role in the Ops Combine, claimed he was ready to launch a similar counterinsurgency against the LTTE. Wijeratne was assassinated in 1991, which led to the outbreak of the second phase of the Sri Lanka-LTTE conflict, known as the Second Eelam War.
Background
History of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Founded by communist Rohana Wijeweera, the Janatha Vmukthi Peramuna is known for its revolutionary youth background. The organization was banned more than once when the group was first involved in Anti-American protests against the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Since then, the movement was called the "Che Guevara clique" by the Sri Lankan government and international media. The group was first internationally recognized as a political party when it participated in a communist youth conference in Havana, Cuba in 1978.1971 JVP Insurrection
The JVP launched an open revolt against Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike's government in April 1971. While the government was caught off guard, it was able to subdue the insurgency in a matter of weeks. The insurgency may have led to the death of 4,000–5,000 people. Over 20,000 suspected rebels, mostly young people, were arrested in the period that followed the insurrection, but most were released after rehabilitation. The Sri Lankan government called upon India for military assistance, however Indian involvement was less known at the time of the insurrection.Rohana Wijeweera and the other major leaders of the insurgency were sentenced to prison and the JVP was banned as a political party. However, all of them were released in 1977 by new Prime Minister J. R. Jayewardene after the UNP won the general elections after running on a platform of amnesty for those prosecuted by the infamous Criminal Justice Commission.
Tamil insurgency and pro-United States policy
During the mid-1980s, as the Sri Lankan Civil War with Tamil militants in the north became more intense, there was a significant shift in the ideology and goals of the JVP. Initially Marxist in orientation, the JVP claimed to represent the oppressed of both the Tamil and Sinhalese communities. Later, however, the group increasingly began to identify as a Sinhalese nationalist organization, opposing any compromise with the Tamil insurgency.Third ban
Rohana Wijeweera received the third-highest number of votes in the 1982 presidential elections, and the Jayawardene government feared the increasing popularity of the JVP.The JVP would continue to be involved in more controversy along with the Nava Sama Samaja Party following an assembly held on 6 July 1983, which was held in support of Tamil civilians; at the assembly, NSSP leader Vikramabahu Karunaratne defended the Tamil insurgency. The government was greatly threatened by these parties, and alleged that three socialist parties were preparing to topple the government. The Jayawardene government also alleged that the JVP was involved in the Black July riots, but provided no concrete evidence. Due to these allegations, Jayawardene banned the party, a move which was suspected to be due to his fear of losing future elections to leftist parties as he was highly pro-U.S. and anti-Soviet due to his anti-Indian policy. It is also to be noted that during this time, Jayawardene degraded diplomatic relations with socialist countries like Cuba and the Soviet Union.
Preparation
Having been banned and driven underground, the JVP began preparing to overthrow the government. They targeted political opponents, carried out robberies in the form of bank heists to collect funds, and began acquiring weapons, usually pistols and shotguns from owners who had gained gun licenses from the government. Thereafter, they planned to raid armories of the government, which had deployed its forces to the north and east of the country to counter the Tamil insurgency.The politburo members of the insurrection were Rohana Wijeweera, Upatissa Gamanayake, Sumith Athukorala, D. M. Ananda, Saman Piyasiri Fernando, Piyadasa Ranasinghe, H. B. Herath, Gunaratne Wanasinghe, P. R. B. Wimalarathna, Somawansa Amarasinghe, Shantha Bandara, Nandathilaka Galappaththi and Lalith Wijerathna. Until 1987, no arms were available for the youth military arm of the JVP, the Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya to train their soldiers. The collection of weapons for this purpose began in early 1987, and weapons training began in mid-1987, with deserters from the army providing instruction.
During this period, police inspectors reported their pistols to be missing and landlords were given shotguns by the police to defend themselves. The DJV stole weapons and ammunition from military bases, defense academies, and landlords. A spike in gun thefts were reported from Balangoda, Deniyaya, Hakmana, and Nochchiyagama in 1987. There were reports in May 1987 that an increasing number of youths were stealing such weapons from police stations in the south. 600 weapons, mostly shotguns, were taken by DJV in July 1987.
Armed with these stolen weapons, DJV members were trained in universities and were joined by new members from lower castes. At the start of the insurgency, it was estimated by western diplomats that of the 10,000 armed carders of the DJV, approximately 3,000 were well trained. According to Somawansa Amarasinghe, a Central Committee member of the JVP, these groups were also provided aid by North Korea since 1970.
Prelude to open insurrection
On 15 December 1986, the JVP abducted and murdered Daya Pathirana, leader of the Independent Students' Union of the University of Colombo, who was a rival of the Socialist Students Union, the student wing of the JVP. By this time, the JVP had been designated as a terrorist organization by the Jayawardene government.JVP carried out small scale bombings throughout 1986, but what marked the beginning of the pre-insurgency took place on 7 May 1986, when the JVP claimed responsibility for a large bombing in the Colombo Central Telegram office which killed 14 and coordinated anti-Indian propaganda in Sinhalese universities.