On that day 856 violent incidents were reported from all parts of the country. Arsonists destroyed 77 houses of 74 ministers and Government MPs. Nine persons including an MP lost their lives. According to a June 7 police media unit announcement 2,528 persons were arrested at provincial level in this connection. Twelve of them were remanded.
This is the first in a series of articles on how arson attacks destroyed houses and property of MPs on that fateful day. This again reminds us the end of the 1980s decade. It was the worst period of terror in our history when a dark shadow enveloped the whole country. At the time the value of human life descended to such a low level that no one knew what moment whose life would be lost.
We are relating here is one of many such tragic stories.
Terror
Among the areas terrorised then was the Damana village in the Ampara District. Those who unleashed the terror had no hesitation in killing those opposing them.
Ayurvedic Doctor S. Weerasinghe became a target of JVP activists, since he opposed their brutality. Still Dr. Weerasinghe, a true patriot was no coward to give up his principles.
A father three of sons and three daughters, Weerasinghe lived in a large old house. Nearby another house was being constructed. A few days before this tragedy he left his two elder sons at his younger brother’s residence at Nuwara Eliya to prevent his children becoming victims of JVP activists. Only he, his wife, the youngest son and three daughters were left in the house.
Since the JVP activists gave no permission even to light a candle after dusk, Weerasinghe, to help her children do their studies, lit a lamp and covered it with a mat in the house under construction to prevent the candle light being seen from the outside.
The shadow of death fell on the Weerasinghes’ residence one such night. While the two younger daughters were studying inside the half completed house, the eight-year-old youngest son and his parents were staying in the old house.
Suddenly blood-thirsty murderers broke into the house and repeatedly shot Dr. Weerasinghe in front of his terrified family after dragging him out of the house.
“The gunshots did not kill my father. They then stabbed my father 14 times till he died, while my mother, my sisters and I were screaming in terror”
Crime
Younger son Weerasinghe Dewage Weerasinghe who was eight years old when he witnessed the murder still recalls the crime with unbearable sorrow.
Among the areas terrorised then was the Damana village in the Ampara District. Those who unleashed the terror had no hesitation in killing those opposing them.
Ayurvedic Doctor S. Weerasinghe became a target of JVP activists, since he opposed their brutality. Still Dr. Weerasinghe, a true patriot was no coward to give up his principles.
A father of three sons and three daughters, Weerasinghe lived in a large old house. Nearby another house was being constructed.
A few days before this tragedy he left his two elder sons at his younger brother’s residence at Nuwara Eliya to prevent his children becoming victims of JVP activists. Only he, his wife, the youngest son and three daughters were left in the house.
Since the JVP activists gave no permission even to light a candle after dusk, Weerasinghe, to help her children do their studies, lit a lamp and covered it with a mat in the house under construction to prevent the candle light being seen from the outside.
The shadow of death fell on the Weerasinghes’ residence one such night. While the two younger daughters were studying inside the half completed house, the eight-year-old youngest son and his parents were staying in the old house. Suddenly blood-thirsty murderers broke into the house and repeatedly shot Dr. Weerasinghe in front of his terrified family after dragging him out of the house.
“The gunshots did not kill my father. They then stabbed my father 14 times till he died, while my mother, my sisters and I were screaming in terror”
Younger son Weerasinghe Dewage Weerasinghe who was eight years old when he witnessed the murder still recalls the crime with unbearable sorrow.
“At the age of eight I saw with my own eyes how my father was killed. Today at the age of eight years my son too had to face a similar misfortune”
Incident
“My son saw arson attacks that destroyed all our property during the incident on May 9. My children today feel the same terrifying shock I had on the day my father was killed”
The above is how Dr. Weerasinghe’s youngest son, Ampara District MP W.D. Weerasinghe, revived the sad memory of the mindless violence on the evening of May 9. On that day I went to see the Prime Minister. I have a deep respect and love for the PM sine he was leader who ended the war against terrorism bringing consolation to the people in our villages.
During the battale against terrorism my brothers, sisters and I spent most of our school days either in the jungles or at Army camps at night. When we went to sleep we were not sure whether we would be alive the following day.
On May 9 evening a ‘malli’ (‘younger brother’) of Gota Gama phoned and warned us that attempts were being made to attack the houses of Minster Wimalaweera and mine.
