Show of support for Sri Lankan Tamils

Malay Mail
Frankie D'Cruz

AS tales of terror emerged from the battle-scarred island nation of Sri Lanka during the United Nation chief's visit to a mass displacement camp, there was a major outpouring of sympathy emanating from Batu Caves.

The Batu Caves Hindu temple was packed with more than 5,000 people protesting acts of genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka. The protest came soon after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the almost 300,000 beleaguered and shellshocked refugees held in Manik Farm in the north of the country. Barbed-wire fences encircle the endless rows of tents, preventing civilians from getting out and journalists from getting in, as the government continues to prevent the horror stories from being told.

To be sure, these stories are testimonies to the brutality of both the Tamil Tiger fighters and the government during the final stages of a 26-year conflict.

Each side had accused the other of acts of unspeakable cruelty. Both, it seems, were telling the truth and it is the Tamil civilians who paid the price. Some of these stories were related at the Batu Caves protest yesterday.

Amid a sea of red LTTE flags emblazoned with a leaping tiger, men and women chanted slogans calling for Sri Lanka's president to be tried for crimes against humanity. They also refused to recognise claims by the government of the death of Tamil Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran earlier this week.

The protest, organised by the World Tamil Relief and the Coalition of NGOs movements, saw fiery speeches being made. The Tamil Nadu State government was attacked for not doing anything to stop the attacks on
civilians in Sri Lanka. "If one Prabhakaran is killed, thousands of Prabhakarans will rise. If Israel can be formed, a Tamil nation can be formed too," said Federal Territories Deputy Minister Datuk M. Saravanan.

He also urged the Malaysian government not to support a draft resolution tabled by Sri Lanka at the UN calling for member nations not to interfere in the internal affairs of the country.He said such support for Sri Lanka would hurt the hearts of Malaysian Tamils.

Ipoh Barat Member of Parliament M. Kulasegaran urged the Malaysian government not to give any financial
aid to Sri Lanka as it would seem like it was supporting the war crimes in that island State.

"The government of Malaysia is going to give RM3 million to Sri Lanka. We cannot allow that. I will raise this issue in Parliament," he said.

A donation campaign was also launched at the rally to collect funds for the Tamils in Sri Lanka.