117
CILITI
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :→→
C.O. 882/10
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
216
I
by two constables. When I got there a crowd was on the road. The crowd was going in the direction of Godapitiya. I arrived before the crowd at Godapitiya, at about 12.30. It is only two miles. I met the Veda Mahatmaya and warned the people to disperse. (Witness is shown a plan, and he points out the Buddhist school.) I was about half an hour at Godapitiya. The crowd came up at about 2.30. The police constables had arrived by that time. Over one thousand persons came up; they were armed. They carried axes, swords, guns, crowbars. The crowd was a dangerous one. They came along the road and then started pelting stones. addressed the crowd. I warned them to disperse. They did not listen to me. They then moved on the mosque compound. Hendrick Appuhamy led the crowd. I spoke to him. I asked the crowd to disperse. They disregarded my warning. They then started pelting stones at the mosque. The Moors had assembled at the mosque. Then they came out when the mob moved on to the compound in front. The Moors then started running away. The first accused went to the mosque and hit the wall with a crowbar and asked the crowd to break the mosque. A fight ensued The Moors were defending themselves. The Moors tried to defend them- selves as they were running away. I saw Abubucker after he was injured. I did not see him at the time when he was attacked. It was impossible for me to see. The crowd demolished the mosque. Some accused dynamited the mosque. Others broke down the mosque with crowbars. At the mosque premises I saw the first accused, he had a crowbar; the second accused, he had a sword; the fifth accused, he had a sword; the ninth accused, he had a gun; the eighth accused was there; the tenth accused was there, he was not armed; the eleventh accused was there, he had a club: the twelfth accused was there, he had a sword and dynamite; the sixteenth accused was there; the seventeenth accused was there; the eighteenth and nine- teenth accused were there; the seventh accused was there, he had a rice pounder. We tried to disperse the mob. We were armed with rifles. We did not fire at the crowd. We thought it dangerous to do so. Only part of the mosque was pulled down-the front part; the roof was then coming down. The crowd then went to the houses, started burning and looting them.
The whole crowd was there. Altogether twenty-seven houses were burnt and looted. The mob distributed and started a general attack and looted goods. No houses were completely pulled to the ground. They were burnt down. At that time, besides the two police constables, some headmen were there. The police officer of Honduwa was there. They were able to see what was going on. After the mosque was attacked and the crowd had dispersed I was there. found ten Moormen injured. I found Abubucker. Abdul Asiz-that man died on the way to the hospital. There were other persons- Abdulla, Ibrahim. Ibrahim was taken to the hospital. Abdulla died on the way to the hospital. I was present at the post-mortem examination on the bodies of the men found dead. Deen Bawa was injured. He was sent to hospital. The third accused was known to me previously. I identify the first, second, fifth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth. These men were all known to me previously.
Cross-examined by Mr. de Kretser: The eighth accused has a boutique a little this side of the mosque I saw him removing the things from his own boutique. I did not see him do anything. The tenth accused was unarmed. The third accused was known to me before, but I did not see him there. Later on I saw him. He lives close by the mosque.
That was about 5.30, after everything was over did not know the fourth accused before. I knew the fourteenth accused before. did not see him there. I do not know the fifteenth. The first accused said: "Now damage the mosque." By that time the Moors had run away. I do not know how many Moors were there. I do not know whether the Moors tried to defend them- selves. I saw them running away. I cannot say that they did not raise their hands in defending the mosque. The twelfth accused is a man of Akuressa. He is of the barber caste. I am certain that I saw him there, taking A prominent part. I did not see anybody use dynamite. I saw some dynamite in his hand. I have a constable named Alwis; he was at a distance. We were moving about. We never got together. There were only two headmen. The whole thing took about one-and- a-half hours During all that time I was looking on.
I
I
Cross-examined by Mr. Jayewickreme: I have seen the sixteenth acoused; he is known as Cornelis Veda Mahatmaya. As I overtook the crowd they were near the school I said to him: "You had better warn the mob." He did so. It had no effect. This man did not appear to be a member of the mob. He was near the tem- perance shed, and he tried to dissuade the people from breaking the boutiques. I stated to the Special Commissioner that this man was there. He was not armed.
