by Carola Becker
MORE than 3,500 Tamil protesters brought Parliament Square to a standstill on Monday on day 15 of the demonstration against the latest attack by the Sri Lankan military on Tamil civilians in the north of the country.
It was also day 14 of a hunger strike by Subramanyam Parameswaran, who saw his family being killed by the Sri Lankan army. Thadcha, one of his guards, said: “He will not eat until there is a permanent ceasefire. Our people have died from hunger strike before, without any media attention. We are here to prove that what’s happening in our country is genocide, not simply a civil war. Every day we’re waiting, more people are dying.”
It was the first big protest in central London since the police were heavily criticised for the way they policed the G20 demos. Although demonstrators at one point broke through their lines, and although they were clearly keen to move demonstrators on, they were careful not to be seen to use force. No arrests were made.
