Tamils must AWAKE NOW: Who is Organizing the Brotherhood Day in Jaffna – Organizers, History, and Black July Context? 

Organization’s History

The annual Brotherhood Day event on July 23 in Jaffna is organized by the Socialist Youth Union (SYU), which is the youth wing of the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). The JVP (People’s Liberation Front) was founded in 1965 as a revolutionary socialist movement and later became a political party after two armed insurrections. By the mid-2000s, the JVP revamped its youth and student fronts – including the SYU – to mobilize young people around social justice and ethnic harmony. Notably, the JVP itself was one of several leftist parties banned by the government in late July 1983, scapegoated for “inciting” the very anti-Tamil riots that it actually opposed. This repression forced the JVP underground during the Black July period. In the post-war era (after 2009), the re-emerged SYU and JVP actively championed reconciliation, determined to ensure that the tragic lessons of Black July would shape a more united future.

The idea of marking July 23 as “Brotherhood Day” took root in the 2010s as a direct response to ethnic tensions. In 2016, after an ethnic clash at the University of Jaffna, the SYU – alongside university lecturers and civil activists – organized a “Week of Brotherhood” starting on July 23 at Jaffna University. This week-long program brought Sinhala and Tamil students together for joint literary events and competitions aimed at rebuilding trust. The inaugural Brotherhood Day ceremony in Jaffna on July 23, 2016 was addressed by JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, underlining the party’s commitment to ethnic unity. In subsequent years, the SYU institutionalized July 23rd as an annual day of inter-ethnic solidarity. For example, in 2018 the SYU held a major “Brotherhood Day” event at Ape Gama in Colombo, launching a leaflet campaign “to defeat all agendas for communalism in the country,” led by JVP National Organizer Bimal Ratnayake. By the early 2020s, Brotherhood Day observances were held in both north and south Sri Lanka; the SYU and like-minded groups organized public rallies calling for national unity on the Black July anniversary. In 2023 (the 40th anniversary of Black July), the SYU together with a coalition called “North-South Brotherhood” attempted to hold a unity rally in Colombo with the theme “Let us not allow division, and fly together,” though it was disrupted by hardline nationalists. Despite such challenges, the movement has grown. By 2025, even government officials acknowledged Brotherhood Day – for instance, a “Brotherhood Train Tour” from Colombo to Jaffna was announced to celebrate the occasion, indicating wider acceptance of the event’s message. Over time, Brotherhood Day has evolved from a grassroots youth initiative into a significant annual commemoration dedicated to reversing the legacy of July 23, 1983 through fellowship and remembrance.

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Mission and Objectives

The Socialist Youth Union (SYU)’s core mission is to foster social justice, youth empowerment, and ethnic harmony in Sri Lanka. As the youth arm of the JVP, the SYU espouses socialist ideals focused on uplifting marginalized communities and eradicating ethnic divisions. The organization explicitly campaigns against racism and communal hatred. “Let us work together for love and brotherhood instead of hatred,” declared the SYU’s national organizer, Eranga Gunasekara, at a July 23 Brotherhood Day press briefing. This encapsulates the SYU’s guiding philosophy: uniting Sri Lanka’s Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and other youths under values of equality, mutual respect, and solidarity.

A central objective of the SYU – especially in organizing Brotherhood Day – is to ensure that the violence of Black July 1983 is never repeated. The SYU sees commemoration as a platform for education and reconciliation. By recalling the horrors of Black July, when extreme ethnic hatred led to mass killings and a decades-long civil war, the organization urges Sri Lankans to “not forget the lessons learnt from the past”. Its mission is thereby two-fold: remembrance and transformation. On one hand, the group memorializes the victims of ethnic violence (for instance, by lighting candles or lamps in honor of those killed in July 1983). On the other hand, it strives to transform a day of mourning into a day of hope, using July 23 as an opportunity to promote inter-ethnic friendship, dialogue, and national unity. This aligns with the SYU’s broader social mission of building a Sri Lanka where diverse communities coexist peacefully with equal rights. In line with its parent party JVP’s platform, the SYU also links ethnic harmony with social and economic justice – arguing that working-class youth of all ethnicities share common struggles that are undermined by communal conflict. Overall, the organization’s mission is encapsulated by its pursuit of a society founded on brotherhood across ethnic lines, social equality, and the rejection of racist agendas.

