Violence in northern Sri Lanka was the subject of an impressive demonstration by Toronto Tamils on Yonge Street on Friday.
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A buzz of the chanting protest could be heard from blocks away, as thousands of Tamils lined the street. At one time during the afternoon, demonstrators formed a human chain linked from Front Street upward.
The message: halt the killing of innocent Tamils in the Sri Lankan government’s drive to eliminate the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam – LTTE or better known as the Tamil Tigers – a separatist group largely located in that country’s north coast.
There were Tamil Eelam or Tamil independence signage, but mainly the protest demanded that the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka gain freedom from violence.
For years, Sri Lanka has languished deep in a bloody civil war. By the Sri Lankan government’s estimation, that conflict is nearing its end with the elimination of LTTE. But civilian Tamil casualties have grown to become an international concern. A good summation of the Sri Lankan conflict can be read here.
Click here to read about the planned Tamil vigil tonight.
