Sinhala students assault Tamil students at Trincomalee campus of Eastern University

[TamilNet, Sunday, 13 March 2016, 18:45 GMT]
Nine of twelve Tamil male students attending the discipline of Siddha Medicine at Trincomalee Campus of the Eastern University were brutally assaulted on Thursday evening by Sinhalese students from the two mainstream faculties at the campus. The attacked Tamil students were also blocked by the Sinhala students from getting medical treatment. The administration of the University has been subjected to political pressure in covering up the incident not being portrayed as an ethnic assault. Although the name of 10 identified Sinhala male students have been provided to the SL Police, there has been no action against them, the affected Tamil students receiving medical treatment at Nilaave'li hospital told TamilNet on Sunday.

Around 100 Sinhala students, armed with batons and iron rods, entered the hostel premises attacking the male Tamil students of Siddha medicine unit on Thursday around 5:30 p.m.

A Tamil lecturer narrowly escaped from the attackers.

The attacking Sinhala students were using a dispute from a sport event to target the Tamil students.

The Tamil students had brought the unfolding racist tendency they were facing from a group of Sinhala students to the administration in advance. But, there has been no action to contain the trend. Even after the brutal incident, the administration remains passive, the students receiving medical treatment complained.

The Tamil students were receiving threatening phone calls a day before the brutal incident.

A day after the incident, on Friday night, a group of Sinhala male students entered the ladies hostel and threatened the Tamil female students. The group was chased away by the warden and the lecturers.

Around 160 students attend the 6-year long course of Bachelor of Siddha Medicine & Surgery at the campus in Trincomalee.

The majority of students attending Siddha medicine are Tamil-speaking and 50% of the total students at the unit are Eezham Tamils, around 70 females and 12 males. Nine of the 12 males have been subjected to brutal assault.

Apart from the Siddha Medicine unit, which was recently established (2008), there are two mainstream faculties at the campus: the faculty of Applied Science with two departments (Computer Science and Physical Science) and the faculty of Communication with two departments (Business Management and Language Communication). Majority of the students in these faculties are Sinhalese at the ratio of 70% Sinhalese, 20% Tamils and 10% Muslims.

Ilangkumaran Anpalakan from Trincomalee (final year), Paikiriyan Sivakumar from Trincomalee (3rd year), Vithushan Krishnamoorthy from Akkaraip-pattu (3rd year), Anosan Arasaratnam from Kalmunai (3rd year), Surendran from Navalap-piddi (2nd year), Sumanthan from Jaffna (2nd year) Pirivintharaj from Akkaraippattu (2nd year), Tharshan from Batticaloa (2nd year) and Selvin from Batticaloa (2nd year) are the nine students receiving medical treatment at Nilaave'li hospital.