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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lkdood" data-source="post: 4628363" data-attributes="member: 92282"><img src="http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2009/05/18/529700/weddingpiccrop-200x0.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />[Acid burns...Chathurika Weerasinghe and his wife Chammi] A FEW weeks ago the young men of Sydney's Tamil and Sinhalese communities were friends with a shared love of sport.             The bloody conflict that has ripped Sri Lanka apart for 26 years appeared not to have dimmed their shared love of cricket. But as the conflict neared its bloody conclusion this week with reports that the Tamil rebels had been routed and their leader killed, the violence finally reached Sydney.             It started as a street brawl on Sunday then, hours later, as a possible retaliatory attack which has left two young students with acid burns and stab wounds.             The two IT students, Jayasri Watawala, 22, and Chathurika Weerasinghe, 27, were in hospital last night, one fighting for his life.             At the same time it is believed the brawl around Westmead station and a local car park was between supporters of Sutha Thanabalasingham, 27, who is on hunger strike at the Sydney Murugan temple, and members of the Sinhalese community who had been celebrating the military victory.             A friend of the two students, who did not wish to be named, said he was shocked when he recognised some of the men he says attacked him at the station on Sunday night, claiming they were of Tamil background.             "We really can't understand … these people used to eat off the same plate, they used to play cricket with us," he said. "We all knew them."             About seven hours after the brawl at the station and a nearby car park, which police say involved as many as 100 people, Mr Watawala and Mr Weerasinghe were attacked by at least four men in their home in Alexandra Avenue. Last night Mr Watawala was in an induced coma with serious acid burns, and his family had been told that if he survived he was expected to lose his sight.             Mr Weerasinghe, who was married in Sri Lanka three weeks ago and returned to Sydney only last week, was being treated for acid burns, a broken ankle and stab wounds. The attack left walls splattered with blood and debris through the house.             "My friend … rang me about 11.30pm and said: 'These Tamil guys are here and they are going to kill us'," said their friend. "I could hear them screaming."             Holroyd local area commander Superintendent Karen Webb said the attack was probably politically motivated. Five people had been charged with the earlier attack but police were still looking for witnesses to the incident in the house.             Neither man was involved in politics or in the earlier brawl. They were probably targeted only because it was known that Sinhalese - the Buddhist ethnic majority in Sri Lanka - lived in their house, their friend said.             Sri Lanka's consul-general, Gothami Indikadahena, visited the house yesterday and appealed for calm. "This is a very tragic incident. These boys were just sleeping," she said. "I feel like they are my brothers or my sons. I feel very very sad."             Mr Thanabalasingham urged the Australian Government to help his people. "If they don't act, they indirectly support the genocide … More than 50,000 people are still in the conflict zone," he said.             He said one of his brothers had been killed two weeks ago. "My dad is in the conflict zone with some brothers and sisters. I have no news. My mum is in a detention camp. She could not leave. Relatives from the army-controlled area wanted my mother to come to their house but the Government does not allow it."<a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/shared-love-of-cricket-cant-stop-bloodshed-20090518-bcp0.html" target="_blank">brisbanetimes</a></blockquote>

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