International News
8 FEBRUARY 2021
Student protest in Sri Lankan University: how the destruction of a Tamil War Memorial highlights the legacy of the Civil War Emma Holdsworth, BA International Relations and Japanese Protests involving dozens of Tamil civilians, students, and politicians broke out in Sri Lanka following the news of a Tamil war memorial being destroyed by a bulldozer on Jaffna University Campus at 8:45pm on 8 January. The Tamil Guardian reports how protestors sat peacefully, waiting for explanations, chanting: ‘we need to speak, we need to speak with the Vice Chancellor’ and ‘Don’t commit race betrayal.’ As a result, government authorities deployed a Special Police Task Force to block the campus entrance, ordering protestors to go home. Vice Chancellor, S. Srisatkunarajah, himself a Tamil Sri Lankan, expressed the necessity for the protest to be dispersed: ‘if
they do not go by themselves, we will deal with them.’ The Tamil Guardian reported that by the evening, two students had been arrested. The protests continued over the weekend into a hunger strike, as protestors erected tents in front of the campus. BBC News reports the arrival of a doctor on site, as a student’s health deteriorated with the continuation of the hunger strike. The memorial itself had been unveiled in 2019 by students to mark the 10 year anniversary of the Mullivaikkal massacre. The 2009 massacre resulted in the death of 40,000 Tamil civilians at the hands of Government forces. The government and the University’s Vice Chancellor claimed that the memorial had been illegally erected, and hence must be destroyed. The University Grants Commission also deemed the monument a threat to
national unity, while Public Security Minister, Sarath Weerasekera, declared that ‘no one will and should be allowed to commemorate dead terrorists.’ In a statement to the Tamil Guardian, the University’s Student Union accused the government of an anti Tamil-decision: ‘This act is an insult not only to the university students but also to the entire Tamil people. It is also an act of denial of a people’s right to memory.’ The Indian province of Tamil Nadu condemned the Sri Lankan government’s actions, while Tamils in Canada organised a car rally. The Student Union also redacted an official letter appealing to international governments’ help: ‘We [are] afraid for our lives and we cordially request your help to prevent this situation.’ This triggered support from Germany and the United Kingdom, as
Oxford University officially supported the protests. Similarly, the British MP Siobhain McDonagh declared on Twitter that the UK government must ‘take a leading role at the UN Human Rights Council in March’ for ‘the promotion and protection of human rights in Sri Lanka.’ On Monday the 11th, the Sri Lankan Government promised to rebuild a legal memorial at the same place. Following this, the University Vice Chancellor met up with student protestors in the morning to set the first stone, as shown by a BBC News video. Although this halted hostilities, university student Dwakaran told BBC News: ‘if the memorial is not built again we will resume our protest.’
Farmers in India to reach the pinnacle of their protests on Republic Day Rishika Singh, BA Politics and International Relations Farmers in India carried out a large tractor rally in New Delhi on 26 January during India’s Republic Day celebrations to protest three controversial farm bills that were enacted by the central government last September. The decision to continue protests comes in light of the tenth round of talks between the Farmer Unions and the Indian Government resulting in a deadlock. Farmers across the country, particularly in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting at state borders to Delhi for over two months against the bills. The protesting farmers, many over the age of 60, have been met with police barricades, water cannons, and teargas shells. The three laws - the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce Act, Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act - were passed by the central government as emergency ordinances in June 2020, and later passed in September 2020 without adequate debate or discussion in the Parliament. Farmer Unions and Opposition leaders have since shown dissatisfaction over not being consulted before passing the legislation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has repeatedly defended the farm laws, insisting that they are crucial to boost the agriculture sector through private
investment. Weakening the pre-existing state controlled APMC ‘mandi’ market system, the new laws allow farmers to sell directly to private companies, thereby allowing farmers to sell beyond their designated districts. Angry farmers have however rejected the bills, deeming them ‘anti-farmer’ laws as they leave vulnerable agricultural workers at the mercy of big corporations. Farmers also suspect that the laws are only the first step to completely liberalise the agricultural sector, and that the government plans to do away with MSP (Minimum Support Price), further leaving small farmers vulnerable to exploitation by big corporations. While none of the three bills mention MSP, Modi’s government has made verbal promises to assure the farmers that the MSP system will be retained. Farmer Unions, however, seem hesitant to trust the government, and among other things demand making the purchase of crops at MSP rates compulsory - a demand that the central government has refused. The laws were temporarily stayed by the Supreme Court of India in January, with the court appointing a committee to mediate and resolve the stand-off between the government and the Farmer Unions. However, the farmers have refused to cooperate with the committee, accusing its members of being biased against the farmers. Talks between Farmer Unions and Home Minister Amit Shah have largely remained inconclusive, with ten rounds of talks failing
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An estimated 200,000 and 300,000 farmers have been protesting at various state borders on the way to Delhi since November 30th. (Credit: Aalekh Dhaliwal)
to end the deadlock. In what was seen as the biggest concession yet, the Government proposed to suspend the farm laws for a time period of eighteen months and appoint a committee to placate the farmers’ concerns. Rejecting the proposal, the Samyukta Kishan Moracha (United Farmers’ Front) and other Farmer Unions have claimed that protests will not cease till there is a complete
scrapping of the laws. In light of the failure of their eleventh round of talks with the government, protesting farmers have claimed that their tractor rally on New Delhi’s busy Outer Ring Road on India’s Republic Day on the 26 January will go ahead as planned.
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