*''For the figure in Norse mythology, see

Urðr Urðr (Old Norse "fate"Orchard (1997:169).) is one of the Norns in Norse mythology. Along with Verðandi (possibly "happening" or "present"Orchard (1997:174).) and Skuld (possibly "debt" or "future"Orchard (1997:151).), Urðr makes up a trio of ...

'' The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) or UTHR(J) was formed in 1988 at the

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

, in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, as part of the national organization University Teachers for Human Rights. Its public activities as a constituent part of university life came to a standstill after the assassination on September 21, 1989 of

Rajini Thiranagama Dr. Rajani Thiranagama (née Rajasingham) (23 February 1954 – 21 September 1989) was a Tamil human rights activist and feminist who was assassinated by Tamil Tigers cadres after she had criticised them for their atrocities. At the time of her ...

, a key founding member, by the rebel group

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

, which has not been conclusively proven. In 1990, the others who identified openly with the UTHR(J), such as its current head, Professor

Rajan Hoole Michael Richard Ratnarajan Hoole (commonly known as Rajan Hoole) is a Sri Lankan Tamil mathematician, academic and human rights activist. He was one of the founders of University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR) which documented human rights abus ...

, were forced to leave Jaffna. It functions as an organization upholding the founding spirit of the UTHR(J) with its original aims: to challenge the external and internal terror engulfing the

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

community as a whole through making the perpetrators accountable and to create space for humanizing the social and political spheres relating to the life of the community. The UTHR(J) no longer functions in the University of Jaffna. Its latest report on documenting human rights abuses in Sri Lanka, as seen from its website, was on January 2, 2010.

References

Home Page of UTHR
Human rights organisations based in Sri Lanka 1988 establishments in Sri Lanka University of Jaffna Organizations established in 1988 {{Asia-org-stub

See also

References