The Central Bank Bombing

by J. Godwin Perera

The date was the same as today -January 31. But the year was different. It was 1966. 25 years ago. My office was at Aitken Spence, Lloyd’s Building on Sir Baron Jayatilaka Mawatha (former Prince Street ),in close proximity to the Central Bank. That’s why this tragic incident is indelibly etched in my memory. As a matter of interest, Aitken Spence shifted to Vauxhall Street many years later. However on this morning I did not go to office as I had another appointment in another office at Maya Avenue.

I had been nominated to a special committee appointed by the then Minister of Industrial Development the late Hon. C.V.Gooneratne (He was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber in June 2000) to develop a plan to accelerate the promotion of apparel exports. This meeting commenced on schedule at 9.30 am. Around 11 am we heard the unmistakable ‘Boom’ of a bomb exploding. As we looked out of the windows in the direction of Fort, we saw dark, black plumes of smoke rising to the sky. Someone exclaimed ‘That’s where the Central Bank is’ The meeting was abruptly terminated.

In haste we hopped into our cars to get either to our offices or homes. But by now the city was in panic. Vehicle drivers were impatiently tooting horns. Traffic jams had already formed. To proceed 30 feet it took no less than 30 minutes. Motor cyclists and three-wheelers with raucously blaring horns rode on the pavements. Yes it was indeed true. It was the Central Bank and adjoining buildings that were burning.

Those were days of deep anxiety. The LTTE was on the rampage throughout the country. No one knew what dangers lurked ahead. The risk was that of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For almost three decades Sri Lanka was embroiled in a war against the LTTE, described as one of the most ruthless terrorist organizations in the world. But this was 1996. It would take another anxiety ridden, fear shrouded, 13 years for the LTTE to be completely annihilated. During this dark period the pages in our nation’s history was splattered with the blood of thousands of innocent persons and thousands of combatants on both sides of the divide.

The LTTE even extended its ruthless arm across to India where former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991 while he was campaigning for the forthcoming elections. Here in Sri Lanka while the war raged in the North and East, in Colombo high profile targets were selectively killed by suicide bombers. Amongst those assassinated were the Commander of the Navy, Admiral Clancy Fernando in 1992. President R. Premadasa in 1993. UNP Presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake in 1994. There were many more. Such a list would take an entire page of this journal.

The Central Bank was one of the many soft targets selected by the LTTE in their diabolical desire to create chaos and confusion, panic and pandemonium. Eleven years before this, on May 14, 1985, LTTE terrorists killed 146 civilians who were worshiping at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura. On that fateful day of January 31, 1966, Colombo was like a city under siege. The seeming normalcy was unreal. No one spoke about it but it was there. Employees in both the public and private sectors diligently reported to work. No matter how one went to and returned from work, whether public transport or private vehicle everyone, yes, everyone, was exposed to the risk of being killed by the LTTE.

Meanwhile, known only to the highest level of the LTTE hierarchy a ruthless plan to create death, destruction and devastation was being unfolded. On January 29, an Elf truck (42- 6452) loaded with over 200 kg of RDX explosives, gelignite, dynamite and ball-bearings all of which had been cleverly hidden under coconut husks left Vavuniya. It had reached Colombo on the 30^th and parked in a safe house. Then next morning after the usual rush hour traffic had lessened and commercial activity had settled down to its busy routine the Elf truck with its lethal cargo had driven along the city’s main roads, passing undetected through several check points.

Then on to Janadhipathi Mawatha and to the main entrance of the Central Bank. The time was 10.45 am. As gunmen in the truck traded fire with the security guards of the Bank, it crashed through the main gate and the deadly cargo was detonated. Half of the Central Bank building crashed and fires broke out on several floors. But that was not the end of the attack. Within a few minutes a three-wheeler arrived. It carried two LTTE cadres armed with automatic rifles and a RPG launcher which they fired indiscriminately all around them.

