The governor of the Northern Province, Reginal Cooray, responded to a petition by the students of Jaffna University calling for justice over the killing of two students last Thursday by Sri Lankan police, by issuing a reply entirely in Sinhalese.
In response to the governor's letter, the president of Jaffna University's Arts Students Union delivered the note back to the governor's office, adding on to the bottom that they "could not understand" what the text of the letter said and reminding him that Tamil is also an official language on the island.
The killing of the students has prompted widespread protest across the North-East, with large scale demonstrations, hartals and public outcry as locals condemn state violence against the Tamil population.
The students were 23 year old Nadarasa Kajan, whose funeral took place in Kilinochchi yesterday and 24 year old Pavunraj Sulaxan.