August 18 marked the 35th anniversary of the bomb attack on Parliament which occurred on August 18, 1987.
This attack took place in the backdrop of the intense public opposition to the Indo-Lanka Accord signed on July 29, 1987. Parties such as the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and its militant wing the Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (DJV) exploited this public sentiment to their advantage.
Parliament was due to convene on August 18, 1987 after being adjourned on July 24. Tight security prevailed in and around Parliament due to the unrest over the Indo-Lanka Accord.
Before the Parliament session was about to begin, the Government Group Meeting was held in a committee room, presided by President J.R. Jayewardene. Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa , Ministers Vincent Perera, Montague Jayawickrama and Lalith Athulathmudali and several MPs including Keerthi Abeywickrama were in attendance.
During the meeting, a grenade that was thrown onto the table exploded near the seats of Minister Athulathmudali and MP Abeywickrama, seriously injuring them. A second grenade was then thrown into the room. Ministers Jayawickrama, Percy Samaraweera and E.L.B. Hurulle were also injured. Parliament Stenographer Norbert Senadheera was killed on the spot while MP Abeywickrama succumbed to his injuries while being taken to hospital. Minister Athulathmudali survived the attack after undergoing several major surgeries. However, the main targets of the attackers, President Jayewardene and Prime Minister Premadasa escaped unhurt.
The DJV took responsibility for the attack in a press release and threatened all MPs to resign. In the wake of the attack, the Police intensified the search for suspects and discovered that one contract worker at Parliament named Ajith Kumara could be a prime suspect. He was also identified as a member of the JVP.
After almost a decade on the run, Kumara was arrested by Police in 1998 for a separate offence (brewing illicit liquor), while he was in hiding in a remote village in Laggala. Although Kumara confessed to bringing the grenades to Parliament, he denied any role in the actual attack itself and said another JVP member was responsible for it. At the end of a lengthy trial at the Colombo High Court, Kumara was acquitted of all charges due to contradictory evidence of eyewitnesses and other technical points. Kumara later took to active politics from the JVP and became a Member of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council in 1999. He later gave up politics and migrated to the USA in 2018.
This has been the one and only attack on Parliament in Sri Lankan history. Although it was known that the LTTE had planned to attack Parliament, the group never carried it out.
Parliament was surrounded by violent mobs during the recent political transition and the Security Forces and Police protected the Parliament, MPs and staff from a possible breach by the protestors through a Herculean effort. By this time they had breached Government buildings in Colombo such as the President’s House.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe later personally thanked the members of the Security Forces and Police who risked their lives during that period to protect the citadel of democracy and presented them with certificates of appreciation.