Easter Sunday – 1942 and 2019

by J. Godwin Perera

Many readers would not have been born at this time. But the records are there and so this event need to be retold. The Second World War (1939 – 1945) was on. Ceylon was a British colony, a military base and was strategically located. But there was a price to pay. The island became a prime target for the Japanese who were advancing eastwards. Singapore had already fallen. Ceylon was next targeted. The military authorities were in anticipatory readiness. Would the Japanese attack be by sea or air or both?

On April 4, 1942, a Catalina flying boat piloted by Squadron Leader Leonard Birchall of the Royal Canadian Air Force stationed in Ceylon was on a routine patrol when he sighted the Japanese fleet 250 nautical miles South East of the island. His radio officer had just managed to send a warning message to the authorities when Japanese Zero fighters attacked the Catalina sending it spiraling to the sea. Birchall was rescued and taken as a prisoner – of –war to Japan. However the warning though a trifle garbled was received. The military authorities were on full alert.

On that Easter Sunday of April 5, at 7.50 am the Japanese bombers and fighter planes led by Commander Mitsui Fuchida who led the attack on the American fleet in Pearl Harbour, flew into the Colombo sky. The targeted locations were the Colombo harbor, Ratmalana airport and the Kolonnawa oil installation. The majority of the civilian population of Colombo were just awakening from a blissful slumber. After all it was a holiday. There was no need to rush. Christians were getting ready to attend or were already in church on this very special of days. But when the first bombs fell and the Allied air force fighters took off to repel the enemy, there was pandemonium in the city. A mass exodus began. Anyhow and anyway just to get out of Colombo.

There was an interesting sequel to this air raid over Colombo. This was in Kandy. That ancient citadel was not under threat but there was panic and confusion. In the midst of this four political prisoners namely, Phillip Gunawardene, Dr N.M.Perera, Dr Colvin R. de Silva and Edmund Samarakkody, all leading members of the LSSP who had campaigned against the war effort and were held in the old military prison by the British, escaped and found their way to India.

Many years later the first three LSSP. stalwarts were appointed Ministers under the Premiership of Mrs Srima Bandaranaike. On that Easter Sunday, 17 service personnel and 85 civilians were killed, over 200 were injured. Amongst those killed were seven inmates of the Asylum in Angoda where a Japanese bomb meant for the Kolonnawa oil installation hit.

Fast Forward – to Easter Sunday 21st April 2019

Early in 2019 Lonely Planet, an international guidebook publisher specializing in tourism travel, declared that Sri Lanka was the topmost tourist destination in the world. For the tourism sector this was like manna from heaven. It was 10 years since the brutal war against the LTTE had ended on the banks of the Nandikadal Lagoon. Peace reigned from the verdant mountains to the palmy coast. The fear that terrorism would raise its Gorgon-like head, was fading away and was something of the past.

But that was not to be. Between 8.25 am and 9.05 am on that fateful morning suicide bombers of the rabid National Thowheeth Jama’ath entered three churches – St Anthony’s Church Kochchikade, St Sebastian’s Church Katuwapitiya and Zion Church Batticaloa. While the congregations were devotedly absorbed in worship on this very special day of days the suicide bombers blasted themselves and the worshipers. Almost simultaneously another group of suicide bombers entered three luxury hotels in the very heart of Colombo – Shangri –La Hotel, Cinnamon Grand Hotel and Kingsbury Hotel and blasted themselves and the hotel guests, many of whom were having breakfast. But that was not the end. Later that day when Colombo was reeling under the shock of terrorism further bombing occurred at 2 pm when police raided a house in Dematagoda. This time the suicide bomber was a pregnant woman. She was the wife of the Shangri- La Hotel bomber and sister-in-law of the Cinnamon Grand suicide bomber. In this incident three police officers and four others living on the premises were killed. Altogether 267 persons were killed including at least 45 foreigners and over 500 injured. Some are still recovering. Yes, terrorism had returned to this fair isle.