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Sri Lanka to Probe 1983 Anti-Tamil Riots
Sri Lankan government is to appoint a special commission to probe causes of the 1983 anti- Tamil riots which sparked the 18-year ethnic conflict in the country.
Minister for Ethnic Affairs Athauda Seneviratne said on Wednesday that the idea is to find out the causes for the riots, pay compensation to the victims and prevent a similar situation from taking place again.
It will be the first time that such an initiative is taken by the government following the riots.
The riots, sparked by a Tamil rebel ambush that killed 13 soldiers in the northern Jaffna peninsula, erupted in July 1983 when majority Sinhalese mobs went on the rampage in capital Colombo and other parts of the island. At least 600 Tamils were killed during the week long rioting.
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