The Burning of the Jaffna Public Library
On June 1st 1981, the public library in the Sri Lankan city of Jaffna was set on fire. It was one of the early triggers for the Sri Lankan civil war.
On June 1st 1981, the public library in the Sri Lankan city of Jaffna was set on fire. The library was a symbol of Tamil cultural heritage, and the fire was one of the early triggers for the Sri Lankan civil war. Witness hears from former Jaffna resident Nirmala Rajasingam and journalist Francis Wheen.
(Photo: A bird flies over the Jaffna public library in Jaffna, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the capital Colombo, 2013. Credit: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Broadcast
- Mon 1 Jun 2015 07:50GMT91热爆 World Service Online
Featured in...
![]()
Witness Archive 2015—Witness History
History as told by the people who were there. All the programmes from 2015
Podcast
-
![]()
Witness History
History as told by the people who were there
