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Thousands of Tamils protest in Toronto

Fri Jan 30, 2009 4:58 PM EST
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Rob Gillies, Associated Press

Pro Tamil protesters march in the streets of Toronto on Friday Jan. 30, 2009 to protest events in Sri Lanka. Hundreds of people formed a human chain through Toronto's downtown to protest a Sri Lankan government offensive aimed at crushing the separatist Tamil Tigers. (AP Photo/ THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)

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TORONTO — Thousands of Canadian Tamils formed a human chain through Toronto's downtown on Friday to protest a Sri Lankan government offensive aimed at crushing the separatist Tamil Tigers.

The greater Toronto area is home to 200,000 Tamils, one of the largest Tamil population outside Sri Lanka and the Indian subcontinent. A number of protests have been staged in recent weeks.

On Friday, protesters formed a human chain spanning several miles of major downtown streets to protest the military offensive, which has ousted the rebels from all major towns following heavy battles in recent months.

The rebels are now cornered in a 115-square-mile area of jungle and villages in the Tamil-dominated north, where some 250,000 civilians are trapped, according to the Red Cross.

Sri Lanka ruled out a cease-fire with the Tamil Tigers on Friday despite growing reports of casualties among civilians trapped in the war zone.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for a separate state for minority Tamils since 1983, and were declared a terrorist organization by the U.S. in 1997 and by Canada in 2006.

Scores of young people, off because of exams, participated in Friday's protest, carrying signs and chanting for an end to the violence.

"This is a massive protest because we're expecting the whole Tamil community to come out and support this," said Phavalan Rahendram, a 17-year-old high school student.

"It's not only Tamils that should care about this. This is the killing of human beings. This is a genocide," Rahendram said.

Sujeentha Sha, another high school student, said most of the protesters support the Tamil Tigers.

"They are the last hope of the Tamil people, so every one supports the Tamil Tigers," Sha said.

(This version CORRECTS that Canada's Tamil population is 'one of the largest' in world rather than largest.)

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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caroaber

Panic in Cabbagetown?

    Reply#1 - Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:13 PM EST
    River-239955

    Now just what in the world is a "Tamil"? I've never heard of them.

      Reply#2 - Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:16 PM EST
      caroaber

      They are a minority group in Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon). Like minorities the world over, they faced discrimination in their own country.

      The Tamil Tigers is a separatist group fighting to establish an autonomous region for Tamils. The Tigers are engaged in an armed struggle and use explosives, assassinations, and violence to further their political goals.

        #2.1 - Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:36 PM EST
        River-239955

        Ok, caroaber. Thanks for clarifying that for me. It's so odd the things they don't teach in school....

          #2.2 - Sun Feb 1, 2009 12:35 PM EST
          Reply
          Not your fool

          Just a correction in the politically incorrect statement of the last uneducated fool that posted. The SRi Lankan government has been committing genocide on the minority Tamil population on the island. Just ask Amnesty International about the disgusting atrocities committed by the government personnel (backed by a supposed Sinhalese popularity vote condoning such actions) which include rape, torture, killings, indiscriminate aerial bombings and every last heinous crime in the book. The Sri Lankan government has been told by the United Nations that they can no longer sit on the Human Rights commission until they wipe their hands clean of innocent blood and war crimes. It is not a democratic republic and in fact I don't think any nation in the world with a reputable NGO to back up the claims will ever call the Sinhalese regime a "democracy". Grow up guys. You need to put down your guns and talk like grown ups. Stop oppressing a group that just wants their basic human rights met. Tamil is not a SYNONYM for the LTTE. Tamils are born citizens of SRi Lanka and deserve the exact same rights as those dogs that continue to bomb them. The Sinhalese barks at us during protests that we hold for the civilians (nothing political about regular citizens dying? now is there or am I mistaken? Maybe one of you can make another uneducated remark to correct me? ). At the last protest I attended, we had Sinhalese people arrested because the police were protecting our right to speech while the Sinhalese guy was ready to fight a protester! Come on now, lets leave the genocide to Sri Lankan soil shall we? I don't think its tolerated in a Canadian Democracy....unless the Sinhalese here in Canada plan on remodeling to mimic the Sri Lankan so called "democratic republic".

          Violence, no matter who is involved, is not justified with further violence. The oppressed will rise and the oppressors will surrender the rights that belong to the people of the world, equally dispersed and irrevocable. Get used to it and quit whining about the LTTE to justify your cowardice shown on innocent civilians.

            Reply#3 - Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:00 PM EST
            Not your fool

            Just a correction in the politically incorrect statement of the last uneducated fool that posted. The SRi Lankan government has been committing genocide on the minority Tamil population on the island. Just ask Amnesty International about the disgusting atrocities committed by the government personnel (backed by a supposed Sinhalese popularity vote condoning such actions) which include rape, torture, killings, indiscriminate aerial bombings and every last heinous crime in the book. The Sri Lankan government has been told by the United Nations that they can no longer sit on the Human Rights commission until they wipe their hands clean of innocent blood and war crimes. It is not a democratic republic and in fact I don't think any nation in the world with a reputable NGO to back up the claims will ever call the Sinhalese regime a "democracy". Grow up guys. You need to put down your guns and talk like grown ups. Stop oppressing a group that just wants their basic human rights met. Tamil is not a SYNONYM for the LTTE. Tamils are born citizens of SRi Lanka and deserve the exact same rights as those dogs that continue to bomb them. The Sinhalese barks at us during protests that we hold for the civilians (nothing political about regular citizens dying? now is there or am I mistaken? Maybe one of you can make another uneducated remark to correct me? ). At the last protest I attended, we had Sinhalese people arrested because the police were protecting our right to speech while the Sinhalese guy was ready to fight a protester! Come on now, lets leave the genocide to Sri Lankan soil shall we? I don't think its tolerated in a Canadian Democracy....unless the Sinhalese here in Canada plan on remodeling to mimic the Sri Lankan so called "democratic republic".

            Violence, no matter who is involved, is not justified with further violence. The oppressed will rise and the oppressors will surrender the rights that belong to the people of the world, equally dispersed and irrevocable. Get used to it and quit whining about the LTTE to justify your cowardice shown on innocent civilians.

            • 1 vote
            Reply#4 - Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:03 PM EST
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