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Sri Lanka: Protests outside Jaffna University as govt demolishes Mullivaikkal memorial

At least two Tamil students are said to have been arrested so far.

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Hurt and enraged, Tamils are staging a demonstration outside the University of Jaffna, as Government authorities demolished a student-built memorial meant to commemorate the lives lost in the Mullivaikkal massacre(during the final phase of the war that ended in 2009).

According to sources in the vicinity of Jaffna University, the demolition of the memorial was carried out stealthily on Friday night.

At about 8:30 pm, lights were turned off in the presence of police and Army men, as an earthmover demolished the memorial that is within the University campus, in Northern Sri Lanka.

Security forces and police prevented students who were trying to enter the campus. At least two Tamil students are said to have been arrested so far.

As the number of armed personnel increased in the locality, fears grew over the other memorials inside the campus that represent the Tamil community's sentiments and struggles.

Students and members of the Tamil community are continuing their sit-in outside the gates of the campus on Saturday morning.

This memorial was erected on campus in 2018, despite permission not being granted for the same on Government land. E Vigneswaran, the then Vice-Chancellor of the University too had banned the construction of the memorial on campus, but students went ahead and ensured the construction.

It is said that there has been severe pressure from higher-ups, calling for the demolition of the memorial, ever since it was erected in 2019.

K Guruparan, a former Senior Professor of Law at the Jaffna University pointed out that previous Vice-Chancellor was sacked as he did not demolish the monument. "I have concrete reasons to believe that one of the pre-conditions for the appointment of the new VC by the incumbent President was the demolition of this monument," he added.

The Mulaivaikkal memorial gains significance as it stands as a grim reminder of the genocide where thousands of Tamils were brutally killed by Sri Lankan forces, under the political leadership of the Rajapasksa family.

May 2009 marked the end of one of South Asia's longest armed conflicts - between the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam and the Sri Lankan government forces. The final years of the war have been subject to international scrutiny, owing to various human rights violations and war crimes.

It is noteworthy that this demolition, which hurts and enrages the Tamil community and victims of the war, has come days after India's Foreign Minister S Jaishankar paid an official visit to the island nation and met the top leaders.

During a media interaction with his counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena, Jaishankar had called upon the island nation to meet the expectations of the Tamil people within a united Sri Lanka.

"It is in Sri Lanka's own interest that the expectations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace and dignity within a united Sri Lanka are fulfilled. That applies equally to the commitments made by the Sri Lankan government on meaningful devolution, including the 13th Amendment to the Constitution."

The Sri Lankan Foreign minister Gunawardena's statement said the President had "firmly stated" his commitment to the well-being, progress and opportunity "to all our citizens - Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and all".

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