When I immediately informed the OIC of the area police station, he said not to worry as he would be protecting our house. When some villagers saw the attackers heading towards our house and rushed to prevent it the OIC had chased them away warning them not to disturb the peace.
He had then ordered the two police officers guarding our house not use their firearms. The thugs had first broken the water taps while the OIC had ordered to switch off the house lights and flash lights on the street. He had taken no action for 45 minutes to prevent the attackers from setting fire to the house after looting the place”.
Police
MP Weerasinghe lamented: “It is a big question to me why the police took no action to prevent this crime. We lost everything. Everything was reduced to ashes. All that was left were my wife, two children and the clothes we were wearing.
The house was built by my father over 30 years ago. I laid the foundation to construct a house comprising two rooms, a hall and kitchen. At the time I had not entered politics. In 2010 I put a slab for the house.
The roof was built in 2014. After I became an MP I took a Rs. 5 million loan from the loan of 10 million allocated to Parliamentarians to fix the windows and colour wash the building.
We came to reside in the house only one and a half months ago. The rear section still remained to be built. Not having robbed one rupee from public funds it makes me sad why this was done to me. When I won a resounding victory after contesting Damana Pradeshiya Sabha Election in 2010 I hoped to change the system.
I did not take the member’s salary and travelled to work on my motor-cycle but did not buy petrol for it from the Sabha funds. I even took the chair and table from home to work in the office”.
“When I first visited the Pradeshiya Sabha office the water and power supplies had been disconnected. I restored them and improved it within one year. I also organised a demonstration against former Minister Ferial Ashraff’s attempt to acquire 12,600 acres of land belong to the Deeghawapi temple for a housing scheme.
As a last resort I filed a case in the Supreme Court. To spend for it I had to mortgage for Rs. 500,000 one acre of paddy land out of three acres D.S. Senanayake had given to my father.
During the Covid-19 pandemic I spent Rs. 1.5 million my friends had given to me for the election campaign to buy material from Colombo to sew masks with the help of about 20 young people. The masks were given to all hospitals”
This is only a little of MP Weerasinghe’s public service.
Helpless
“I did not have any intention of coming into politics. However after the land case people accepted me as a leader. It was not an easy journey since we were helpless after my father’s murder. My mother worked as servant in houses to feed the six of us.
Although I sat for my GCE A-Levels (Science) at the D.S. Senanayake Vidyalaya Ampara after passing my O-Level examination at the village school in Gal Kanda, Damana I did not have the money to buy a bus season ticket to go to school which was five to ten kilometres away from home”.
“Although my youngest sister was selected to the university she did not go there because of financial difficulties. Instead she joined the police”.
“Although I had three A-level passes I did not have the money to go for tuition classes to sit for the exam a second time. Therefore, I decided to get a job. At first I became a security guard. Thereafter I did several Government jobs. Eventually I joined Minister Sarath Weerasekara’s election campaign and engaged in public work with the Meththa Society”.
When the arsonists attacked MP Weerasinghe’s house on May 9 only his wife S.A. Savithra Priyadarshini and his two little sons Thisun and Sachethana were at home.
“When I got the news of the impending attack that evening I sent my mother to our brother’s house which was about 130 kilometres away from home but I never anticipated such destruction. When my wife saw the mob approaching the house she escaped with the two children to the nearby jungle”.
“The fire destroyed everything we had including valuable documents. Not a single picture of my father was left. About 1400 books I had collected were reduced to ashes”.
“My wife, the two children and I now reside in Madiwela in a house given to MPS. Since my mother does not want to come back she still lives in my brother’s house in her village”.
“I now have to repay a loan balance of Rs.3.8 million I obtained to build the house that was destroyed though my friends and bhikkhus have promised to build a small house for me”.
“My two children saw the house being set on fire. My elder son is studying in Grade 4 and the younger son is a Grade 1 student. They still cannot attend school after the incident”.
“My son is appealing, “Please tell the uncles who set fire to my father’s house to bring books for me to go back to school”.
“Since then my mother is suffering from depression, she now talks only about that incident”.
“My wife says there’s no point doing politics any further risking our lives and suggests that we leave the country. I still have not made such a decision but I am very much disillusioned.”