updated: Jan 09 2021, 22:02 ist
A Tamil war memorial in Jaffna University was destroyed by the authorities in Sri Lanka, triggering protests by students and community groups and evoking strong reactions from Indian leaders who termed the incident as a big shock.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jaffna Professor Sivakolundu Srisatkunarajah ordered the removal of the monument on Friday night amid heavy police presence.
The monument was established in 2019 in the University of Jaffna in memory of the civilian Tamils killed in Mullivaikkal in one of the bloody episodes of the island nation s last leg of the three-decade old conflict in 2009.
Tamil groups accused the government of destroying the war memorial to remember the Tamils. They said that the military bulldozed the memorial using heavy machinery, terming it a high-handed political act to hurt Tamil sentiments.
Prof. Amaratunge has been one of those very few persons whom I have approached in confidence and have never been disappointed in receiving wiser counsel
I would like to convey our gratitude to Prof. Amaratunge for the valuable contributions he has made for the upliftment and smooth running of the Open University of Sri Lanka.
It gives me a great pleasure in penning this felicitation message to my colleague and friend, Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunge at the request of his students and well-wishers from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Even though I had heard of Prof. Sampath Amaratunge sometime back, especially during his tenure as the President of the Federation of University Teachers Association, I got the opportunity to personally meet him and closely interact with him only since June 2015 when both of us served as the Vice-Chancellors of our respective Universities.