The 1971 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection (also known as the 1971 Revolt) was the first of two unsuccessful armed revolts conducted by the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the socialist United Front Government of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The revolt began on 5 April 1971 and lasted until June of that year. The insurgents held towns and rural areas for several weeks, until the regions were recaptured by the armed forces, following strong support from friendly nations that sent men and material. Although this first attempt to seize power was quickly crushed by force, in 1987 the JVP launched a low-intensity insurgency in the island's southern, central and western regions that lasted several years.
The insurrection formally began in 1971, but the first attacks took place in 1970. The JVP fought the right-wing United National Party (UNP) before launching an island-wide, militant opposition to the newly elected, pro-socialist United Front government. The government's socialist background drew the attention of many states which offered to support it. The Soviet Union sent 60 air-force troops; India guarded the forts, stopping North Korean vessels and a Chinese freighter which raided the harbours. Although China provided diplomatic aid, it was accused of supporting the JVP; Chinese diplomats allegedly contacted North Korea, which supplied weapons and ammunition to the JVP.
Origins
Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became a dominion when it gained self-rule from the British on 4 February 1948 with a conservative government formed under the premiership of D. S. Senanayake, who had been instrumental in the negotiations with the British government which led to self-rule. He founded the United National Party (UNP), amalgamating three right-leaning pro-dominion parties which won a majority in parliament at the general election. The UNP was defeated in 1956, when S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike became prime minister on a wave of nationalist sentiment bringing together leftist groups. His wife, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, entered politics after his assassination in 1959 and became the world's first female prime minister in 1960. Due to successive governments, varying economic policies and frequent strikes, Ceylon's economic outlook during the 1960s had fallen below what it was when it gained independence in 1948; this led to an attempted coup in 1962.
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) movement was founded during the late 1960s by Rohana Wijeweera, a former Lumumba University medical student and Ceylon Communist Party functionary. At odds with party leaders and impatient with its lack of revolutionary purpose, Wijeweera formed the movement in 1965 with other like-minded young people. He was apparently expelled from the Maoist wing of the Ceylonese Communist Party the following year and brought his Marxist ideology to what became known as the Sinhalese Marxist Group. Along with Wijeweera, three close supporters emerged as the leaders of the new movement: Sanath, Karunnarathe and Athula Nimalasiri Jayasinghe (Loku Athula). Initially known also as the New Left, the group attracted students and unemployed rural youth (most between ages 16 and 25) who felt that their economic interests had been neglected by the nation's leftist coalitions. The standard program of indoctrination, the "Five Lectures", included discussions of Indian imperialism (expansionism), the growing economic crisis, the failure of the island's communist and socialist parties, and the need for a sudden, violent seizure of power.
Prelude
JVP expansion and United Front victory
The JVP expanded its membership and influence rapidly between 1967 and 1970, gaining control of the student socialist movement on a number of major university campuses (including the Socialist Students Union) and receiving recruits and sympathizers from the armed forces; some provided sketches of police stations, airports, and military facilities, a factor in the revolt's initial success. At the Vidyalankara campus, it won the support of the Jatika Sishya Sangamaya (Lanka National Students Society) led by G. I. D. ‘Castro’ Dharmasekera, at the Peradeniya campus it gained control of the Samajawadi Sishiya Sangamaya (the Socialist Students Society) and Vidyodaya campus. Mahinda Wijesekara lead the Sishiya Sangamaya (Students Society). To draw new members further into the organization and prepare them for a coming confrontation, Wijeweera opened "education camps" in remote areas of the south and south-western coasts, which provided training in Marxism–Leninism and basic military skills. The movement's central committee was formed at Madampella in 1969. Following the Madampella conference, two more conferences took place at Urubokka and Dondra. At Urubokka the structure of the organization, with secret, five-member cells and regional commands known as "district secretaries" was decided and the prospect of manufacturing weapons was taken up. In the Dondra conference in early 1970, in addition to collecting and manufacturing weapons, details of recruitment, training, uniforms, and collecting information on the armed forces, were discussed. At this point, it was alleged that Dharmasekera had informed the Minister of State, J. R. Jayewardene about the existence of the JVP and a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) unit under ASP K. C. de Silva had started investigating this group, which was called the "Che Guevara clique" and began making arrests. Then-opposition leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike referred to it in her May Day speech that year.
The group had its first public meeting in 1969 and by early 1970, Wijeweera's group began to take a more public role; its cadres campaigned openly for the socialist United Front (UF) for the 1970 General Election. They also distributed posters and pamphlets promising violent rebellion if Bandaranaike did not address proletarian interests. In a manifesto issued during this period, the group used the name "Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna" (People's Liberation Front) for the first time. Because of the subversive tone of his publications, the United National Party (UNP) government had Wijeweera arrested at Hambantota on 12 May, days before the general elections in May. The UF won a landslide victory against the UNP and formed a government. Wijeweera was released in July 1970. In the politically tolerant atmosphere of the next few months, as the new government attempted to win over a variety of unorthodox leftist groups, the JVP intensified its public campaign and secret preparations for a revolt. Although their group was relatively small, the members hoped to immobilize the government by selective kidnapping and sudden, simultaneous strikes against security forces throughout the island. Some of the necessary weapons had been bought with funds supplied by members, but most party funding came from a string of robberies. The JVP decided to rely on raids against police stations and army camps to secure weapons at the onset of the revolt, and they planned to manufacture their own explosive weapons in preparation.
