The new generation of the Families of the Disappeared has begun their search for the student heroes…

The new generation of the Families of the Disappeared has begun their search for the student heroes...
During their visit to the University of Peradeniya, members of the Families of the Disappeared paid tribute to the late student heroes in front of the Rohana Weerasooriya Memorial.
The next generation had the opportunity to share their thoughts with the existing student body about the student heroes who were killed or victims of enforced disappearances as a result of the state's repression of student protests and also share the experiences of the parents from the Families of the Disappeared. The group also reflected upon the closeness of those loved ones of our families who disappeared during the 1987-90 period as well as the student leaders and activists who participated in the JVP's second armed struggle.
The first student protest took place at the University of Peradeniya. It was to secure a parking space and to increase the portion of half an egg in the meal to a full egg. The Inter-University Students' Federation had not yet been established at that point.
The Inter-University Students' Federation was established in 1975 with the goals of ensuring student welfare, defending free education, and more effectively and systematically countering student repression.The universities were already experiencing state repression by that point. There was a large-scale student protest in 1976 when Sirimavo Bandaranaike's government attempted to establish a police station on the campus of Peradeniya University. Comrade Rohana Weerasuriya was killed on 12.10.1976 by a gunshot fired by the police when the students came forward and protested against the police who had been called into the university grounds to disperse the protest. After the demonstration was successful, the student movement built a memorial to commemorate Rohana Weerasuriya at the site where he was killed.
Even now, there is no police station at Peradeniya University as a result of the historic success of the student protest, which was waged at the cost of life. Throughout the history of the student movement, approximately 627 student activists have been murdered by prior governments. Many of their bodies have never even been located, and in 1990, Muhammed Nishmi, a convener of the Inter-University Students' Federation, was a victim of enforced disappearance in Nugegoda.