[Video Interview Inside]Three Australian Tamil youth Sutha Thanbalasingam, Mathivannan Sinnathurai and Pratheepan Rajathurai are on 'FAST UNTO ACTION' from 5 pm today, 11th April 2009 at Church Street Mall, Parramatta, New South Wales. More than 1000 people have joined the protestors and voicing their anger, they call for immediate ceasefire. More and more people are flocking the area.
The hunger strikers have put forward four demands, which they say the Government of Australia has the power to make it possible. They appeal to the Australian Government to use its diplomatic powers to exert pressure to ensure their four demands are met.
The three youth explained their four demands, when interviewed by Tamil National . They want immediate ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian aid, uninterrupted vital services such as medical service and they want the Government of Sri Lanka and the international community to allow the Tamil people, both in the conflict zone and those indefinitely detained in concentration camps in government-held areas, to decide independently where they wish to reside.
Speaking further to Tamil National , Sutha solicited the support of all Australian Tamils to unite and use them as trump card to win the four demands. He pointed out that the stage of the Tamil struggle has moved from Vanni to foreign grounds. In a freedom struggle that’s natural, now there is little lull in the military struggle but the political struggle has taken the centre stage. Uprising of Tamil People all over the world will win the rights for the Tamils, we will get the freedom, he said.
Mathi said, all Australian Tamils have to unite and support their campaign to take their message to the Australian Government. He said ‘we have to express the feeling of our people to Australia; we are not asking anything we are only asking to ease the life of our people.’
Pratheepan said our people back home are at knife’s edge. ‘ It is not the time to think, it is time act, come forward to support our struggle,’ He said.
When the Tamil National reporter interviewed the Tamil Activist at the site they were visibly moved by the situation back home, ‘there is no humanity at all, hospitals are bombed, cluster bombs are used in highly dense area, infant and children are not spared, now we see evidence of white phosphorous and chemical weapons being used by Sri Lankan Army, our children are starving and dying without food and medicine, Sri Lankan Government is doing all inhumane act, what you want us to do they slammed at our reporter.
They questioned our reporter to check and report, whether he can show any country where the state has killed more than 3500 civilians and injured another 10,000 or more within just 3 months and then say they are doing the largest humanitarian operation to free people. And the international community also believe, it is genocide whether they accept or not, the activist retorted at our reporter who was reporting for Tamil National.
The Tamil Diaspora across the world has taken the issue to the streets; they are rallying against Sri Lankan government saying it has to be indicted under genocide act. Tamil youth have taken the cause in their hands they are conducting day’s long protests and hunger strikes. Two people went on hunger strike in front of British parliament from last Tuesday, 7th April; another two on hunger strike in Canada for the fourth day.
The Australian Tamil community has conducted over 50 protests nationwide. The protesters have vowed to continue their activism until their demands are met. Their most urgent demand is an immediate ceasefire to the conflict.
They call on the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to acknowledge their grievances and use his diplomatic powers to put an end to the genocide of the Tamils. World leaders cannot stay silent any longer.
Iyngkaran