Preparations of the revolution
By 1970, the movement had begun recruiting and training cadres at camps in rural areas of Kurunegala, Akmeemana, Tissamaharama, Elpitiya and Anuradhapura. Classes delivering the "Five Lectures" were held throughout the island, primarily in secluded locations such as cemeteries. After raising a force of about 10,000 full-time members, the JVP stopped recruiting in 1971. The movement was based on five-member cells with a leader, and there were several such cells in a police station area with an area leader. The area leaders selected a district leader, and the district leaders made up the Central Committee. Above the Central Committee was a 12-member politburo which included Wijeweera. Communications were in code by couriers, with the district secretaries communicating messages from the Politburo (which met every two months in Colombo). The JVP published a newspaper (the Janatha Vimukthi, or People's Liberation), and carried out several robberies – including the Okkampitiya and Ambalangoda bank robberies, the Badulla mailbag robbery and the York Street robbery – to raise money. Members were also asked to contribute personal funds.
In September 1970, the JVP Political Bureau met at Ambalangoda and decided to begin collecting arms, with Loku Athula appointed to head the armed section. The group identified that the primary weapon in their arsenal would be the hand bomb and planned to make over 100,000 in several bomb-making factories located in rural areas along with underground storage locations. At the next Political Bureau, at the end of the year, Loku Athula reported that 3,000 bombs had been manufactured. The JVP gave Rs 30,000 stolen from York Street to Victor Ivan (alias Podi Athula) to manufacture bombs. The bombs were crude home-made types that sometimes exploded in the process of manufacture. One such incident took place on 17 December 1970, Podi Athula lost his left hand and was critically injured when a grenade exploded while being tested. The cells began arming themselves with shotguns; each member was expected to have a shotgun, 10 cartridges, blue uniforms, military boots, and haversacks. However, this process had mixed results, the JVP was only able to manufacture around 3,000 bombs and some exploded in the process. A JVP cache of weapons was found by the police at the Talagalle Temple at Homagama and at the Vidyodaya Campus, the JVP produced blue uniforms, cartridge belts, boots and helmets.
Ceylon's defense establishment
Since its formation in 1949, Ceylon's armed forces were an internal security force assisting the Ceylon Police during strikes and riots. After the attempted coup in 1962, the armed forces had major cuts in funding, recruitment and joint operations, and were unprepared for a large-scale insurrection. In 1970, the armed forces had an annual budget of Rs 52 million (US$10mn), just 1.2% of total government expenditure. The Ceylon Army had an authorized strength of 329 officers and 6,291 other ranks with three infantry regiments each consisting of two battalions (one regular and one volunteer) armed mostly with World War II-era weapons such as Lee–Enfield .303 rifles, Sten sub machine guns, Bren light machine guns and Vickers machine guns, with a few SLR rifles; a recce regiment equipped with Ferret and Daimler Armoured Cars; an artillery regiment armed with light mortars and anti-aircraft guns. It lacked tanks, field artillery, automatic rifles, submachine guns and other modern weapons, and peacetime ammunition stocks could sustain only one week of combat operations. The Royal Ceylon Navy, which had suffered the most from the fallout of the attempted coup (its recruitment had been frozen until 1969) had only one frigate, HMCyS Gajabahu in its fleet along with a few Thorneycroft coastal motor boats. The Royal Ceylon Air Force which had three flying squadrons and a few trained pilots in 1971, No. 1 Flying Training Squadron consisted of nine de Havilland Chipmunk trainers tasked with basic pilot training; the No. 2 Transport Squadron had three de Havilland Dove, four de Havilland Heron and three Scottish Aviation Pioneer fixed-wing aircraft and three Bell 206 JetRanger helicopters; and the No. 3 Reconnaissance Squadron had two de Havilland Doves tasked with maritime patrol. It had mothballed its five Hunting Jet Provost T51s jet trainers after plans for introducing jet fighters were scrapped.
Initial government response
The government received multiple warnings of preparations undertaken by the JVP, but failed to comprehend the scale of the insurrection and was unprepared to counter it. Early warnings came from the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which had been tasked with internal security with its late-1969 and early-1970 establishment of the "Che Guevara Desk" under ASP K. C. de Silva. John Attygalle, former Inspector General of Police who had been appointed special security advisor to the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence, submitted a report on the new group's potential threat to Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake's government. The government instructed the police to arrest Wijeweera, who was taken into custody in May 1970. After the 1970 general election, however, newly elected Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike had Wijeweera released from police custody; reports from the previous administration were overlooked. Bandaranaike's new administration made changes to the police force, removing officers and disbanding units perceived as disloyal. These changes affected the CID; the new government was fearful of another coup by security forces loyal to the previous administration. Bandaranaike's cousin and Anuruddha Ratwatte, a captain in the Ceylon Volunteer Force was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed commanding officer of the Army's Field Security Detachment, tasked with internal security by identifying potentially-disloyal officers. Captain Denzil Kobbekaduwa (who led the investigations) reported that a more substantial threat to the government was posed by the JVP, and the police investigation of bomb-making factories began.