Members of Australia’s Tamil Diaspora will converge on the streets of Sydney and Melbourne this afternoon to protest the State sponsored genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka and urge the Government of Australia to use its diplomatic powers to push for an immediate ceasefire to the
conflict in the island.
The rally will take place today at Hyde Park, Sydney from 4pm onwards and in front of State Parliament House, Melbourne from 1pm onwards.
Rallies organised a fortnight ago saw over 10,000 participants in total gather in Sydney and Melbourne.
Over 3500 Tamil civilians have been killed in a space of three months by the Sri Lankan State offensive, putting the total number of civilian casualties at over 11,900. The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has ignored calls by the international community for a ceasefire, bombing hospitals and civilian targets inside and outside its self declared ‘safe zones’. Evidence of the use of cluster bombs and white phosphorous has also emerged. The GoSL has also prevented medicine, aid and food entering the conflict zone, with over 16 civilians having died of starvation already. All of these actions constitute war crimes.
Despite such casualty figures and breaches of international law, the conflict in Sri Lanka has not to date been discussed at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. Furthermore, it remains a comparatively under-reported affair given other conflicts of similar severity.
The protestors will be calling on the Government of Australia to use its diplomatic powers to pressure Sri Lanka into entering an immediate ceasefire.
“Calling for a ceasefire and watching thousands of innocent women and children being killed is not acceptable. We want to see our government doing something to bring that ceasefire it is calling for,” said Jay Nathan, a young activist helping organise the rally.
Last week, video evidence showed Sinhalese attacking Australian Tamils as they participated in a rally in Melbourne.
There have been over 50 rallies conducted by Tamils nation-wide over the past months, and to date police accept they have been peaceful with no arrests of any Tamil Australians.
Media Contacts-
Sydney: Dr. Sam Pari 0433 428 967
Melbourne: Mr. George Barani 0450 477 455
Mr. Jude Prakash 0403 326 289
