http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/03/10/news12.asp


Pro-LTTE groups target Lankan academic at seminar

Close on the heels of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa writing to
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking to discourage frequent visits of
Sri Lankan delegates to Tamil Nadu, activists of various pro-LTTE movements
disrupted an international conference and forced the organisers to send away a
Sri Lankan academic, on Thursday.
The members of Naam Tamizhar Iyakkam, May 17 Movement, Sri Lankan Tamils
Protection Federation, as well as MDMK cadres barged
into the conference venue at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) and
protested against the participation of Jeeva Niriella, faculty of law, lecturer,
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in the three-day international conference on
'Exploring Linkage Between Drug Usage and Criminal Victimisation' organised by
the department of criminology.
This is the second such incident of a Sri Lankan visitor facing a protest by
pro-Tamil outfits. In January this year, Thirukumaran
Nadesan, husband of Nirupama Rajapaksa, niece of Sri Lankan president Mahinda
Rajapaksa's suffered an even harsher treatment when slippers were hurled at him
in Rameswaram where he visited to offer prayers in the temple.
This time around, the agitators, about 20 of them, entered the hall during
the afternoon session of the conference posing as participants and started
raising slogans against Sri Lanka. They also held placards demanding Jeeva to
leave India as well as accusing Sri Lanka of genocide."Jeeva Niriella was
visibly shocked by the sudden development. We were also taken aback. Since we
thought that the safety and security of the delegate was important, we took her
out of the venue through another exit. We then told the protesters that she was
sent and that she would not participate in any of the sessions for the rest of
the conference," said a faculty from the university. The protesters then left
the spot. No police complaint has been lodged by the organisers, but disbelief
and shock was writ large.
However, earlier in the day, Jeeva had addressed the participants of the
conference on 'Women and Justice' and said that Sri Lanka was achieving a lot in
women empowerment. Jeeva noted that Lanka had the first woman prime minister.
She also said that the country's present Chief Justice was a woman. Even during
her address, she was confronted by a participant who questioned her claims of
women empowerment by alleging that international NGOs have reported that crimes
were perpetrated on women in large scale. While Jeeva maintained silence,
another delegate came to her rescue and answered the query, Times of India
reports.
Times of India