Toronto Tamils slow traffic in latest Sri Lanka protest

(CBC News,  Canada)Thousands from Toronto's Tamil community slowed traffic in the city's downtown core on Monday in another large protest to draw attention to the latest violence in Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war.

Ranjan Rajadurai joins hundreds of other demonstrators from Toronto's Tamil community outside Union Station on Monday in the latest protest to draw attention to the conflict in Sri Lanka. (CBC)As part of the outspoken community's highly visible campaign in the city, crowds of demonstrators of all ages began assembling about 1 p.m. ET along Front Street, Yonge Street, Bloor Street and University Avenue to form a human chain.

The demonstration is expected to continue until 6 p.m. Police are advising drivers to consider alternate routes around the city to avoid the congestion.

Toronto — home to the largest expatriate Tamil community outside of Sri Lanka — has long been a focal point for protests, as well as political and financial support for the Tamil Tigers, the militant group that has led the fight for an independent Tamil nation in the north of the island nation.

The Canadian government added the group — known formally as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) — to its official list of terrorist organizations in 2006 for the group's use of suicide bombers and child soldiers in the conflict.

Similar demonstrations in Toronto over the past two months have drawn more than 45,000 people and snarled downtown traffic.

Toronto police Const. Wendy Drummond said the protest has been peaceful so far, but urged those involved to stay on the sidewalks. She also advised drivers to seek alternate routes throughout the afternoon.

Protester Prince Manakam said the community expects the rallies will show the world the urgent need for negotiations to end the conflict.

"We want the world, the international community to cause a ceasefire and make the government come to table and find a solutuion," Manakam told CBC News.

Slogans and signs

Many protesters along waved Canadian flags next to the red-and-yellow flags of the Tamil Tigers, while some shouted slogans and brandished signs calling for a separate Tamil state and for the Canadian government to reverse its designation of the rebel group as a terrorist organization.

In its continuing offensive, the Sri Lankan army has ousted the Tamil Tigers from most of their strongholds in the island's war-ravaged north. The offensive has been condemned by expatriate Tamils around the world, who have accused the government forces of targeting civilians.

The Sri Lankan government, in turn, has accused the Tigers of using Tamil civilians trapped in the north as human shields against the military campaign.

International aid organizations have warned of a high rate of civilian casualties, and said both government forces and the rebels may be breaking international humanitarian laws.

Outside Union Station, protester Ranjan Rajadurai called on the International Criminal Court to take a "strong stand" and indict Sri Lanka's leaders on charges of genocide.

Rajadurai, who came to Canada in 1993, said he would also support a case being brought against Tamil Tiger leaders for war crimes "if there is evidence."

The Tigers have fought since 1983 for an independent state for the Tamil minority, which suffered decades of marginalization at the hands of governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

With files from the Associated Press