The Insurgency Of April 1971
By Suriya Wickremasinghe –APRIL 4, 2021
On the fifth of April this year falls the 50th anniversary of the first JVP insurrection, an event that shook our country as never before or since. During the course of 2021 we hope to retrieve from our archives, and place in the public domain, some of our hitherto unpublished documents of that time. For now, to revive older memories and inform younger ones, we list some relevant dates of that extraordinary decade.
13 May 1970 – General election results in United Front (UF) coming to power under premiership of Sirima R.D. Bandaranaike. The coalition is heavily dominated by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) but also comprises two left parties, the Lanka Samasamaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist Party (CP), J.R. Jayewardene is Leader of the Opposition.
July, 1970 – Members of Parliament form a Constituent Assembly, process of drafting new Constitution begins.
26 October 1970 – Constitutional Amendment to abolish the Senate introduced.
13 March 1971 – Rohana Wijeweera, leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP/Peoples’ Liberation Front), arrested.
16 March 1971 – Emergency declared. Wijeweera continues to be detained, now under emergency regulations.
5 April 1971 – An insurrection, mainly of rural youth, led by the JVP, breaks out in the form of simultaneous attacks on some 74 police stations in various parts of the country. (Another 18 are attacked in the next few days.) 35 police areas temporarily fall almost totally under insurgent control. The insurrection is speedily suppressed with considerable ruthlessness, and in its immediate aftermath some 16,000 persons are arrested and held under emergency powers.
14, 15 May 1971 – In last session of the Senate before its abolition, independent member S. Nadesan QC makes the first notable public speech on the April insurrection.
21 May 1971 – Bill to abolish Senate passed.
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