Thousands of people gathered at the Batu Caves temple this morning to protest against the Sri Lankan government despite a police warning against the rally.
The protest rally was to voice the opposition against the war crimes perpetuated by the Sri Lankan government against innocent Tamils in its ongoing war against the LTTE.
LTTE has been fighting for a separate Eelam state in the north of Sri Lanka. The war reached a boiling point earlier this week with the Sri Lankan government claiming victory with the killing of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Reporting: K Pragalath Kumar
Camera: Amirudding Abdullah
Editing: Shufiyan Shukur
STOP GENOCIDE OF TAMILS IN SRI LANKA PROTEST
Thousands of people gathered at the Batu Caves temple this morning to protest against the Sri Lankan government despite a police warning against the rally.
The protest rally was to voice the opposition against the war crimes perpetuated by the Sri Lankan government against innocent Tamils in its ongoing war against the LTTE.
LTTE has been fighting for a separate Eelam state in the north of Sri Lanka. The war reached a boiling point earlier this week with the Sri Lankan government claiming victory with the killing of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
In the process, thousands of innocent victims, almost all of whom were Tamils, have been killed and about 100,000 made homeless.
The protest today was organised by the World Tamil Relief and the Coalition of NGOs movements.
Among those who attended the rally included MIC information chief and Deputy FT Minister M Saravanan, DAP’s Teluk Intan parliamentarian M Manoharan, DAP’s Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran, PKR’s Padang Serai MP N Gobalakrishnan , Kapar MP S Manikavasagam and Batu Caves temple committee chairperson R Nadarajah.
Also present were DAP’s Klang MP Charles Santiago and MIC Youth wing advisor S Vell Paari.
Yesterday the Selangor police urged the public not to join the protest as it was being held without a police permit.
State deputy police chief Jamshah Mustafa however said that people can go to Batu Caves to pray but “not for an illegal rally”.
But despite the police warning, there was no strong police presence in Batu Caves.
One of the organisers SP Pathi told Malaysiakini that they had originally expected some 15,000 people to participate today but conceded that the police warning would mean fewer people turning up.
Eyewitnesses said that a few hundred people had gathered by 10am. By noon the crowd size had swelled up to about 4,000. By the time the rally ended at about 1pm organisers said some 5,000 people had attended.
They have committed war crimes
Several posters condemning the Sri Lankan government were also seen pasted in Batu Caves. A platform was set up on the field within the temple compound where fiery speeches were made.
First to speak to the crowd was Nadarajah who said that he was pressured by some quarters not to allow for the rally to take place in the temple compound today.
“But I insisted on it being held in support for the Sri Lankan Tamils,” he said to the loud approval of the crowd.
Saravanan also lauded the presence of so many politicians at the rally despite their political differences.
“I am proud that we can stand united here for our Sri Lankan Tamil brothers,” he said.
He also lashed out at the Indian government, particularly the Tamil Nadu state government, for not doing anything to stop the attacks on civilians in Sri Lanka.
“If one Prabhakaran is killed, thousands of Prabhakaran will rise. If Israel can be formed, a Tamil nation can be formed too,” he added.
He also urged the Malaysian government not to support a draft resolution tabled by Sri Lanka at the United Nations calling for member nations not to interfere in the internal affairs of the country.
He said such a support for Sri Lanka would hurt the hearts of Malaysian Tamils.
Yesterday MIC president S Samy Vellu also similarly called on the government to retract its support for the draft resolution.
Manoharan meanwhile said that the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse had committed war crimes by killing innocent Tamils in the country.
“He is guilty of war crimes and must be charged in the war crimes tribunal,” he added.
Gobalakrishnan also similarly condemned Rajapakse for “murdering innocent children and women”.
He said that the spirit instilled by Prabhakaran would remain even if he was killed.
Kulasegaran urged the Malaysian government not to give any financial aide 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 the parliament,” he said.
A donation campaign was also launched at the rally to collect funds for the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
The Batu Caves resolutions
Later at a press conference, several resolutions and immediate plans were revealed to assist the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
“We will form a peace team to be sent to Sri Lanka to help rebuild the lives of the war victims,” said organising committee member K Arumugam.
And among the resolutions passed included a call for the United Nations to start a probe on the Sri Lankan government and to institute war crime charges against the Sri Lankan leaders.
Another resolution called for the lifting of all restrictions imposed on the international community to assess the full nature of the catastrophe that has struck the Tamils in Sri Lanka and offer immediate relief.
The protest group also wanted the formation of an independent Tamil state and until then the establishment of a UN peacekeeping force on the island to maintain peace.
“We call upon international community to offer all necessary humanitarian aid through international aid agencies.
“We also call upon the Malaysian government to recognise the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils and institute immediate measures to give assistance and financial support to the Tamils in Sri Lanka,” they said.
They also wanted the government to withdraw its support for the Sri Lankan resolution in the UN.
news :malaysiakini, pictures:mpkapar.com
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