Jaffna university students protest against attack

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 March 2004, 17:18 GMT]
A group of Jaffna university students Thursday evening held a token protest against the attack on them, allegedly by a group of Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) activists, which resulted in injuries to two students including the President of the Students Union Mr.P.Paheerathan. Because of the protest traffic through Jaffna-Palaly main road came to halt for few hours, sources said.

University students in a vehicle through loudhailers Thursday evening made announcement condemning the attack on them. Tension prevailed when the police ordered them to disperse from the scene. However students gathered at the scene shouted slogans against the police. Police riot squad rushed to the scene to quell any disturbances, sources said.

Later, a group of police officers initiated discussion with leaders of students to sort out the problem. Meanwhile, the latest report from Jaffna said that unknown persons had damaged a police vehicle by around 8.30 p.m. and the Police had arrested three students in this connection. They are likely to be produced in law courts Friday, police said.

Meanwhile, student union sources charged that persons who came in civvies with the Police had attempted to attack students. They are said to be activists of the EPDP had been armed with clubs and poles, student sources said.

The International Association of Tamil Eelam Students in a statement charged that EPDP activists and police personnel who accompanied them had attempted to kill a student leader and a fellow student.

EPDP activists had organized the attack as they feared that Tamil voters in the district had been rallying round the Tamil National Alliance due to the vigorous election campaign by university students, said a TNA candidate and former president of the Jaffna University Students' Union, Mr.S.Gajendran, in a statement issued Friday evening.