University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunga said the removal of war monument at the Jaffna University was timely and that the country needed peace monuments instead of war monuments. Clarifying on the incident, the Professor said the monument had been expanded over the years and that it could act as an obstacle in the peace process. He said the Jaffna University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Sri Satgunarajah was one of the best scientists in the country as well as a shrewd administrator.
Read MoreDay: 9 January 2021
Tamil Nadu Leaders Slam Demolition Of Mullivaikkal Memorial In Sri Lanka
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi KPalaniswami said the demolition has pushed Tamils across the world into “grief” and blamed the Sri Lankan government for bringing it down. Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, his deputy O Panneerselvam and DMK President MK Stalin among others on Saturday slammed the reported demolition of a memorial monument for Tamils killed in Mullivaikkal in Sri Lanka during peak hostilities in 2009. The monument was established in 2019 in the University of Jaffna in memory of the civilian Tamils killed in one of…
Read MoreU.S. charges three Sri Lankans over role in 2019 Easter Sunday attacks
The Justice Department of the United States announced Friday (January 08) that three Sri Lankan citizens were charged with terrorism offenses, including conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (ISIS). The department said three men in question were part of a group of ISIS supporters which called itself ‘ISIS in Sri Lanka,’ responsible for the 2019 Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, which killed 268 people and injured over 500 others. Five U.S. citizens were also among the victims. One of them was a Department of Commerce…
Read MoreSri Lanka’s Disgrace, Trump’s Worst Hurrah, And Biden’s Finest Hour
By Rajan Philips – Rajan Philips For today’s column I was planning on writing on the ‘use and abuse of science in politics,’ both generally about the tortuous relationship the two have been having throughout the world in this pandemic year, and more specifically about what seems to be becoming the political abuse of science in Sri Lanka. As far as I can think of examples, Sri Lanka seems to be the only country where the government has succeeded in dividing the medical scientific community almost right down the middle. And I…
Read MoreDr. Palitha Abeykoon among special envoys
By Dilanthi Jayamanne Senior Adviser to the Health Ministry, Dr. Palitha Abeykoon, is among the six Special Envoys on COVID-19 appointed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world. He was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases, Member of National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) and former Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA). The Special Envoys have been appointed by the WHO Director General (DG-WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,…
Read MoreGovt Destroys Mullivaikal Student Monument Under Cover Of Darkness
Students staged a sit in outside the campus gates overnight on Friday after authorities demolished a monument dedicated to the victims of Mullivaikal, the final theatre of battle in the civil war, where thousands of civilians perished in May 2019. STF troops were brought in to guard the campus gates after the demonstration began. STF also patrolled the streets around the campus.
Read MoreLankan-born Dr. Kanagasundrem awarded MBE
Dr. Shikandhini Kanagasundrem (known by her maiden/professional name Dr. ‘Shico’ Visuvanathan), has been recognised in the Queen’s 2021 New Year Honours list with an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), for outstanding services in Microbiology and Infection Prevention and Control, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic in the U.K. http://static.ft.lk/assets/uploads/image_99a0ef9237.jpg Dr. Kanagasundrem has worked at The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust (PAHT), Essex, UK, as a Consultant Microbiologist since 1994, and became the first Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the hospital in 2003. Dr. Kanagasundrem is a…
Read MoreTamil Rights Group Condemns the Government of Sri Lanka’s Latest Attempt to Erase Tamil Heritage on the Island
Markham, Canada – Tamil Rights Group (TRG) condemns the Government of Sri Lanka’s latest attempt to erase Tamil heritage and calls upon the Government of Canada to do more to hold Sri Lanka accountable for its ongoing genocide against ethnic Tamils on the island. On January 8, 2021, Sri Lankan security forces comprising of police, military intelligence, and the Special Task Force – a paramilitary unit of the police notorious for its brutal encounters with Tamil civilians over the years – entered the premises of the University of Jaffna to demolish…
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