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Key Members and Organizers

Socialist Youth Union (SYU) is led by young activists from various ethnic backgrounds, often in collaboration with senior JVP figures. The National Organizer of the SYU, Eranga Gunasekara, has been a prominent driving force behind Brotherhood Day initiatives. Gunasekara, who later became a Member of Parliament, frequently speaks at Brotherhood Day events and press conferences, emphasizing unity and reconciliation. He is flanked by a National Committee that includes youth leaders such as Sadish Selvaraj (a Tamil youth activist) and Shani Ratnayake (a Sinhalese activist), who together represent the multi-ethnic character of the SYU. These young organizers often appear jointly to deliver the message of ethnic amity – for example, both Selvaraj and Ratnayake joined Gunasekara at the July 23, 2021 media briefing for Brotherhood Day.

The SYU operates under the political guidance of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), so senior JVP members are key figures in planning and supporting Brotherhood Day. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the JVP, has actively championed this initiative. He personally traveled to Jaffna to address the inaugural Brotherhood Day ceremony on July 23, 2016, signaling the importance the party places on north–south camaraderie. Dissanayake consistently calls on artists, professionals, and activists to back the JVP’s commitment to “communal harmony and upliftment of the poor” – a theme he underscored in his Brotherhood Day speeches. Another influential figure is Bimal Ratnayake, a JVP parliamentarian and national organizer of the party. Ratnayake helped launch SYU’s early Brotherhood Day campaigns, such as leading the leaflet distribution drive at Colombo Fort Railway Station to declare the first Brotherhood Day. He, along with JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva and others, has often appeared at Brotherhood Day forums to reinforce the message of unity.

Beyond party politicians, academics and civil society members have also played supportive roles. For instance, at the 2016 press conference responding to the Jaffna campus clash, senior lecturer Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri spoke alongside SYU leaders to contextualize the need for Brotherhood initiatives. Journalists like Tharindu Uduwaragedara and attorneys like Namal Rajapaksha (not to be confused with the politician Namal Rajapaksa) have similarly joined hands with SYU activists in promoting ethnic reconciliation in that period. This loose network, informally dubbed the “North-South Brotherhood,” has included youth, scholars, and artists working together. However, the SYU remains the central organizing body managing Brotherhood Day events nationally, coordinating between JVP branches and local volunteers in both Sinhala-majority and Tamil-majority areas. In recent years, with the JVP-led National People’s Power (NPP) coalition gaining popularity even in northern Sri Lanka, several Tamil youth leaders (such as Karunanathan Ilankumaran and others elected under NPP in Jaffna) have lent their voices to the Brotherhood Day campaign. This growing team of Sinhalese and Tamil organizers reflects the very ideals of ethnic brotherhood that the day is meant to celebrate.

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Why July 23? – Black July Anniversary as Brotherhood Day

The choice of July 23 for celebrating “Brotherhood Day” is deeply symbolic. This date marks the start of “Black July” 1983, the devastating anti-Tamil pogrom that is one of the darkest chapters in Sri Lankan history. On July 23, 1983, a rebel ambush in the north killed 13 Sri Lankan soldiers, and in the days that followed (July 24–30, 1983) orchestrated mobs unleashed violence against Tamil civilians across the country. The pogrom saw Sinhala mobs, backed by elements of the ruling government, burn Tamil homes and businesses and massacre Tamil people with impunity. In Colombo and other cities, attackers used voter lists to identify Tamil residences; many victims were beaten, burned alive, or brutally killed. An estimated 400 to 3,000 Tamils were murdered (some sources state over 3,000 deaths) and around 150,000 lost their homes in that week of carnage. Black July’s atrocities – including the infamous hacking to death of dozens of Tamil prisoners in Welikada Jail – shocked the world and ignited Sri Lanka’s civil war. Every year since, Tamil communities mourn the last week of July in remembrance of these events. By designating July 23 as Brotherhood Day, the organizers are directly juxtaposing a message of unity against the legacy of Black July.

Below are the key motivations for selecting July 23 as Brotherhood Day, coinciding with Black July’s commemoration:

