'They Are Killing Innocent People'

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Source: The Star

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the Sri Lankan consulate yesterday to condemn the alleged killing of dozens of Tamil civilians by the government in the island nation Monday, calling it ethnic cleansing and genocide.

"The (Sri Lankan) government's atrocities against Tamils are unacceptable," said Jey Jeyarasalingam, 25, a student at the University of Toronto. "They are killing innocent people, little children. The situation is so bad but the international community is not even talking about it."

The consulate closed its doors for the day as almost two dozen police officers monitored the gathering. Waving signs and shouting slogans, protesters of all ages started to congregate outside the consulate on St. Clair Ave. W. near Yonge St. just before 11 a.m. and stayed till 5 p.m.

When Gaza was being pounded by Israeli forces, it made headlines everywhere "but no one seems to care about the condition in Sri Lanka," said Jeyarasalingam, holding an enlarged photograph of two dead children lying on a floor. "Things have never been so bad in Sri Lanka."

The civil war in the tiny country has raged for almost three decades and thousands have been reported killed. The rebel Tamil Tigers have been demanding a separate state for minority ethnic Tamils in the island's north and east, but on Sunday Sri Lankan forces captured the Tamil Tigers' last major stronghold, confining the rebels to a narrow slice of jungle.

The neutral International Committee of the Red Cross said hundreds of civilians have died in the past two weeks and 250,000 are trapped by intense fighting between government forces and the Tamil Tigers.

more: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/578360