Bomb blast in Jaffna, 16 April 1984;explosion that destroyed Chunnakam police station; destruction of a Ganesh Temple in November 1987. [LKA0285]

Chunnakam is strategically situated 10km north of Jaffna in an area that was frequently contested by the Sinhalese security forces and the Tamil militants. During the period March to August 1984, Chunnakam was the site of various excesses committed by the security forces, as well as retaliatory raids conducted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. [ Tamil Eelam Documentation Bulletin, (Ottawa: The Tamil Eelam International Research and Documentation Centre), pp. 18 & 41.] The Chunnakam police station was blown up by an explosion on 11 August 1984. [Keesing's Contemporary Archives: Record of World Events, vol. 30, (London: Longman Publ., 1984)

p. 33100.] The actual circumstances surrounding the explosion are not clear, some reports suggesting that Tamil militants were the victims of their own bomb which exploded prematurely, others indicating that the Sinhalese security forces had deliberately wired the building to explode when rebels entered the premises in order to free some of their comrades incarcerated there. [ Ibid.]

Jaffna was also the site of considerable violence in April 1984. For example, nine Sinhalese soldiers were badly injured in a bomb blast on 9 April. [ Ibid., p. 33099.] In the aftermath of the blast, there were numerous battles between Tamil militants and the security forces. [ Ibid.] An 18 hour curfew was imposed in Jaffna for much of April.
There is no information available at the IRBDC about the destruction of a Ganesh Temple in November 1987. Given that this incident allegedly occurred during a period in which the Indian Peace Keeping Force was involved in extensive military operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, its veracity cannot be easily disputed as the LTTE were known to have on occasion hidden among refugees who were accomodated in Hindu temples which made them vulnerable to raids by the IPKF. [Barbara Crossette, "India Reports Gain in Sri Lanka Drive," in The New York Times, 20 October 1987.]

See Attachments

Keesing's Contemporary Archives: Record of World Events. London: Longman Group Publ., 1984.

Tamil Eelam Documentation Bulletin. Ottawa: The Tamil Eelam International Research and Documentation Centre, 1, 8 & 9, April- May 1984.

"Tigers Threaten India with Prolonged War," in The Globe and Mail. 26 November 1987.

"Indian Troops Attack Tamils in Jungle." The Ottawa Citizen. 25 November 1987.