Since the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) is at the apex of the country’s financial system with the primary focus of maintaining economic and price stability and financial system stability to promote sustainable growth through policy stimulus and advice, the LTTE would have wanted to paralyze the country’s financial system and cripple the economy. Certainly much more damage and destruction would have been caused if the explosives laden lethal lorry had been able to enter further inside the Bank building.

But fortunately barriers had been constructed in front during the Governorship of the late Dr H.N.S. Karunatilaka. The fortitude and commitment of Bank officials from the highest levels to the lower levels was truly admirable. In fact on the very next day – February 1, all those who were not injured came to the Bank’s Centre for Banking Studies at Rajagiriya to work. It was ‘Business as Usual’ But let’s revert to that fateful day of January 31st

In an article ‘ Rising from the Ashes – The Central Bank’s Remarkable Recovery from the Terrorist Attack’ C.P.A. Karunatilake who was the Superintendent of the Currency Dept. provides a graphic description of the rescue operations within the Bank. ‘Despite an imminent danger to their lives there were many brave sons and daughters of the Bank who dared to go into the building in search, if any of their colleagues or visitors were trapped in, to help them out safely. Some officers were seen driving bank vehicles loaded with affected colleagues rushing them to hospital.

‘Since all the entry and exit gates at road level were blocked with rubble, the wounded had to be brought down through narrow stairways at the back of the building. A difficult task. Some were injured so badly that the rescuers could not even touch them and they were brought down on window curtains, as stretchers were not available. ‘

He provides the grim statistics that 41 Central Bank officers and visitors perished. Eight officials became totally blind, 11 were partially paralyzed, and a few hundred were wounded, some badly. Outside the Bank a shocked city watched helplessly. Clouds of black smoke wafted skywards. Fort became a scene of panic and pandemonium. The shriek of sirens, the screams of blood-soaked survivors, the roar of fires gone out of control, and the rumble and crash of collapsing walls, rent the air.

The scenes were reminiscent of the 1974 Award Winning disaster movie titled ‘Towering Inferno’ starring Paul Newman and William Holden. In this movie it was the world’s tallest building which was set ablaze due to explosions caused by short circuits and inadequate safety measure. It was a gripping movie which had the audience enthralled in a mixture of emotions chief of which was shock and sadness. But that was all acting. Here in Fort, it was real life. Shock. Sadness. Unbelievable but true. A day time nightmare.

While the Central Bank was the target of the LTTE, other buildings in the vicinity also suffered. Cargo Boat Despatch, Amro Bank, Air Lanka Reservations, George Steuarts, Mercantile Credit, Hotels Corporation and Ceylinco. Many roads in the vicinity like Chatham Street, Hospital Street and Canal Row were littered with glass. Cars parked here had become twisted metal. Mangled bodies littered the street. Personal belongings lay scattered. Blood soaked clothes were strewn around. It was like a battlefield.

But here were no soldiers. Here were civilians. Meanwhile raging fires engulfed Ceylinco which at one time was the tallest building in Fort. Its walls were crumbling. Employees were frantically trying to escape. Overhead helicopters were defying billowing black fumes of smoke and intense heat to drop aqua foam to douse the fires.

According to news reports 72 bodies had been recovered by Thursday afternoon. By Thursday evening bulldozers were removing the rubble and rescue workers were searching for more bodies. The final tally of this sad tragedy was – 91 killed, 1,400 injured and 100 had lost their eyesight due to the scattering shards of glass.

There is a saying in Tibetan ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength. No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.’

True. Very true. And hope was renewed and revived when a new Central Bank building, modern in architectural design, with state-of-the -art conference facilities, IT- incorporating the most modern equipment and appliances and a research library of international standards was officially declared open on August 27, 2000 by the then President, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. It coincided with the 50^th Golden Jubilee of the Central Bank. With it there was ushered a new dynamic vision of development and sustainable growth in which the Central Bank would play a very pivotal role.