Madhu Church Shelling - Background Information

Background Information

See also: Origins of the Sri Lankan civil war

During the British colonial period, when Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, most civil service jobs were (roughly 60%) held by minority Sri Lankan Tamils who were approximately 15% of the population. This was enabled due to the availability of western style education provided by American missionaries and others in the Tamil dominant Jaffna peninsula. The preponderance of Tamils over their natural share of the population was used by populist majority Sinhalese politicians to come to political power by promising to elevate the Sinhalese people. These measures as well as riots and pogroms that targeted the minority Sri Lankan Tamils led to the formation of a number of rebel groups advocating independence for Sri Lankan Tamils. Following the 1983 Black July pogrom full scale civil war began between the government and the rebel groups.

During the 1990s the church was established as a safe and neutral zone by the UNHCR. It was free of rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres and Sri Lankan Army soldiers. The church had housed thousands of civilians as a refuge. In May 1999, the Sri Lankan Army breached the longstanding agreement of “no guns, no uniform” and took control of a formerly neutral area. The army also cleared the shrine of all refugees.

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