217
Re-examined: I did not see the third and the fourteenth accused. I cannot say that they were not there. It is quite possible that they were there. The crowd was large. The crowd had assembled at the temperance shed. The sixteenth accused was there in the crowd. The temperance shed belongs to the sixteenth accused. I saw the eighth accused The Moorish boutiques adjoin his. They
were all set on fire.
The first, second, sixth, ninth, eleventh, and seventeenth accused are asked whether they wish to cross-examine the witness.
Cross-examined by the first accused: There was a cattle-stealing case against the first accused, and he surrendered to Court.
Cross-examined by the second accused: I did not threaten to punish the second accused unless he found the hat which I had lost.
Cross-examined by the ninth accused: I saw the ninth accused at Goda pitiya between 2.30 and 4.30 p.m. Before I got there I cannot say whether the injured men had gunshots.
Cross-examined by the eleventh accused: I saw the eleventh accused at Goda- pitiya mosque. He is a man trading at the Akuressa boutique
Examined by the Court: The actual breaking up of the mosque took place
at about 2.30 p.m. That was when the explosives were used. In my evidence I identified certain of the accused as having been present at the breaking of the mosque--twelve of them. I identified those aocused because I knew them before. Many of the accused are not known to me.
Slema Lebbe Abdul Rahiman, sworn on the Koran.
I am a gem merchant and copra trader; live at Pamunagama. I remember the day on which the mosque was demolished-cannot remember the month.
It was on
a Friday, about two months ago. About 11.0 o'clock, when I was at home, a crowd of Sinhalese came.
The two that came ahead had swords in their hands: one is Geeris and the other is Mendis. The third accused is Geeris, the second accused is Mendis. The other members of the crowd were armed. One had a gun and the others had clubs. These two men came up to my compound. Geeris came and cut me with a sword. Then Mendis came and cut me on the head. I received no other injuries from them. After that, of the rest of the crowd six of them had beaten me with clubs. I was in the compound. I was cut there. Then Geeris went and broke the door of my house. The rest of the crowd entered and proceeded to remove the things and the coco-nuts that were heaped there. One of the crowd came and broke the rafters of my roof and set fire to it-that is the sixth accused (points him out). He got on to the roof. A portion of the roof is cadjaned. Everything was removed from my boutique. My wife and children were there in the compound. My wife was struck on the head, I identify the second accused. I did not see the first accused-I cannot remember. The sixth accused was there, the seventeenth accused was there, the third accused was there, the fourth accused was there; the fifth accused came to my house, but went away immediately; he did no damage to my house. The seventh accused was there, the eighth accused was there much of the loss was due to the seventh and eighth accused. The fourteenth accused set fire to a heap of sawn timber. The fifteenth accused hit me with a club. The sixteenth accused was the chief of the crowd; he is known as Veda Mahatmaya. I lost every- thing I possessed. I am now living in another house which my wife has taken. noticed no other boutiques attacked by the crowd. I do not know whether any flags were put in certain boutiques. In the morning, when I went to the market, some boutiques had flags. No flags were put on Moorish boutiques.
I
Cross-examined by Mr. de Kretser: I have had a large number of land cases; I frequently give evidence in Courts in my own cases. My house is a nine cubit house. I am certain that I was not attacked inside the house, but in the compound. Shortly before the mob came I was inside the house. After I went to the market and returned I came and closed my house-it was about 10.0 o'clock. I did not expect my house to be attacked. I closed the doors to save our lives. We heard that houses were being attacked at Akuressa. My house is quarter of a mile from the mosque. I did not go to the mosque on Friday. I gave evidence before the Assistant Super- intendent of Police. I said there I was in my house and that my house was broken. When Geeris and Mendis assaulted me I did not fall. I only fell when I was assaulted with a club. Immediately after the assault with swords I was beaten with clube. Six of them assaulted me. I can say who assaulted me. I was able to make them out. I cannot remember how many blows I received. I had informed the
218