On 11^th, the army fired shells and took away 25 persons, including the postmaster and a technical assistant. Some buildings were burnt. Many people fled into the Eravur North.

As the army began moving towards Eravur from Chenkaladi the following day (12th), soldiers stabbed Maruthappu, the sexton of the Roman Catholic Church, and Seeni Podiyar, an 80 years old man.  One soldier who was concerned came running into the Methodist  Manse premises, collected the boys and pushed them inside, and made the women stand in front. The other soldiers then passed by without bothering to look inside.

The church was full of civilians’ things, and 125 refugees were in the church. At 12.00 p.m. Fr. Joseph, the Roman Catholic clergyman brought news of the stabbings. Two soldiers were then standing centry in front of the church. At length, a church worker took some water for the soldiers and asked them whether it was safe to move about. The soldiers replied that there was nothing to fear as long as they were there and that they could move about until 5.00 p.m. A tractor was arranged to transport the things and the people left for the Eastern University.

The Methodist priest, Rev. Arulrajah, and Fr. Joseph went to the Athiyamalai Roman Catholic Church and made it to Mattakalappu (Batticaloa) the following day by a circuitous route. There they made a complaint to the military authorities about killings by the army.  Brigadier A.N.U. Seneviratne denied that there had been killings.  The clergymen returned to Chenkaladi with Fr. Diconic from Mattakalappu (Batticaloa). He and Fr. Joseph conducted the burial rites for Maruthappu. An old beggar lady remaining in the Methodist Church was dispatched to an old people´s home. Nearly all those left in  Chenkalady went to Batticaloa on the 13th. An old couple, Mr.  Kanagaratnam and his wife decided to remain in their home. They were later killed in shelling.

on 11th August, SL army killed a few people around the place. One person was shot at point blank range. A cinema, two garages and several houses were burnt by the army. Following the massacre at Eravur on the 11th night, the Tamils killed by the army and mobs included 18 massacred and burnt at the Eravur sawmill. The number registered at the university rose fourfold to 46,000. There was a floating population of about 10,000 who lived in outlying villages, but collected provisions at the university.

On 11, 08.1990, Sri Lankan military rounded up the villages of Senkaladi and Kiran and opened fire on the villagers. More than 10 civilians who were injured were admitted in the Eravur hospital. On 12.08.1990, the hospitalized civilians at the Eravur hospital were hacked to death by the Sri Lankan military and Muslim groups between 11.00 am till 12.00 noon.

The army camp at Kommathurai, half a mile from the university, was among the nastiest. There were several instances of people (including the AGA’s peon) being detained, and upon inquiry the matter was simply denied. Once a shell fell into the refugee camp killing one person. When a complaint was made, the Captain in charge simply replied that they ought to ask Prabhakaran (LTTE). The area came under the command of the SL army Brigadier at Valaichenai, noted for his draconian approach.

Given this situation, the camp, and the university dons and the administration who gave it leadership, had an important role to play. Because the university was an important institution, it attracted international attention. Journalists and NGO’s which included the ICRC and the MSF were frequent visitors. The camp, apart from being an information centre, was also a hospital and a food distribution centre for a vast isolated region.

Probably responding to pressure, some officals in the administration at Mattakalappu (Batticaloa) expressed anxiety about the large number of persons registered. The camp authorities pointed out that if the administration in Mattakalappu (Batticaloa) had the means to distribute food to the remote villages that consisted the floating population, they were welcome to take over. But since they sorely lacked the means, they would do well to allow the present arrangement to continue. The camp was developing a capacity to create a new social leadership.

From the records of Eastern University :

In functioning as an information centre, the staff maintained meticulous records of violations reported by the inmates of the camp. The emotional strain involved in sifting through hundreds of individual tragedies can hardly be imagined. The records are also very informative about what was happening. We learn that at least 8 Tamils were murdered in the Eravur-Chenkalady area on 25th August, soon after Muslim home guards were trained and deployed.

It records at least 40 persons killed and 30 missing during the aftermath of the Eravur incident. 119 persons are recorded missing in a separate list. Those detained in the camp in two roundups by the army total 175, nearly all of whom are missing.

We give some samples from the records:

Killed

(25/8) K. T. David (60) of Eravur 4 – Killed by the forces (25/8) Mrs. Kanapathipillai Santhanam of Eravur 5, killed by unknown persons. F.R. Joseph (58), Dental Technician – Assaulted to death while on duty in Eravur hospital. (16/8) Kasipillai Thuraisamy (85) was at home in Kudiyiruppu (south of Eravur) when he was killed and burnt by a Muslim mob in the company of the forces. (23/9) Mrs. Thuraisamy Parvathy, wife of the above had witnessed her husband being killed and burnt by the forces. She then came to reside at the University. On seeing the forces again, she fell down and died of shock. (12/8) K.A. Arasakone (78). Shot dead while taking refuge at the house of Mr. Razak, Chairman (Eravur). Reported by wife Manonmany. (25/7) Chinniah Thambiraja (42), died in the Eravur market of helicopter firing. (This was the army’s second exercise in entering Eravur). (25/8) S. Ganeshamoorthy (37), died of gunshots and partly burnt with tyre. Balasundaram, fishmonger. Shot dead while returning from Kaluankerny.

Missing

(16/9) Ramasamy Ranjan (24). Arrested while answering a call of nature just outside the university campus. (12/8) Kandiah Alagathurai (37). Went to work in the field for Muslims. Did not return. (34).  (27/7) V Thevarasa (12). Taken by forces on way back to camp with father, after a bath. (5/6) S. Krishnapillai (45) of Eravur. Went to Welikande to bring firewood. Did not return.

News link from Eelanatham : https://30sec2remember.com/eelanatham-20-08-1990/