The enforced disappearance and massacre of 158 Tamils from the Eastern University in Batticaloa in 1990 was remembered on Monday, marking 32 years since the incident.
On September 5, 1990 Sri Lankan soldiers surrounded the Vantharumoolai campus of Eastern University, rounding-up and arresting 158 Tamils that were sheltering there. Those 158 were never seen again. Although locals believe they were likely to have been massacred, not even one body has been found.
Relatives of the disappeared held photographs of their loved ones and held placards calling for justice and accountability.
The Officer in charge of the Vantharumoolai refugee camp at the time, Thangamuthu Jayasingam wrote in 2015 that he had spoken to “to various national and international persons” and testified before the Presidential Commission on Missing Persons in 2004.
“I gave them the names of all the army officers who came for the operation that day and also gave the name of the Army Major General who came three days after on 8th September to the camp. I am not aware whether there had been any inquiries to this day.”
See more from Colombo Telegraph here.
