Jaffna university students riot over newspaper report

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 November 1997, 23:59 GMT]
A large group of about three hundred students from the University of Jaffna demonstrated in front of the Uthayan newspaper office in Kasturiyar road this morning around 11 a.m.

The demo turned unruly as the students who were shouting slogans against the paper began to pelt the office with stones and set fire to copies of today's Uthayan paper.

The students were angered by a front page report in the paper this morning that a first year student who had refused to let himself be ragged had been assaulted by senior undergraduates of the university.

The students blocked the road and threw away bicycles of civilians who tried to make their way through the fracas in front of the Uthayan office.

This led to some clashes between people who were in the area and the students.

Jaffna is currently observing Varapragash week to commemorate the Peradeniya Universtiy student from Jaffna who died due to severe ragging.

The Uthayan is the only paper that is published in the peninsula. It is edited by Mr. M.. V Kaanamyilnathan. It began publishing in 1985 and continued when the peninsula was under the LTTE's control.

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