Academics attend LTTE conference in UK:

UGC calls for reports from three varsities

by Manjula Fernando

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has called for reports from the three universities from which the group of academics left for UK to attend a conference allegedly organised by a key LTTE front.

UGC Chairman Prof. K. Hirimburegama said she was aware that three lecturers had attended a conference in UK after applying for academic leave. The lecturers are from the Jaffna, Peradeniya and Uva Wellassa universities.

The Universities permit such leave for the academia to attend overseas training and workshops for the benefit of the person, the institution and the country as a whole.

“Four lecturers have applied for leave, but as I understand only three had actually attended the conference,” she said adding that the University Council of the respective universities will take action and not the UGC if they find that the academics had misled the administration and attended an LTTE sponsored conference in UK.

The news originating from the UK said the conference was organised by the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), the foremost LTTE front organisation which openly professes its ideology for a separate state in Sri Lanka through all its activities.