On 5 September 1990, 159 young Tamil men were rounded up from the Eastern University Refugee Camp at Vantharamoolai, Batticaloa District by soldiers. They have not been seen since. Although the incident took place before thousands of witnesses, no attempt has been made to hold an official inquiry into the case. In its annual report of 29 September 1993, the Human Rights Task Force (HRTF) has published an account of these “disappearances”. Extracts are included in this paper. Although relatives have for three years sought an explanation from the authorities, they have been fobbed off with false and conflicting stories. The names of those who “disappeared” are listed at the end of this paper.
