MDMK chief Vaiko condemns demolition of Jaffna University war memorial in Sri Lanka

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) Chief and MP Vaiko on Sunday strongly condemned the demolition of the Mullivaikkal War memorial at Jaffna University campus in Sri Lanka.

"I deplore the government which launched its troops, paramilitary forces to demolish the memorial erected within the premises of Jaffna University in the memory of thousands of Tamils killed in the genocide," Vaiko told .

"They can demolish the memorial but cannot erase the memory from our mind," he added.

He also asked the government of India to act strongly against the demolition of the Mullivaikkal war memorial.

Tamil Nadu leaders, cutting across the political spectrum, have strongly condemned the demolition of the memorial at Jaffna University campus in Sri Lanka.

Kovai Sathyan, Spokesperson of AIADMK also condemned the incident saying, "We register condemnation for the same (demolition of war memorial). Even our chief minister and party chief coordinator have issued a statement through Twitter yesterday. It is certainly not acceptable."

"Yesterday was the general council meeting of the party. We passed a resolution for independent governing rights to the Tamil dominated areas as per the 1987 accord signed between India and Sri Lanka," he added.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Edappadi K Palswami took to Twitter to strongly condemn the demolition and said, "The news that a monument erected at the Jaffna University campus in memory of university students and the general public who were mercilessly killed in the final phase of the war in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, has been demolished overnight is shocking."

CM Palswami's comments came after a Tamil war memorial in Jaffna University was allegedly destroyed by the authorities in Sri Lanka.

The decision to remove the Mullivaikkal War Memorial at the Jaffna University was taken by Vice-Chancellor of Jaffna University Professor Satkunarajah, said University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Professor Sampath Amaratunga on Saturday.

The memorial in Jaffna University was built in 2019 in memory of the people and students who died in the Mullivaikkal war in 2009. Tamil Nadu is due for Assembly polls in the next few months.

( With inputs from ANI )