Tamils step up London protest
THOUSANDS of Tamil protesters calling for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka brought traffic to a standstill outside the Houses of Parliament today.
Crowds began to congregate for a rally shortly after 8.30am and at least 2,500 demonstrators, many bearing red and yellow Tamil flags, gathered outside Parliament.
Barriers were set up and Bridge Street, which leads to Westminster Bridge, and part of Whitehall were temporarily closed to traffic.
Demonstrations have flared around the world in protest at the deaths of civilians and alleged human rights abuses during fighting in Sri Lanka.
Rebels have been fighting to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who have faced decades of marginalisation by Sinhalese governments. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.
Today, Sri Lanka's military warned the rebels that they face military action if they do not surrender in 24 hours.The military said it broke through rebel defences in a designated no-fire zone and freed 25,000 people trapped there.
Last week thousands of protesters marched through central London. Two men jumped into the Thames and there were several arrests.
Hunger striker Sivatharsan Sivakumaraval, 21, agreed to suspend his fast before talks with political leaders. A second hunger striker, Prarameswaran Subramaniam, 28, is continuing without food.
A Met Police spokesman said officers were alerted to today's protest and that there had been no arrests. He said: "We are policing it as a protest and will amend our operation as necessary."
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "gravely concerned" about the situation and is "urgently" consulting the UN. Yesterday, he repeated a call for a ceasefire, something rejected by the Sri Lankan government as it does not want to give rebels time to regroup.
The Prime Minister's Special Representative, MP Des Browne, has travelled to New York for talks with the UN.
At the demonstration, more than a dozen police vans hemmed in the protesters, preventing them from spilling into other streets.
Local authority workers were hurriedly removing metal fencing installed to protect the grass during reseeding. Sureen Surendiram, of the British Tamils Forum, said the demonstration was "spontaneous" and coincided with the reopening of Parliament.
He said: "There have been texts going around as Parliament opened today after the Easter recess and people have been encouraging their friends and families to gather.
"There is no point issuing statements. The British Tamil community do not want words any more, we want action. We want to see a British Government take the matter to the UN Security Council to get a ceasefire implemented.
"This protest will make a difference because where else can people go? This is a peaceful demonstration. This is about brothers and fathers and sisters being killed. I know people who have lost 15 members of their family.
"These are people exercising their democratic right when people across the world are having their human rights trampled on."
