The Central Bank Bombing
By A spectator
It was 10.45 am on January 31, 1996. That was the time and the date which will continue to be etched in the memories of many. The bombing of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was one of the of the most tragic and deadly acts perpetrated by the LTTE. For 29 years the LTTE splattered the pages of our nation’s history with the blood of thousands of innocent persons and thousands of combatants on both sides of the divide. On that fateful day Colombo was like a city under siege. The seeming normalcy was unreal.
It was as if a melancholy mist was covering the city, like a premonition that a disaster was about to happen. Reporting diligently to work employees in both the public and private sectors working in Colombo knew that they were taking a risk by being in the right place but at the wrong time, and becoming victims of yet another LTTE bomb attack. It had happened before when for instance on May 14, 1985 the ‘Anuradhapura Massacre’ took place where 146 civilians were killed.
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. Meanwhile here in Sri Lanka high profile targets were selectively killed by suicide bombers. Among those assassinated were C.V. Goonaratne, Minister of Industrial Development on June 7, 2000; Ranjan Wijeratne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Plantations and State Minister of Defence on March 2, 1991; Navy Commander Admiral Clancy Fernando on November 16, 1992; Lt. General Denzil Kobbakaduwa on August 8. 1992; and Major General Vijaya Wimalaratne on August 8. 1992.
The list goes on. Lalith Athulathmudali former Minister of Trade, National Security, Agriculture, Education and Deputy Minister of Defence on April 23, 1993; President R.Premadasa on May 1, 1993; UNP Presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake on October 24, 1994; Neelan Tiruchelvam Member of Parliament and Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies on July 29. 1999; Lakshman Kadirigamar Minister of Foreign Affairs on August 12, 2005; Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, Minister of Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs and later Minister of Civil Aviation and Airports Development on April 6, 2006.
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. 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 30th and parked in a safe house. Then on the 31st morning after the usual rush hour traffic had lessened and commercial activity had settled down to its busy routine the truck with its lethal cargo had traveled along the city’s main roads, passing undetected through several check points to reach Janadhipathi Mawatha and from there 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, 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 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 to see if any of their colleagues or visitors were trapped inside and then to help them out safely. Some officers were seen driving bank vehicles loaded with injured colleagues 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. It was difficult task. Some were injured so badly that the rescuers could not even touch them and therefore they were brought down using window curtains as stretchers.”
He provides the grim statistics that 41 Central Bank officers and visitors perished. eight Central Bank officers became totally blind. 11 were partially paralyzed, and a few hundred were wounded, some badly. Outside the Bank a shocked city watched helplessly as 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 frightful 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 with a mixture of emotions of shock and sadness. But that was all acting. Here in Fort, it was real.
Shock and 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. 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.’ Very true indeed. 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 50th 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.
