Following is a list of riots and protests in Sri Lanka, an island nation situated in South Asia. Throughout its history, Sri Lanka has experienced a number of riots. Since 1915, many of them have stemmed from ethnic tensions between the Sinhalese majority and minority Tamil and Moor populations.[1]
19th century
1883 Kotahena riots (Kotahena, Western Province) − Riots erupt once Buddhists who were proceeding in procession to Deepaduttarama Viharaya at Kotahena are attacked by a group of Roman Catholics.[2][3]
1953 Ceylonese Hartal − a nationwide demonstration, a hartal which eventually led to civil unrest. It was one of the riots which did not involve ethnicity and was conducted by several leftist groups.
1958 anti-Tamil pogrom − Also known as the '58 riots. They were a watershed event for the race relationships between various ethnic communities of Sri Lanka. The total number of deaths was estimated to be 300, mostly Sri Lankan Tamils.[4]
1960s
1966 − Demonstrations in Colombo organized by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, left-wing parties, and trade unions in protest of the Tamil Regulations Act escalate into riots, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency.[5]
1969 − The Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) conduct a mass rally which ended in bloodshed, the major cause for the riot being the banning of the May Day rally.[6]
1983 anti-Tamil pogrom in Trincomalee - organised violence by Sinhalese mobs and security forces, which targeted the Tamil population of Trincomalee between June and July 1983.
1983 − Black July: an anti-Tamil pogrom, between 400 and 3,000 Tamil civilians were killed and many more made homeless and refugees. The riots were believed to be the main cause of the Sri Lankan Civil War.[9]
1985 anti-Tamil pogrom in Karaitivu - organised violence by Muslim mobs and security forces, which targeted the Tamil population of Karaitivu in 1985.
1985 Trincomalee massacres - organised violence by security forces and Sinhalese mobs, which targeted the Tamil population of Trincomalee in 1985.
1987 Trincomalee riots (Trincomalee, Eastern Province) − riots against the Sinhalese carried about by Tamil mobs, backed by Tamil militant leaders in Trincomalee which later morphed into LTTE violence against the Sinhalese. Over 200 Sinhalese were killed and thousands were rendered homeless or displaced.
8 September 1998 − In Ratnapura, a riot against Hill-country Tamils erupts, where 200 organised Sinhalese mobs with the support of local Sinhala politicians burn down 800 houses. The rape of several Tamil women by Sinhalese men is also reported. The riot was sparked by the murder of two Sinhalese youths, one of them in Bandusena, who had a reputation for raping women and being involved in illegal liquor sales. The Sinhalese attackers were given full impunity by the local police and no one was held accountable for their crimes.[14]
21st century
2000s
2001 − Mawanella riots (Mawanella, Sabaragamuwa Province) − Clashes between Sinhalese and Muslims result in the deaths of 2 people, and leave more than 15 injured and property destroyed. Sinhalese mobs attacked several Muslim-owned shops, and vice versa.
2006 anti-Tamil riots in Trincomalee - organised violence by Sinhalese mobs and security forces, which targeted the Tamil population of Trincomalee in April 2006.
2020 − Mahara prison riot (Mahara, Western Province) − A riot erupts in the Mahara Prison following rumors that prisoners infected with COVID-19 from other prisons would be transferred to Mahara Prison. The riot resulted in 11 inmates dead and 117 inmates severely injured.
2022 Sri Lankan protests − Across the island, several protests erupted against the incumbent government of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa due to poor management of the ongoing economic crisis, severe inflation and shortages of fuel and other essential items.
^Chattopadhyaya, H. Ethnic Unrest in Modern Sri Lanka: An Account of Tamil-Sinhalese Race Relations, pp. 51-82
^K.M., De Silva (2009). History of Ceylon: Volume III. University of Peradeniya: Ministry of Higher Education. p. 202.
^T., Bartholomeusz (1995). Catholics, Buddhists, and the Church of England: The 1883 Sri Lankan Riots. Buddhist-Christian Studies, 15. pp. 89–103.
^ a b"An evolving army and its role through time". Sunday Times. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2008. The outbreak of island wide ethnic violence from May 24–27, 1958, saw for the first time the deployment of military personnel under emergency proclamations throughout the entire island, where Colombo and the North and East of the country witnessed the worst violence leading to over 300 deaths.
^Kearney, Robert (1971). Trade Unions and Politics in Ceylon. London, England: University of California Press. p. 151. ISBN 9780520017139.
^Banned May Day Rally (PDF).
^Kearney, R.N. (1985). "Ethnic Conflict and the Tamil Separatist Movement in Sri Lanka". Asian Survey. 25 (9): 898–917. doi:10.2307/2644418. JSTOR 2644418.
^Over two decades after the burning down of the Jaffna library in Sri Lanka Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
^Harrison, Frances (23 July 2003). "Twenty years on – riots that led to war". BBC News. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
^"ASA 37/30/97 Sri Lanka: Appeal for a full inquiry into prison killings". Amnesty International. 15 December 1997.
Vittachi, Tarzie (1958). Emergency '58: The Story of the Ceylon Race Riots. Andre Deutsch. OCLC 2054641.
Seneratne, Jagath P (1998). Political Violence in Sri Lanka, 1977-1990: Riots, Insurrections, Counter-Insurgencies, Foreign Intervention. VU University Press. ISBN 90-5383-524-5.
