Retired Rear Admiral and Minister of Public Security, Sarath Weerasekara has attacked Jaffna protesters claiming that no-one has a right to commemorate "dead terrorists".

Art by Sagi Thilipkumar

A new wave of protest has erupted in the Tamil homeland as a monument dedicated to the tens of thousands massacred in Mullivaikkal was razed from the Jaffna University campus under the cover of night. Students and locals gathered outside the campus gates while Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) troops stood guard, blocking their entry and allowing the destruction to take place unhindered. 

Marking the 30^th anniversary of the UN Human Development Report, over a dozen human rights organisations have signed a joint statement calling on Sri Lanka to recentre its development approach, noting a history of development which has “exacerbated existing inter-community tensions” and contributed to ethnic conflict.

The destruction of a monument constructed to commemorate the victims of the Mullivaikkal massacres is “an act of denial of a people’s right to memory” said the University of Jaffna Students’ Union, in a statement released this morning.

The Students’ Union of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka has expressed its vehement condemnation of the demolition of the Mullivaikal memorial monument in Jaffna University, calling for the reconstruction of the demolished structure and demanded that symbols of Tamil identity be protected at universities. 

“In addition to emphasizing that the memorial monument be reconstructed in the same area, we demand that protection of symbols of Tamil identity be ensured at universities,” read a statement released this morning.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) have condemned the demolition of the Mullivaikkal monument at the University of Jaffna, as protests continue demanding its reconstruction.      

The SLMC has pledged to join a hartal on Monday and requested its “supports in the north and east to join hands in solidarity with fellow Tamils”.

Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO) and 24 UK Tamil university societies condemned the destruction of the Mullivaikkal memorial at the University of Jaffna and have called on the international community to take "meaningful actions" to hold Sri Lanka accountable. 

"Emboldened by the lack of a firm and strong international response in support of justice, the Sri Lankan state has currently intensified its structural genocide policies against the Tamil nation," a joint press release stated following the demolition of the Mullivaikkal monument on Friday evening. 

Jaffna University’s Vice Chancellor claims he was under pressure from the Sri Lankan military to remove a monument dedicated to massacred Tamils, as the security forces continue to interfere with the running of the university

The UK Minister of State for South Asia and Human Rights, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, admonished the recent destruction of the Mullivaikkal memorial today.

Ahmad tweeted:

Deeply saddened by the scenes at Jaffna University. It's important that people are able to remember all the tragic victims of Sri Lanka's conflict which help to heal the wounds of the past and support reconciliation.

<p>The Tamil Rights Group (TRG) called on Canada to "do more to hold Sri Lanka accountable for its ongoing genocide against ethnic Tamils on the island" in a statement condemning the demolition of the Mullivaikkal memorial.&nbsp;</p> <p>Yesterday, a memorial monument in Jaffna University campus was demolished by the authorities while protesters staged a protest outside the university entrance calling on them to stop the demolition.</p> <p>The monument was constructed in 2019 to remember the tens of thousands of Tamils killed in the Mullivaikkal massacre perpetrated by the Sri Lankan state in May 2009 at the end of the armed conflict.&nbsp;</p>