Monks Recall Horror at Aranthalawa Some 21 Years Ago

EXACTLY, twenty-one years ago, the tiny rural hamlet in Aranthalawa shattered as some 45-member group of Buddhist monks, headed by Ven Hegoda Indasara Nayaka Thero were cold-bloodedly butchered by Tiger terrorists while all of them were proceeding for a religious mission on 2nd June 1987.

The most vicious incidence of blood-letting of unarmed mendicants, perhaps never heard in the second half of the 20th century, caught headlines in the international media as Sri Lankans and Buddhists all over the world started shedding tears. There were more than thirty-eight novices (Samanera) of less than twelve years of age in the group.

“…….The time was 7.15 in the morning of June 2nd 1987. The young monks had just boarded a bus from the Mahavapi temple with their mentor seated in front and were on their way on a pilgrimage to Kelaniya. Having just passed Nuwaratenna when they reached Arantalawa, the bus driver P. G. Samarapala noticed some wooden logs placed across the road obstructing their path. Sensing danger, the driver began to turn the bus when all of a sudden a group of about 20 Tiger terrorists, clad in commando military fatigues emerged from the jungle thicket brandishing swords, knives and machine guns. Two Tigers boarded the bus and gave the driver orders to drive into a jungle path. There was pin-drop silence until they reached a thick growth of teak trees.

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