The Jaffna University Teachers’ Association (UJTA) while condemning the clash between the Sinhalese and Tamil students on Saturday, has called on students, staff, employees and administrators of all the universities in the country, including the Jaffna University, to work towards keeping the university space free of violence and cultural intolerance and creating harmony and solidarity among student groups.
Photo via twitter.com/uthayashalin
In a statement issued today, the Association’s Secretary S. Sivakanthan expressed the association’s dismay over the violent incident that occurred on July 16, at the Faculty of Science, and emphasized that the association recognizes that the University of Jaffna and all the other universities in the country are multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural spaces.
The UJTA also expressed it’s deep worry about the recent clash among the students at the faculty of the University of Jaffna.
“We unequivocally condemn all the students who were involved in this clash. We would like to assure the people of the country that we will take every necessary step to protect the cultural rights of each student community at our university and bring about unity among the different student groups,” he added.
Meanwhile Jaffna University Science Teachers’ Union (JUSTA) has yesterday said: “Some unwanted incidents related to the freshers’ welcome party led to violent clashes among the Students today. Some students were injured and are being treated in the hospital. As a result, the Science Faculty is closed to the students and all the students are returning to their homes.
“We strongly condemn the violent actions of some of the students. We urge all citizens of this country to do all they could to defuse the situation and help all students to resume their studies in the University at the earliest.”
murugesu sivaranjan / July 17, 2016
What is the meaning of a good citizens? We all crtize our politician comparing with David Cameron.so we don’t need to stick on politics.we should go with the information available and reliable and come to the conclusion with the participative approach. At solving the problem you have to use the win win approach for the time being.as it is burning issues university that led a legend.in long run u have to solve the conflict that may build our nation as a university.you can not compromise or avoid the problem.it may lead to other situation.jaffna society have to socialize well to deal with challenge.
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AVB / July 17, 2016
We have head modern SL Uni boys having worse fights within themselves or with surrounding villagers over an issues like girls or small personal clash widen to mini wars (used to be common in Kelniya, Nugegoda even Colombo campus)
But this incident in North was based on inferiority/superiority complexes of each others cultural values… doesn’t sound familiar!!!
[Edited out] No point of blaming young Uni students..
Am I too pessimistic ????
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Hunu Patiya / July 17, 2016
I’ll tell you this much. Personally i know three incidents of attacks by Tamil mobs on Sinhalese employees of different business establishments in Jaffana ( i wound’t rush to say, that it was by civilians or general public)
At each points, complainants were logged at the police and on one occasion it was reported that the culprits were truly a gang related members.
Yet, Sinhalese business owners and employees, still believe that these are isolated incidents and nothing to worry about. That’s great news.
But i warn the Tamils who are involved in these and those who support these things as well, don’t test their patients. Because Sinhalese are now truly battle harden and they are in a victory mode. That will last for another 50 years, whether you like it or not.
If Tamils or Muslim for that matter provoke Sinhalese on any racial conflicts, you are only digging the graves of another thousand of your own race. Please don’t blame the Sinhalese if another round of ‘war’ erupted.
Normal Sinhalese people (not Sinhalese mobs and politicians) are really a nation of tons of patients. They are very reasonable and empathetic. Don’t rush to conclusions and give the benefit of the doubts to the accused. So don’t awake the sleeping dogs !!!
/Hunu patiya
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Amarasiri / July 17, 2016
murugesu sivaranjan
“What is the meaning of a good citizens? “
What are we seeing? Manifestation of the Para-Tamil and Para-Sinhala culture aggravated by the low average IQ of 79 of the Paras?
The Core Problem since the Independence given to paras by the British. They should have waited until 1960, until the Para matured.
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Not Afraid / July 17, 2016
This incident shows that Tamil mlechchas can never be brought in to civilised society. They keep going back to their evil ways of killing, and spying for foreign invaders, complaining all the time. They take foreign names and convert in to all weird forms of Christianity just for the sake of money and other advantages.
These animals need to be dealt with the only way they understand, with heavy weaponry.
All tamils should be chased out from Colombo, Peradeniya nad other universities, NOW!
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Kumar R. / July 17, 2016
Not Afraid,
Did someone say something about reconciliation? Seriously? In the land of the “Not Afraids”??
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Sapumal / July 19, 2016
We as Sinhalese and Sri Lankans condemn your statement as a racist and provocative. What we have learned as Buddhists? Non violence and solutions by participatory approach.Not by chasing all Tamils from Colombo! Please learn to live like a real Sri Lankan.
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Marrikar / July 19, 2016
rather than banning american culture of ragging and initiation the teachers are revving in lankan trade unionism the real lankan animal.
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xlntgson / July 19, 2016
Rather the student unrest is sort of reflex of affirmative action, z-score or damn anything that won’t produce decent jobs chasing ’em overseas on life-boats
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Dias / July 17, 2016
Kandyan is not the only Sinhala form
Need to include the low country (and other) traditions officially and equally
Veddha customs must also be introduced in national events
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Liberal One / July 17, 2016
A step in the right direction. Well done! How about urging authorities to arrest the culprits? That should be the second step.
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sr / July 17, 2016
Liberal one
No need of making arrests.
Make them understand the reality.
Treat it as human error and take them for studies. In case of adamant behavior, take disciplinary action.
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shankar / July 17, 2016
sr
if someone injured another he should be arrested immediately.Otherwise we might as well go back into the jungles like our ancestors.
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sr / July 17, 2016
Shanker
“If someone injured another he should be arrested immediately”
How many occasions you’ve injured your friends by playing foul in the playground (I assume you’re over 18) when playing football/rugger/hockey etc.
Why should one be be arrested for such a simple misbehavior. just take life as a game and let referee to deal with foul players.
Why should we call police to make it a mess.
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ranjith / July 17, 2016
Tamilnet given its verdict ‘ Military back sinhalese student clash with Tamil student’ I feel chapter is closed. every Tamils will recite this no justice will be done.even if police arrest culprits it will be interpreted as violation of human rights. but damage caused to sinhalese feeling will remain in their heart.One day that may reflect.
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Ajith / July 17, 2016
“I condemn the clash between Sinhalese and Tamil students”.
It is very simple to release these sort of statements once the clash has happened. The administration will issue another statement sortly that they will take necessary steps to avoid such incidents in the future. But again and again this will continue because our country is divided in terms of ethnicity, religion, and language. Our political, religious leadership worked hard to divide people in these lines rather than uniting them in common moral and human values. Within the past six decades, we had more blood baths in this soil than the past six centuries. Sinhalese think it is our country, our religion, our culture, our land and we have the sole authority to decide what is right and what is wrong. This mentality lead to blood baths in this soil and there is no sign of change in the mentality means that blood bath will continue.
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jim softy / July 17, 2016
In the Tamil homeland, other cultures are not allowed. This is not the first incidence.
If Tamils kill Tamils because of caste, another ethnic group is certainly reasonable.
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Parker / July 17, 2016
@Sr What is reality ????
This is comment of a guy who studied in colombo uni… /// Well. I was in colombo uni. And we were never allowed to have tamil cultural practices either at freshers welcome or at convocation. We just accepted their cultural practises. Just an example…we used to have tutorial classes in sinhala. When we requested to have the tutorial classes in English science faculty dean wanted us to go to jaffna university and said this is a sinhalese university. That’s how the UOC management was… and I believe it still the same. They should respect that, the same way we respected UOC held all functions in their own way. Not only at UOC at all other universities in south it’s same. ///
My point is also same. You can celebrate your poya or whatever. you can even bring kandiyan dance in your event. But when there is a major events attended by everyone, you can not change the tradition it has been conducted through out the years. Same applies to south or west. Tamil can have their union, their cultural programs but we can not ask for our cultural things at major events. Hope all the people commented here understand why this clash started.
