Jaffna University campus closed after students clash

Six undergraduates at the Jaffna University have been hospitalised after clashes erupted between the Sinhalese and Tamil student groups at the campus, authorities said today.
The University of Jaffna's science faculty was shut today for a week after violent clashes between student groups yesterday during a 'welcome party' at the campus, held for first year students, police said.
Clashes erupted after the performance of Kandyan dance by Sinhalese students, who are a minority in Tamil-dominated Jaffna University.
The majority Tamil students had opposed the performance of the traditional dance.
Riot Police have been deployed and the security was beefed up at the university following the clash, police said.

Jaffna police chief Sanjeev Dharmaratne said statements will be recorded from students when the faculty will be reopened.

"We urge the government to start an inquiry. This was a very unfortunate situation," Channa Jayasumana, an academic from the University Teachers' Association said.
Meanwhile, the student union, Inter University Students' Federation said that attempts were being made to portray the incident as a communal clash.
The Jaffna University was a hot bed of Tamil nationalism and a breeding ground for the LTTE during the 1980s.
LTTE fought a three-decade-long battle in the north and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka for a Tamil homeland before it was defeated in 2009.