Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, the Batticaloa MP, said Tamil parliamentarians had commemorated the anniversary "with deep sorrow and remembrance". "Forty-three years have passed since the atrocities of July 1983 forever changed the lives of the Tamil people. Despite the political and social changes Sri Lanka has witnessed over the past four decades, there has still been no justice and no accountability. Tamil political prisoners held in Welikada prison in Colombo were also targeted. A total of 37 Tamil prisoners were murdered that day, and 18 more were killed two days later.