On 24 May 1958 Communal riots irrupted , Prime Minister Bandaranaike did not make a formal response . With violence spearding throughout the island , Goonetilleke declared a state of emergency on 27 May 1958 and deployed the armed forces to quell the rioting , while Bandaranaike allowed Goonetilleke to take control of the situation and issue orders to the armed forces to suppress the rioting with force . Goonetilleke authorized the armed forces to shoot rioters , and the armed forces restored order in a few days
Communal riots
1958 anti-Tamil pogrom
Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke