Reaction
Two Cabinet ministers who saw the destruction of government and private properties on the verandah of the Jaffna Rest House (a government owned hotel) claimed that the incident was
"an unfortunate event, where few policeman got drunk and went on a looting spree all on their own"
The national newspapers did not carry information about the incident and in subsequent parliamentary debates some majority Sinhalese members told minority Tamil politicians that if Tamils were unhappy in Sri Lanka, they should leave for their 'homeland' in India. A direct quote from a United National Party member is
"If there is discrimination in this land which is not their (Tamil) homeland, then why try to stay here. Why not go back home (India) where there would be no discrimination. There are your kovils and Gods. There you have your culture, education, universities etc. There you are masters of your own fate"
- Mr. W.J.M. Lokubandara, M.P. in Sri Lanka's Parliament, July 1981.Reaction
Of all the destruction in Jaffna city it was the destruction of the Jaffna Public Library that was the incident which appeared to cause the most distress to the people of Jaffna. Twenty years later, the mayor of Jaffna Nadarajah Raviraj still grieved at the recollection of the flames he saw as a University student. He was later killed by unknown gunmen in the capital Colombo in 2006.
For Tamils the devastated library became a symbol of "physical and imaginative violence" of majority extremists. The attack was seen as an assault on their aspirations, the value of learning and traditions of academic achievement. The attack also became the rallying point for Tamil radicals to convince the Tamil populace that their race was targeted for annihilation.
Read more about this topic: Burning Of Jaffna Library
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