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Vavuniya families of disappeared show solidarity with Jaffna University lecturer

The families of the disappeared in Vavuniya expressed their solidarity to former Jaffna University law lecturer, Dr Kumaravadivel Guruparan, following his resignation last week and insisted that “his situation further proves that we cannot do anything that opposes the military in the North.”

On their 1247th of continuous protests last week, they said, “allowing Guruparan to work at the [Jaffna] University but not allowing him to work in a court to represent affected Tamils is a gross violation of justice and ethics.”

“The removal of this law professor indicates that Sri Lanka is moving itself away from a civilised society,” they added.

Guruparan who was barred from private legal practice last year resigned after allegedly being pressured by the Sri Lankan military.

The families of the disappeared voiced their support for Guruparan for his representation of Tamils in legal cases and the importance of his work;

“When the government passes new laws or amends existing laws, it is these law professors that are the most knowledgeable individuals that are able to comprehend these developments. Law professors are important in legal arguments in court across many parts of the world.”

They also claimed that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was responsible for the decision;

“Sumanthiran and Sampanthan keep insisting that democracy exists in Sri Lanka. However, for many years in this country, the government has enabled the military. Particularly in the North-East, you cannot oppose the military on proceedings such as education, administration and development. This is what we saw in the case of Guruparan.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is responsible for this and must be removed from representing us politically.”

The importance of the upcoming parliamentary elections was also emphasised;

“We also urge Tamils to rally together when voting in the upcoming parliamentary elections.  

The time has bring forward educated leaders that will not sell out and will bring about change to lead to a solution for the plight of Tamils.”

“We want to reiterate that ultimately we call on the USA, European Union and India to address issues such as Sri Lanka’s violations and discrimination against Tamil using the justice system,” they stated.

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