Art by Sagi Thilipkumar

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. 

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.      

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:

Politicians from across Tamil Nadu condemned the demolition of the Mullivaikal massacre memorial in Jaffna University on Friday, urging for the memorial to be re-constructed and pledged solidarity with protesting Eelam Tamils.

Farmers in Mayilathamadu and Mathavanai districts in Batticaloa have reported that at least six farmers were tied up, beaten and taken to a distant and unidentified place by Sinhalese members of the community on Saturday morning.

All their contacts have since been disconnected after their phones were seized.

University Grants Commission Chair Prof. Sampath Amaratunga has claimed that the Mullaiviakal memorial at Jaffna university, which commemorates the tens of thousands of Tamil lives lost Sri Lanka’s military offensive, “threatened North-South unity”.

The Jaffna magistrate's court has released on bail two students who were arrested during the protest against the demolishment of the Mullivaikkal memorial at the University of Jaffna. 

Students, political representatives and locals began to protest at the main gate of the university after hearing of the memorial being demolished on the orders of the university administration on Friday night.