Students at Jaffna Unviersity removed the Sri Lankan ‘Lion’ flag and instead raised black flags at the campus to mark Sri Lanka’s Independence Day today.
Banners were seen around the campus stating the day was a ‘Black Day’ for Tamils on the island, as like previous years, demonstrations took place across the island to mark the occasion.
Whilst the Sri Lankan military held several parades, including in the Tamil homeland, banners at the university denounced the military occupation.
“Army! Leave our native land,” read one banner.
Another banner said,
“Who transferred out independence from the colonial to chauvinism.”
Demonstrations also took place across the North-East with Tamils holding black flags in protest at the celebrations by the Sri Lankan state for independence day, arguing that the Tamil nation was not free and lacked even basic rights such as land rights.