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Protesting Sabaragamuwa undergraduates hospitalised after attack by masked men
View(s):Undergraduates from eight local universities took to the streets yesterday to protest against a violent attack on the Sabaragamuwa University students engaged in a ‘sathyagraha’ campaign in Pambahinna, Badulla, on Friday night.
Thirteen students were admitted to the Pambahinna rural hospital following the attack, six were later transferred to Balangoda Base hospital due to complications. Two are still receiving treatment.
Students take to the streets, protesting against goon attacks against them. Pic by Lal S. Kumara
The students who came under attack claimed that, close to 30 unidentified men, with helmets covering their faces and armed with iron rods and swords threw petrol bombs on their temporary platform, and beat the students. They also claimed that the attackers beat villagers who came to the students’ assistance.
According to Interuniversity Student Federation Convener Najith Indika, no one came to their assistance despite numerous calls to the police.
“The police were not even 500 metres away, they would have heard what was going on, but they came only after everything was over,” Mr Indika said.
He accused Higher Education Minister, S.B. Dissanayake for resorting to violence to silence student voices. He claimed that, Sabaragamuwa University student activists engaged in the protest were threatened by a Pradeshiya Sabha chairman on Thursday as well.
Sabaragamuwa University undergraduates staged a protest against Minister Dissanayake, when he was accosted by a group of them at Pambahinna junction, blocking him from entering the university premises to declare open the new women’s hostel. The students demanded that the minister address their requests.
The minister subsequently entered the university premises and declared open the building, with only a few officials present. Addressing the gathering, he claimed that, if not for elections, he knew how to handle the situation. Calling students ‘flies’, he claimed that he is not afraid of people who stage protests.
Female students who refused to enter the newly built hostel, later occupied one of the male hostels, following which the Vice Chancellor declared the University closed indefinitely.
According to Student Representative Rasidu Jayasinghe the newly built hostel has not been built following proper building standards and has compromised on safety.
“This is the latest in a series of safety issues we have had. Earlier a student died after being electrocuted, a wall in one of the girls hostels collapsed, a slab collapsed on another occasion. So we don’t want to further compromise our safety,” he said.
However, Sabaragamuwa University Vice Chancellor, Prof Chandra Udawatte questioned the technical knowledge of the students who raised safety concerns regarding the new building. He insisted that no safety standards have been compromised in the building process, as the building contract was awarded to a reputed company by the Higher Education ministry, and the construction closely monitored by the relevant authorities.