Canada’s Chief Government Whip, Mark Holland, has condemned the destruction of the Mullivaikkal memorial in Jaffna as an attempt to erase “erase the memory of thousands of massacred Tamils”.
On Twitter he stated:
A Mullivaikkal memorial at #JaffnaUniversity was dismantled this weekend. We can never erase the memory of thousands of massacred Tamils from the world, and must never erase a genocide from global history. I condemn the actions taken and stand with the Tamil community.
— Mark Holland (@markhollandlib) January 11, 2021
Holland joins a number of prominent Canadian politicians who have condemned the destruction of the monument at Jaffna university. Whilst the university administration has promised to rebuild the monument, Jaffna University students and staff and the wider Tamil community have expressed scepticism.
The memorial, unveiled in 2019, was designed and constructed by locals, including those who had lost family to the massacres of 2009. Tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed during the Sri Lankan military offensive, led by the Rajapaksas.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
