 Tamil Guardian 10 May 2014 | |
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Lecturers at the University of Jaffna protested yesterday, condemning the order to close the university during the time of May 18th and posters that accused students and staff of reviving terrorism, Uthayan reported.
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| Photographs Uthayan |
The lecturers, part of the University of Jaffna Teachers' Association, demonstrated outside the university grounds holding banners reading: "Aren't death threats and harassment, terrorism?", "Ensure the independence of the university", "Is university an educational institution or a killing field?", "Jaffna university's greatest weapon is the tip of pen not a gun point", "Is closing the university whenever you wish the student centric education?", and "Asia's wonder - killing university teachers?".
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Last week students at the University of Jaffna were told that the university will be closed from May 16 to May 20. In previous years, the university has often become a focal point of clashes between students and state forces, as Tamils commemorate the massacre of 2009, on May 18th.
Meanwhile posters appeared in Jaffna, accusing some students and academics of supporting a revival of the LTTE, warning them that this was their last chance to cease such activities.
The Commander of the Sri Lankan army in Jaffna, General Udaya Perera warned student leaders and members of Jaffna University’s faculty on May 7, that anyone involved in public commemoration of those who died in 2009 would be arrested.
Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya also warned that events organised to commemorate dead LTTE fighters will not be allowed in any part of the country, speaking at a weekly press briefing. Families who had lost relatives due to the “terrorist insurgency” have the freedom to mourn their loved ones in private, he added. |
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