Aranthalawa Massacre

Aranthalawa Massacre
Dead bodies of young Buddhist monks lying on floor, after they were massacred on 2 June 1987
Location	Aranthalawa, Sri Lanka
Date	2 June 1987 (UTC+5:30)
Deaths	34
Perpetrator	Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

The Aranthalawa Massacre was the massacre of 33 Buddhist monks, most of them young novice monks, and four civilians by cadres of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam organization (the LTTE, commonly known as the Tamil Tigers) on June 2, 1987, close to the village of Aranthalawa, in the Ampara District of Eastern Sri Lanka. The massacre is considered one of the most notorious and devastating atrocities committed by the LTTE during the history of the Sri Lankan Civil War, and continues to be commemorated 20 years on.

The Aranthalawa Massacre took place on June 2, 1987, when a bus carrying Buddhist monks and a few unarmed civilians was ambushed by 20 armed LTTE cadres near the village of Nuweragalathanne. They then ordered the driver of the bus, which was carrying the monks on a pilgrimage from their temple in Mahavapi to the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, to drive into the nearby Aranthalawa jungle. After the bus stopped, the LTTE cadres went on a rampage, attacking the monks with guns and swords and also shooting some of them with machine guns.

Among the dead were 30 young novice monks and their mentor, the Chief Priest of the Vidyananda Maha Pirivena, Hegoda Sri Indrasara Thera. Four civilians who were traveling in the bus were also among the dead.

Three monks who escaped the massacre sustaining critical injuries continue to require medical assistance. Another monk was permanently disabled.

This and similar attacks against Sinhalese civilians are carried out by the LTTE to antagonize the Sinhalese majority against the Tamil populace of the country, thereby creating rivalry between the two main ethnic groups of Sri Lanka. The LTTE hoped such animosity between the two races would result in attacks by Sinhalese against Tamil civilians, which would increase support and funding towards their violent campaign.