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Kevin_K / July 17, 2016
your comment about UOC & and the Dean is utter Tosh , i am tamil even though i am tamil and can speak fluently in tamil went to a a popular school in wellawatte
studied for 4 years in Finished my studies years ago , doing my Msc here now everything you say is an utter fallacy , please don’t spread lies and to the fire , its quite clear where you are coming from
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PROUDMAN / July 18, 2016
Kevin
Were you at UOC at the same time as Parker? If not why do you say that his comment is tosh. It appears that you are tosher. You say
” i am tamil even though i am tamil and can speak fluently in tamil” What are you trying to say, You also say that you are doing MSc here I wonder where, you can’t write even a few sentences properly.
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Kevin_K / July 19, 2016
Dear Mr PROUDMAN,
before you accuse someone of not being able to write a few sentences properly , may be you should polish up your writing skills.
better yet try to polish up your skills of intrepeting what is written becuase you dont seem to have understood what was written , tryspecial needs school , it will do you good . it will stop you calling peiople filthy names even that mis-spelled .
i dont indulge in relpying illeterates but there you go, there is always the first time.
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Parker / July 19, 2016
Dear Kevin,
Not only in UOC, there are several examples i can give you from my close friends’ experiences in other uni from west.
One of my friend who is from north, graduated last year from uni of moratuwa. I here just translate what he wrote in tamil.
He said we were welcomed by kandiyan dance on convocation held at BMICH. We tamils did not bat an eyelid. We accepted their tradition because mora is located in sinhala dominated area and they follow their tradition. We did not even ask they have to bring our tradition too.
So learn to respect the tradition of a uni that has been followed for ages. You can have your cultural events if you want as stage events.
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Mop / July 17, 2016
The videos clearly shows that the sinhala students are behaving brutally and using very very bad words with lot of racial statements. The building and glass windows of the faculty was broken by the sinhala students the videos shows clearly. Its a big crime that if the government properties are demolished in country. The recent court attacks on vidya case is carried out such a way.What about the government building of the University of Jaffna broken by sinhala students? will it be crime? will they punished ? What will happen if one of the southern University the Tamil students broken the buildings and windows ? any healthy argument on it are welcomed
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Siva Sankaran Sarma / July 17, 2016
Cool story, bro :D
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dabarahena / July 17, 2016
It is very sad to see that our children raised up to such high standards through our great free education system, end up hooligans in the highest of our educational institutes. This is the sad state of our universities. Where is the rout cause. Is it the educational system? Is it a missing link in our cultural norms? Is it our thirst to violence in our blood or is it fueling of small incidents into chaotic levels by elements outside? Our prime goal should to be to unite and save our country. [Edited out]
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B Mackka / July 17, 2016
Best to bear in mind that these are students and not blow this incident out of proportion. Rather than going to the Police at the slightest problem University Professors and Lecturers must play the role of Teacher and Guide. Hold a domestic inquiry of the students involved and try to reason and instill discipline in student community.
Media must play a responsible role and not politicize these types of incidents as there are vultures waiting to pounce on every word and deed however insignificant.
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Silva / July 17, 2016
A proper investigation must reveal that the inept, inefficient and retarded management of the university is equally responsible for what has happened.
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sure / July 17, 2016
sad situation , but still not very clear what actually happened, can some one with clear evidence come out with the truth
looked at the twitter account of thepic quoted here
” twitter.com/uthayashalin”
it says below
“Sri Lanka
A group of Tamil students at the University of Jaffna were attacked by Sinhala students #lka #tamil”
So what it the truth??
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stairway to heaven / July 17, 2016
4TH LEAD (Update, adds photos, videos, voice)
SL military-backed Sinhala students clash with Tamil students in Jaffna University
[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 July 2016, 13:37 GMT]
Washington and New Delhi imposing genocidal ‘Sri Lanka’ on the nation of Eezham Tamils now manifests into military-backed Sinhala students clashing with Tamil students even in the University of Jaffna. Sinhala students numbering more than Tamils at the Science Faculty of the university attacked Tamil students after violently staging Kandyan dance opposing traditional Thavil and Nathasvaram at the welcoming ceremony to new students in the faculty on Saturday. The episode quickly escalated into a clash between Tamil and Sinhala students for more than one hour. Tamil students from other faculties mobilised to defend their fellow students at the Science Faculty and Sinhala military intelligence personnel in civil clothes entered the premises brutally attacking Tamil students. More than 10 students were rushed to hospital with injuries since the clash started at 2:00 p.m.
