Jaffna undergrads boycott classes protesting SLA killing of student

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 February 2007, 21:46 GMT]
Jaffna University students are boycotting educational activities Tuesday and Wednesday to protest against the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) killing of Krishnan Kamalathas, a final year Art Faculty student Sunday close to the SLA 52-4 Brigade Head Quarters near his house in Thenmaradchi. Meanwhile SLA troopers forcibly removed the black flags hoisted by the students Monday evening and Tuesday morning at the entrance of Jaffna University.

The University students, who decided on the boycott at a meeting with their representatives held Monday evening at the Kailasapthy Stadium, said that the killing of Kamalathas by the SLA was a deliberate act to disrupt the reopening of the University and its educational activities.

The students abstained from attending lectures Tuesday and said they will continue to boycott on Wednesday.

The Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. K. Kumaravadivel acknowledged that Jaffna University was reopened officially on Monday and said that he believed the boycotting students will attend lectures on Thursday.

He also said that he expects all educational activities to fully return to normal in one week.

Jaffna University which had remained closed for the last six months since the eruption of clashes between the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in August 2006, reopened Monday.

Chronology: