sri lanka's commissions of inquiry - Law & Society Trust

(3) To recommend such measures as may be
necessary –
(a) to rehabilitate or assist in any other
manner the persons affected by such acts;
and
(b) to ensure the safety of the public and to
prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
REPORT TITLE : Report of the Presidential Commission of
Inquiry into Incidents which Took Place
between 13th August and 15th September,
1977.
DATED : July 1980
CONTENTS : 311 page Report, of which 278 pages comprise
findings, including historical backdrop for the
incidents, and 33 pages comprise appendices,
including names of witnesses, appearances
marked by counsel, and organizations that
provided information.
BRIEF STATEMENT OF FACTS:
The Commission was appointed to inquire into the communal violence
of August – September, 1977 that erupted subsequent to the July 1977
elections which brought the United National Party (UNP), led by then-
Prime Minister J.R. Jayawardene, into power in an unprecedented
landslide victory in which they received a five-sixths majority. In
these same elections the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) won
the majority of seats in the Northern Province, thereby becoming the
main opposition in Parliament.
The August 1977 violence marked the first major outbreak of communal
violence since that of 1958 11 and came on the heels of post-election
11.
See Vittachi, Tarzi. “Emergency 58”. London: Andre Deutsch, 1958.
10