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 Mullivaikkal destruction was the culmination of the genocide against the Tamil people,” read the statement this morning. “It is not simply a building made of stone or mud. Rather it is the abode of the emotions and the extension of memories of the students and the Tamil people as a whole.”
“This act is an insult not only to the university students but also to the entire Tamil people. It is also an act of denial of a people’s right to memory.”
The statement comes as global outrage over the demolition grows and a protest outside the university campus continues. Students at the university have begun a hunger strike, demanding the monument be reconstructed, whilst a hartal across the North-East is planned for tomorrow.
See the full text of the statement from the University of Jaffna Students’ Union below.
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