Jaffna STATE University cannot allow proscribed LTTE terrorist monuments
The University of Jaffna is a State university. It is funded by the Government of Sri Lanka and Faculty are paid salaries by the GoSL. Therefore, all staff are bound by rules & regulations applicable to the Public Sector. Jaffna University is a university where children of all communities gain admission to. It is not a Tamil Only university. LTTE is an internationally proscribed terrorist entity militarily defeated in May 2009. Anyone who wishes to immortalize Prabakaran & his outfit are welcome to do so privately in their homes but not in public and certainly not in state universities. Maybe the ghost of Prabakaran may visit their homes!
The University Grants Commission took a bold decision to demolish the structures put up during previous government to commemorate LTTE and its combatants. These were not war victim memorials but LTTE victim memorials. This not surprisingly has led to numerous hartals and protests in North Sri Lanka & Tamil Nadu. For Tamil Nadu, even if anyone pees in Sri Lanka, it is a political campaign propaganda opportunity. We need not take these dramas seriously. The Indian Government knows how to handle them if they overstep their boundary. This explains the countless visits to remand prison by Prabakaran’s bosom pal- Vaiko.
Who in Sri Lanka are protesting against the demolition of monuments for Prabakaran & LTTE inside a state university? It would naturally be the bankrupt party TNA & its associated entities grappling to survive in politics as Tamils themselves are getting fed up of their lies. So probably they must have roped in a few youth, given them a few handouts and written the slogans for the drama choreographed by them. The police must take photos and compare to see if these are the same faces appearing for all TNA tamashas. The general public in Jaffna are now fed up and wish to simply get on with their lives without being used as guineapigs of Tamil political agendas. We knew this would happen naturally with time. Of course, there is another unseen element involved. There are foreign intel operatives funding and fueling trouble as their task is to ensure Sri Lanka remains unstable and unable to develop. This is the most dangerous player, as we don’t know who they are or what they look like and how they are brainwashing our people. But, this threat is the most challenging and one which requires the public to be alert to. Easter Sunday attack took place with the involvement of these foreign intel operatives. So we should realize that they are conspiring another operation probably using the burial issue as justification.
Linking Jaffna University – LTTE & the Separatist Ideology
Parents toil to somehow send their children to university to see them build a foundation for their future. No parent brings up their child to take up arms and kill people. The university faculty who allowed the LTTE monuments and facilitated LTTE celebrations and candle lit vigils must be taken to task and investigated. They have no right to be using a State University to immortalize terrorists and participate in these functions as well. There are enough of photos circulating of these faculty members singing hosannahs for the LTTE. They must each be asked to give written explanations for their conduct and the GoSL must seriously take action against them. This will serve as a deterrent to any future faculty members thinking they too can allow LTTE celebrations inside an university if a future LTTE friendly government comes to power. The Government and the AG’s department must revise laws to take action against these Public Servants if they are involved in terrorist activities and these must be clearly defined and communicated to all public servants.
The action of the UGC in demolishing the LTTE monuments inside the university will naturally provide oxygen to the plethora of NGOs and others waiting for something to make a fuss about and use with Geneva approaching. The Government must immediately issue a statement why the monuments were demolished and even ask if Western universities will allow Al Qaeda / Boku Haram / ISIS to erect statues of their leaders inside university compounds and hold candle lit vigils for them. This question has to be asked of every NGO/international media finding fault with the Sri Lankan authorities for demolishing a LTTE monument.
Instead the authorities must now invite designs for a Peace Monument that depicts harmony and the future for youth who have to take the mantle of leadership as they are the future leaders of the nation. No university can or should allow any terrorist related structure inside the university compound or celebrations in whatever form of terrorists. All candle lit vigils for terrorists must be banned even if some of these terrorists were once university students. Anyone can commemorate terrorists privately insidetheir homes. However, terrorists are not to be immortalized in public. Those that wish to do so are setting an ugly example to children and youth many of whom did not live during the terror reign of LTTE to see the heinous crimes LTTE committed even to Tamils and foreigners. LTTE or Prabakaran are no heroes. They are only heroes for the LTTE fronts operating overseas – for that is their ticket to making money by holding pro-LTTE events, selling LTTE souvenirs and even working for foreign intel to destabilize Sri Lanka. LTTE are heroes for bankrupt Tamil politicians who have only LTTE slogan to use to stay in politics. LTTE are heroes for a handful of others who are also working hand in glove with our immediate neighbor to eternally destabilize us.
So we must realize that LTTE served a bigger purpose than simply wanting to carve a separate territory. LTTE and terrorism is income generating business. It is the same for all other terrorist outfits too. Just follow their money trail to see the illegal businesses that operate within the terrorist movement – money laundering, monetary scams, illegal business rackets, human smuggling, prostitution Terrorism is nothing but a business.
Universities are centres of learning, to mould individuals to be good citizens not to pass out as terrorists.
Shenali D Waduge
