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>

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.

The leader of the farmers who was present at the scene said that fellow farmers who went to look for the abducted farmers were threatened and chased away by the Sinhalese men.  

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”.

He further claimed that the decision was to avoid a rift between students and that there are 1000 Sinhalese students in the Jaffna University and several Tamil students from the North studying in universities in the South.

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. 

During the protests, the two university students were arrested by the police and charged with trespassing on the university campus and causing a riot. 

European Parliament member, Nikolaj Villumsen, has expressed his solidarity with Eelam Tamils following the destruction of the Mullivaikal monument at Jaffna University yesterday and has called on Denmark and the EU to condemn the act as well as to intensify the pressure exerted on Sri Lanka for an independent investigation into the genocide of Tamils.

Jaffna MP and leader of the Tamil Makkal Desiya Kootani (TMTK) leader C.V Wigneswaran said the demolition of the Mullivaikkal memorial at the University of Jaffna forms part of the Sri Lankan government's wider agenda to erase memory of past injustices perpertrated against Tamils.  

"Totally erasing memories of the injustices and massacres perpetrated against Tamils is the agenda of the present government. The demolition of the Mullivaikkal memorial is part of the administration's larger agenda. This is one of the most perilous items in the programme of the government. It is understood that many such plans profilerate with the administration," Wigneswaran said in a statement condemning the demolition

Tamil newspapers in Jaffna have denounced the destruction of the Mullivaikkal memorial at the University of Jaffna this morning as they printed black front pages in their morning editions.

The Kaalaikathir, Yarl Thinakkural, Uthayan and Eelanadu newspapers all ran the destruction as their lead stories this morning, as protests continued outside the university campus.

See the front pages of the newspapers below.

Updated 23:00 GMT

A group of students have embarked on a hunger strike outside the University of Jaffna, demanding that the Mullivaikkal memorial is reconstructed after it was bulldozed by authorities yesterday evening. 

Braving surveillance by the Sri Lankan police, the students continued their fast in the rain after being refused permission by the police to erect a tent to stage their protest.