Stir plan forces SL academicians out of Kovai

12th January 2013

Two Sri Lankans, including a university Vice-Chancellor, who were in the city to attend an international conference, hurriedly left the premises on Friday after Tamil groups opposed their participation.

Ranjith Premalal De Sliva, Vice-Chancellor of Uva Wellassa University, one of Sri Lanka’s national universities, and Chandanie Edussuriya of Central Environmental Authority, a statutory body in the Island nation, were attending a conference organised by Karunya Deemed University.

The university sources said the two were attending the week-long conference, of which NASA was one of the sponsors, from Thursday. On Friday, Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam (TPDK) members got the wind of Sri Lankans’ presence and announced protests in front of the campus if the duo was not immediately sent back. But even before the protestors arrived at the spot, the two had left the university following the request from the university officials, it is learnt.

The TPDK members assembled in front of the University and raised slogans demanding that the two Lankans be immediately sent back. The police officers explained to them that they had already left the campus following which they withdrew the protest.

“Even as the Tamils in Sri Lanka are still living in camps, inviting Sinhalese to participate in such events here would hurt the sentiments of the Tamils,” said TPDK general secretary K Ramakrishnan. While the Sri Lankans had left the university premises, it is unclear whether they had left the city. Police sources said the two had left for Kerala, from where they had planned to leave for their country.