• Commemoration with a Purpose: July 23 is the anniversary of Black July’s onset, so observing Brotherhood Day on this date serves as a remembrance of the Black July victims – but with a proactive twist. Rather than only mourn, the SYU uses this day to bring people together across ethnic lines to jointly honor those lost and vow “never again” to ethnic violence. For example, Brotherhood Day events often include moments of silence or lighting of oil lamps for those who died in 1983, immediately followed by pledges for harmony.
• Turning a “Dark Day” into a Day of Unity: The SYU explicitly aims to transform the symbolism of July 23. “Today is July 23... We propose a future course of action that will lead the dark day from here to a day of brotherhood,” said SYU leader Eranga Gunasekara on one such anniversary. The organizers chose this date to reclaim it from the narrative of hatred, sending a powerful message that the horror of Black July can be answered only by greater unity. Each year on this day, SYU activists across the country hold placards and rallies emphasizing love among communities – demonstrating that July 23 should be remembered not for hatred, but for renewed brotherhood.
• Educational Value for New Generations: Holding Brotherhood Day on the Black July anniversary is also meant to educate young Sri Lankans about the past. Many in the post-war generation were born after 1983; the SYU uses the date as a teachable moment to discuss what happened and why it must not happen again. At media forums and campus events on July 23, organizers recount the history of Black July – how racist propaganda and political manipulation led to tragedy – to instill awareness. The date thus anchors crucial discussions on ethnic relations. “No one should forget the lessons learnt from the past,” the SYU insists. By engaging students in dialogue and joint activities exactly on this anniversary, the message is reinforced with historical context.
• Reconciliation and Solidarity: Choosing July 23 helps bridge communities by encouraging joint Tamil-Sinhala observances of a painful anniversary. In stark contrast to 1983 (when Sinhala and Tamil youth were pitted against each other), on recent July 23rds young people from both communities have taken part in friendly gatherings, cultural exchanges, and solidarity marches under the Brotherhood Day banner. The date’s significance motivates participants to come with empathy – Tamil youth see Sinhalese allies standing with them in acknowledging Black July, and Sinhalese youth publicly renounce the past violence committed by others of their ethnicity. This mutual solidarity on July 23 is a deliberate effort to heal the wounds of Black July. Organizers often mention that Black July saw humanity at its worst, so Brotherhood Day must show humanity at its best, with communities supporting each other. For instance, in 2021 the SYU arranged Sinhala-Tamil student debates and art competitions starting on July 23 in Jaffna, explicitly “with the purpose of encouraging unity” among the youth.

In summary, July 23 was selected for Brotherhood Day to directly counter the legacy of Black July 1983. The organizers believe that on the very date when ethnic relations once collapsed into bloodshed, Sri Lankans should now come together to affirm ethnic brotherhood, peace, and justice. This date serves as a solemn reminder of the past and a call to action for the future. By commemorating Black July in this transformative way each year, the SYU and JVP hope to inculcate a national tradition of remembrance with reconciliation – ensuring that the flames of 1983 are never rekindled, and that July 23 forever stands for unity in diversity.

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Organization and Activities at a Glance

Organization	Socialist Youth Union (SYU) – Organizers of “Brotherhood Day” in Jaffna (July 23)
Affiliation	Youth wing of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a left-wing socialist party. Part of the JVP’s broader National People’s Power (NPP) alliance in recent years.
Founding & Background	Roots in the JVP’s youth movement since the late 1960s; reactivated as SYU in the 2000s to engage youth in politics. Was banned along with JVP after Black July 1983 (blamed by the regime despite no role), but re-emerged to champion multi-ethnic unity.
Mission	Promote communal harmony, socialism, and youth empowerment. Stands against racism and inequality, aiming to unite Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and other communities under values of brotherhood and justice.
Key Activities	– Organizes the annual “Brotherhood Day” on July 23 in Jaffna and other districts, coinciding with Black July remembrance. <br> – Hosts inter-ethnic youth programs (e.g. 2016 Week of Brotherhood at Jaffna University connecting Sinhala and Tamil students). <br> – Conducts memorial events, peace rallies, leaflet campaigns and cultural exchanges to combat communalism. <br> – Advocates for victims of ethnic conflict (e.g. calling for justice for Black July and releasing political prisoners) and engages in broader social causes like education and anti-corruption.
Key Organizers	Eranga Gunasekara (National Organizer of SYU; youth MP) – chief coordinator of Brotherhood Day. <br> Anura Kumara Dissanayake (JVP Leader) – patron and speaker at Brotherhood Day events. <br> Bimal Ratnayake (JVP National Organizer) – early campaign leader for Brotherhood Day. <br> Sadish Selvaraj & Shani Ratnayake (SYU National Committee members) – youth leaders representing Tamil and Sinhala communities in SYU initiatives. <br> Also supported by academics (e.g. Nirmal R. Devasiri) and activists in the “North-South Brotherhood” network.
Reason for July 23	Significance of Black July: July 23, 1983 was the trigger for anti-Tamil pogroms. The SYU chose this date to transform a day of tragedy into a day of unity. The aim is to remember the Black July victims while promoting reconciliation, ensuring “never again” by fostering Sinhala-Tamil brotherhood on the anniversary. This direct linkage serves to heal historical wounds and educate new generations about the importance of ethnic harmony.

Each year, the Brotherhood Day organizers publicize their events through press conferences, social media, and community outreach, often highlighting how far Sri Lanka has come since Black July – and how much further it needs to go. The history, mission, and activities of the SYU and its partners demonstrate a conscious effort to rewrite the narrative of July 23 from one of hatred and division to one of brotherhood and hope, ensuring that the lessons of 1983 guide the country towards lasting peace.