The University of Jaffna is a State university. It is funded by the Government and Faculty staff salaries are paid by the Government. Therefore, all staff are bound by the rules and regulations applicable to the public sector. Students of all communities gain admission to the Jaffna University. It is not a Tamil only university. The LTTE is an internationally proscribed terrorist entity militarily defeated in May 2009. Anyone who wishes to immortalise Vellupillai Prabhakaran and his outfit are welcome to do so privately in their homes but not in public and certainly not at State universities.
The University Grants Commission took a decision to demolish the structures put up during the previous government to commemorate the LTTE and its combatants.
These were not memorials for civilian victims but memorials for terrorists who died during the humanitarian operation.
This has not surprisingly led to numerous hartals and protests in Northern Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. We need not take these dramas seriously.
Demolition of monuments
Who in Sri Lanka is protesting against the demolition of monuments for Prabhakaran and the LTTE in a State university? It would naturally be the bankrupt party TNA and its associated entities grappling to survive in politics as the Tamils themselves are getting fed up of their lies.
Therefore, they probably 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 photographs and compare to see if these are the same faces appearing at all TNA tamashas. The public in Jaffna are now fed up and wish to simply get on with their lives without being used as guinea pigs of Tamil political agendas. We knew this would happen naturally, with time.
Of course, there is another unseen element involved. There are foreign intelligence operatives funding and fuelling trouble as their task is to ensure Sri Lanka remains unstable and unable to develop. They are the most dangerous players, 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. The Easter Sunday attack took place with the involvement of these foreign intelligence operatives. We should realise that they are conspiring for another operation probably using the burial issue as justification.
Revision of laws
Parents toil to somehow send their children to university, to build a foundation for their future. No parent brings up their child to take up arms and kill people.
The university faculty that allowed the LTTE monuments and facilitated LTTE celebrations and candle-lit vigils must be taken to task and investigated. They have no right to use a State University to immortalise terrorists and participate in these functions as well. There are enough photographs circulating on these faculty members singing hosannas for the LTTE. They must each be asked to give written explanations for their conduct and the Government 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 a university.
The Government and the AG’s Department must revise the 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 in the university will naturally provide oxygen to the plethora of NGOs and others waiting for something to make a fuss about and use with the 46thSession of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva approaching.
The Government must immediately issue a statement as to why the monuments were demolished and even question if Western universities will allow Al Qaeda or Boku Haram or ISIS to erect statues of their leaders in university compounds and hold candle-lit vigils for them.
This question has to be asked of every NGO and international media finding fault with the Sri Lankan authorities for demolishing an LTTE monument.
Peace 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 in 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 inside their homes. However, terrorists are not to be immortalised in public.
Those who wish to do so are setting an ugly example to children and youth many of whom did not live during the terror reign of the LTTE to see the heinous crimes the LTTE committed even to Tamils and foreigners.
The LTTE or Prabhakaran are no heroes. They are only heroes for the LTTE fronts operating overseas – for that is their ticket for making money by holding pro-LTTE events, selling LTTE souvenirs and even working for foreign intelligence to destabilise Sri Lanka. The LTTE are heroes for bankrupt Tamil politicians who have only LTTE slogans to use to stay in politics.
We must realise that the LTTE served a bigger purpose than simply wanting to carve a separate territory.
The LTTE and terrorism are an 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, and 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.