Tamils in UK rally, demand direct British aid to IDPs in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 October 2008, 16:46 GMT]
Several thousands, largely British Tamils, assembled outside the British Parliament Monday between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to demand action against indiscriminate aerial bombardment of Tamils by Government of Sri Lanka (G0SL), and to urge the British Government to urgently take direct action to help save lives in Vanni. More than six thousand attended the rally, according to an estimate by the organizers, the British Tamil Forum (BTF).



The rally date coincided with the day Members of British Parliament return after summer recess.

John McDonnell MP (Labour) for Hayes and Harlington and Virendra Sharma MP (Labour) for Ealing, Southall and who is also the current Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG-T) briefly joined the protestors. They both said that they shared the sentiments of the protestors and condemned the human rights violations carried out by the GoSL. The British parliamentarians said that they assist in persuading other MPs to support Tamils position for direct help by the British Government. The protesters shouted slogans and carried placards saying, 'Britain, Impose Sanctions Against Sri Lanka', 'Britain, Please Help Now! Better Late Than Never', 'Sri Lanka, Stop The Bombing of Tamils', 'Sri Lanka, Stop the Genocide of Tamils.'

Protesters dressed up as skeletons to depict the suffering of NorthEast Tamils. Sri Lankathe Vanni amidst displacement of more than 230,000 civilians. Human Rights organizations have expressed alarm as the war continues without the presence of foreign Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs), and United Nations (UN) agencies have left on Sri Lanka Government's directives.