Rohana Wijeweera and like-minded activists formed a new Marxist political movement that became the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). It built support among students and unemployed rural youth and promoted the idea that a revolution—not elections—was needed to change Sri Lanka’s economy and society.
The JVP’s first insurrection began with attacks on police stations, aiming to seize weapons and rapidly weaken state control. The uprising started on 1971-04-05 and spread across parts of the country, but the government responded with emergency measures and military operations to regain territory.
By June 1971, government forces had largely defeated the rebellion, aided by external support and rapid mobilization. The defeat left many dead, led to mass arrests, and pushed the state to strengthen security laws and institutions for dealing with political violence.
Sri Lanka established the Criminal Justice Commission through Act No. 14 of 1972 to investigate and try offenses linked to the 1971 insurrection. The law gave the commission extraordinary powers compared with ordinary courts, reflecting the government’s determination to punish and deter future uprisings.
After the 1977 change in government, Rohana Wijeweera was released from prison, and the JVP gradually re-entered open politics. This period mattered because it showed the JVP could operate legally—yet it also laid the groundwork for later confrontation when the party was again pushed underground.
In the early 1980s, Sri Lanka’s security situation deteriorated, and the JVP was proscribed (banned), forcing it out of legal politics. The ban was a turning point: it removed peaceful channels for organizing and helped set the conditions for a second, more clandestine insurrection.
From 1987, the JVP and its armed wing escalated a second rebellion marked by assassinations, intimidation, sabotage, and attacks on state targets. Unlike 1971, this was not a brief open revolt; it became a prolonged, island-wide security crisis, especially in the south and central regions.
Sri Lanka and India signed the Indo–Sri Lanka Accord in Colombo on 1987-07-29, aiming to address the civil war through devolution and related measures. The JVP strongly opposed the agreement and Indian involvement, and violence and street unrest grew as the island entered a more unstable phase.
On 1987-11-14, Parliament passed the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Councils Act, creating a system of provincial councils and expanding official language provisions. These reforms were linked to the 1987 Accord and became central to debates about sovereignty, devolution, and the JVP’s anti-accord campaign.
Ranasinghe Premadasa won the presidential election on 1988-12-19 as violence and intimidation affected daily life and politics. His presidency coincided with an intensified counter-insurgency campaign, as the state sought a decisive end to the JVP’s armed challenge.
On 1989-11-13, the government announced that Rohana Wijeweera had been captured and killed, a major blow to the JVP’s command structure. Reports and later accounts dispute the exact circumstances, but his death marked a key turning point toward the collapse of the insurrection’s central leadership.
By December 1989, state forces had largely dismantled the JVP’s armed networks, ending the main phase of the 1987–1989 uprising. Survivors reorganized the party over time, and the JVP later returned to democratic competition—closing a cycle from armed revolt to political participation.
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrections (1971 and 1987-1989)