Tension prevails in the area surrounding the University of Jaffna and the university administration has asked all students to move out of the premises and hostels. However, unlike the unprotected Tamil students in the military occupied Jaffna, the Sinhala students were provided with ‘police escort’ up to Vavuniyaa to reach their homes in the South.
Tamilnet
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Pygmalion / July 17, 2016
The Sinhala students of the Jaffna University do seem to have had Dutch courage!
Perhaps,in the absence of the LTTE!
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Lanka Watch / July 17, 2016
No students should be arrested as this incident happened at the spur of the moment and they are youngsters who gets agitated for the sligh
-test thing.Many bystanders who were Uni. students were arrested when
Jaffna court was stoned and Police ruined their university career by
involving them in the case, in a political move, while the real culprits got away freely.
People should not comment without knowing head or tail of the story.
A unique thing happened as the Tamil students made preparations to
welcome the new entrants, Sinhala & Tamil , to the university unlike
in other Universities, where they were met with violence and harass-
ment of young girl students and the latest incident happened only a
month back and Minister Kiriella was angry about the incident. They
were to be met at the entrance to science faculty, garlanded and taken in procession through decorated pathway to the faculty with
drum beating, following the traditional Tamil culture but hell broke
lose as Sinhala students wanted Kandyan dancing introduced last minute without prior notice or planning. They are there in large numbers at
the Jaffna Uni. not minding the poor conditions in Jaffna because the lecturers are good.
People should have appreciated the nature of such a move as this was to be done, contrary to what happened in other Universities in the
previous years where new students were harassed and beaten. If this event went through unhindered, the education minister would have been the first person to appreciate the reconciliation effort made by the Jaffna Uni. students, who now stand convicted.
The Jaffna Uni. authorities should go through the pictures and see
whether any outsiders joined the melee as there are many doing nothing,
drawing govt. salaries in the North & East.
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John / July 18, 2016
The racist, chauvinistic, intolerant Jaffna tribalism on display among the brainwashed .
Reconciliation has two sides to it.
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Sengodan. M / July 18, 2016
It is heartening to note that the Jaffna University Teachers Association has issued a responsible statement. This whole matter should have been defused at the very start knowing how volatile and inflammable the matter was. Had the students realised the sensitivity of the matter they would have sought the advice/ intervention of their teachers to peacefully diffuse the situation.
Sengodan. M
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Sengodan. M / July 18, 2016
It is a fact that any university has to be multi ethnic and multi cultural to befit the status of a university. This realisation should be there in the minds of ALL the students.
Sengodan. M
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Echo / July 18, 2016
There is an untold policy for not to bring outsiders to any of campus’s cultural events. Events are organized by student leaders and performers are audience are students.
Campus cultural events are for students to perform or develop their hidden talents. What happens in side a campus should stay inside the campus. They don’t need any babysitters to change their diapers.
Eventually students from both groups would sort out any of their issues themselves. This is also part of their learning process outside of their exams.
This issue could have been totally avoided had the performers from both groups were students.
Hope students from all cultural backgrounds are allowed to show their talents next time not only from Jaffna but also from other campuses.
By the way, I heard graduation rate from Jaffna campus science faculty used to be 50%. It seems exams are no longer hard enough for boys to work extra hours. Over to you professors!
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Nimal Wijetunga / July 19, 2016
These incidents are direct result of Kallathoni mentality of Wigneshwaran and former LTTE Political wing – TNA. TAMIL POLITICIANS are taking the young generation of Tamils through the path of hell as same as Prabhakaran did by infusing/sowing racial hatred among communities for their petty political gains very temporarily. They shall learn the lesson from adopting Vaddukodai resolution and where it has ended up.
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