Black Cat group

For other uses, see Black cat (disambiguation).

Black Cats
Dates of operation	1989–1993
Country	Sri Lanka
Allegiance	United National Party
Ideology	Anti-communism
Opponents	JVP Communist Party of Sri Lanka

The Black Cat group, or the Black Cats, was a pro-United National Party (UNP) paramilitary group in Sri Lanka. [1][2] The Black Cats were initially formed following the electoral victory of President Ranasinghe Premadasa. It was the predominant anti-communist paramilitary of the United National Party.[3][4][5]

The group was not publicly recognized until late 1989. It was one of the 13 death squads sponsored by the Sri Lankan government to suppress opposition during the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection.[3][6]

Suppression of the press

The Black Cat group killed 830 politicians who were associated with the anti-UNP newspaper of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka. These killings were only partially counted by the government due to the ongoing JVP insurgency.[7]

Eppawala attack

The group was found guilty of a massacre in Eppawala, killing suspected JVP members and other civilians. This was said to be a retaliation attack.[8]

References

1. C.A Chandraprema (2001). Sri Lanka: The Years of Terror 1987–1989. p. 240.
2. Sri Lanka: Extrajudicial Executions, 'Disappearances' and Torture, 1987 to 1990 (PDF). United Kingdom: Amnesty International. September 1990. pp. 29–30. ISBN 0862101867. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
3. Human rights in developing nations. p. 357.
4. Uyangoda. 1993.
5. Hyndman, Patricia, and Jeannine Guthrie. Human rights accountability in Sri Lanka: May 31, 1992. New York, NY u.a: Human Rights Watch, 1992. p. 42
6. Asian Bulletin, Volume 7, Issue 7 – Volume 12, Issue 12. 1987.
7. CartoonistsRights. Sri Lanka Archived September 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
8. Sri Lanka brief: A human rights crisis (1990)