Remembering my uncle murdered by JVP

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

It was thirty-five years ago, on 10 February, just five days before the 1989 Parliamentary election, that my father’s brother was murdered by JVP goons. He was neither a politician nor a VIP nor an offender; he was just a retired teacher who devoted his entire life to educating children. So, why did JVP goons murder the 77-year-old? Visiting his relatives to garner support for his nephew, my brother Ranjan, who was contesting that election in the Matara district. He was denied the pleasure of seeing his nephew being elected, coming second only to Gamini Fonseka. Their cruelty knew no bounds even denying the family the chance of a funeral. The police, who conducted an investigation, informed my brother that our uncle had been killed by the JVP, but the assassins could not be traced, given the chaotic situation in the country.

We have suffered in silence since, but we are not alone in that predicament. Thousands of others lost their loved ones at the hands of the JVP goons. Let us also not forget that thousands of youth who perished due to being brainwashed by unrepentant JVP leaders.

My uncle was Dinitial Elian Wijayawardhana, often referred to as DEW; he was the youngest of the four children of Kotawila Vithanage Don Juwanis Wijayawardhana and Pasdunkorale Arachchige Dona Lucie Darlina Gunawardane, the eldest being my father Charles Justin with two sisters in between, Josephine Milfred and Sophia Eugene. He was born on 20 Dec., 1911 in Godagama, Matara, and had his primary education in Nupe CC School and secondary education in Rahula College, Matara. He devoted his entire life to teaching, mostly at Rahula College, retiring as a Vice Principal in 1970, at the age of 59 due to lowering of retirement age by the then United Front government. He took an active part in the Sarvodaya movement; organising Shramadana campaigns taking senior students during holidays, all over the country including Jaffna and Batticaloa. He lived in Weliweriya area of Matara town, where his mother hailed from, and was the president of Weliweriya Welfare Society and the president of Pushparama Temple Dayaka Sabha.

I owe him a great deal of gratitude as he was instrumental in getting me admitted to Ananda College, Colombo enabling me to get direct admission to the Colombo Medical college.

My earliest memories of him are going in our buggy-cart to Matara railway station to pick him up when he came for vacations from Colombo University. Having learned, very early in life, the line Anguru kaka, vatura be bee, Coloamba duwana yakada yaka it was thrilling to see the steam train huffing and puffing and chugging its way to the station bringing my uncle who became my childhood hero from the moment I heard that he was the first in our families to go to university. He gained admission to the University of Colombo as an adult student and obtained a BA (Hons) degree.

Although not even a teenager then, I vividly remember his marriage to Miss Piyaseeli Samaranayaka, a teacher from Beligalla, as it happened during the 1953 Hartal They were blessed with four children, Saman, Jayantha, Lal and Lalith.

On that fateful day, my uncle went to Hakmana and having visited a relative in Gangodagama, left on a bicycle lent by them to visit another relative in Poththewela but never reached there.

I made an open appeal to the JVP leader last year, “AKD: Own up to past atrocities for a start!” (The Island, 24 February 2023) following on The Island editorial, “Farewell to democracy” (The Island, 16 February 2023) wherein it was stated: “If only the JVP had respected the people’s franchise in the late 1980s, when it unleashed savage terror to scuttle elections, and killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people who dared exercise their legitimate political rights. It obviously feels no remorse for its past crimes. The least it can do to make the discerning public take its much-avowed commitment to democracy seriously is to tender an unqualified apology for its barbaric violence and savage attempts to disrupt elections during its second reign of terror (1987-89)”

There was no response from the JVP. Many more articles and editorials have been written since but an apology, or even anything close to it, is yet to come from the JVP though!

Our families held an all-night Pirith on 9 Feb., and Sanghika Dana the following day in remembrance of my uncle. May he attain the supreme Bliss of Nibbana!