Sri Lankan community leaders appeal for calm

Tamil and Sinhalese leaders joined police in a display of unity on Wednesday following a violent home invasion on Sunday which left two men in hospital.

Sinhalese men Chathuika Weerasinghe, 27, and Jayasri Watawala, 22, are in a stable condition after at least five men smashed their way into a Westmead home late on Sunday.

The pair was doused with acid during the attack and also suffered other injuries.

The attack followed two brawls on Sunday - one involving up to 100 people - with both believed to have involved members of the Tamil and Sinhalese communities.

The violence is thought to have been sparked by the Tamil Tigers admitting defeat in their 37-year battle for an independent ethnic homeland in Sri Lanka, which is ruled by the Sinhalese majority. No one has been charged over Sunday's home invasion, but police have set up a strike force including members of the counter-terrorism command.

Sydney's Sinhalese community fears plans for a weekend Tamil rally in the city's CBD could spark more violence.

Assistant Commissioner Catherine Burn says there's no "intelligence" to suggest such a flare up will occur, but there will be a strong police presence. "We have protests in the city every weekend," she told reporters in Sydney.

"The organisers (of Saturday's Tamil rally) are a group we deal with regularly. We are in negotiations with them. "We will make sure that there is an appropriate police response."

Ms Burns said everyone had a right to protest, so long as the action was peaceful.

"This is the message that we're giving now, that we won't tolerate any behaviour that impinges on the public or breaks the law," she said.

"So if we have a protest on Saturday and that occurs, we will take action. We will have police there to do that."

Sinhalese people in Sydney were living in fear, with some asking for police protection, community leader Asoka Subhawickrama said. However, he acknowledged the Tamils' right to rally.

"These few people who want to demonstrate, they have the liberty to demonstrate," he said.

Tamil leader Dr V Mano Mohan said his community does not endorse or promote violence and was aghast at the recent unrest in Sydney.

"Revulsion," is how he described the Sydney Tamil community's reaction to Sunday's brawls and home invasion.

"It's definitely not in our fabric to do that." He added he would support Federal Immigration Minister Chris Evans' plan to cancel the visas of people found to be responsible for serious violence.

"When you come into a country you are supposed to abide by the laws of that country," Dr Mohan said.