The News Line: News
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
WE WANT PERMANENT CEASEFIRE
|
Young Tamils are leading the fight for a permanent ceasefire in Sri Lanka. PARAMESWARAN SUBRAMANIYAN (centre) is continuing his hunger strike |
�I�M THE best friend of Parameswaran Subramaniyan,� 22-year-old Tharmini Tharmaraja told News Line on the edge of Westminster Green yesterday.
Hundreds were demonstrating opposite the House of Commons, keeping up loud chants of �Ceasefire Now!� and �Tamil Tigers Freedom Fighters!�, while the brave young hunger striker was lying under canvas alongside them, semi-conscious.
Tharmini continued: �I can tell you about Parameswaran�s medical condition, his energy is going down and he�s very vulnerable to infection.
�We are forcing him to take water every four hours, but he just sips, he hasn�t eaten for eight days.�
Satkunaraja, another friend of Parameswaran, said: �In 1947 the British government handed Sri Lanka over to the Sinhalese and since then the Tamil people have been oppressed.
�But recently it�s got so much worse. Last week 1,457 people were killed by chemical weapons, dropped by the Sri Lankan Army.�
Janani Paramsothy, an 18-year-old school student from East Ham and a spokeswoman for British Tamil Students, said: �The police are trying to restrict this demonstration to 50 people, but people can�t be stopped from coming here to protest at the genocide in Sri Lanka.
�There are maybe 400 here now, at 3pm, but there will be double that in a couple of hours, by late afternoon.
�Although Rajapakse called a 48-hour ceasefire the day before yesterday 237 people were killed by the SLA yesterday.
�It�s come to a point that the British trade unions must get involved. They have to take action against the genocide.
�Young people are leading this protest, but we feel the government is patronising us. The trade unions have to do something.�
| |
Login
Please create your own account. As a registered user you will gain more access to this website. Related Links
Most read news in The News Line:
Article Rating
Average Score: 0 Votes: 0 Options
Printer Friendly Send to a Friend
|