In the early hours of this morning, Maria occupied the Churchill statue in Parliament Square. Surrounded by barbed wire as a symbol of the concentration camps in the Tamil area of Sri Lanka, she is highlighting the plight of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Tamil civilians who are being held in atrocious conditions in military camps.

The camps break many international conventions, and there are many reports of disappearances,rapes and torture. Also, medical personnel are denied access, and international NGOs and medical organisations cannot get into the area with any aid. The Sri Lankan Government has imposed draconian restrictions on journalism, so the only news and monitoring is at grassroots level.

The action at Parliament Square is a striking image, with Churchill surrounded by barbed wire and placards about the Tamil Plight.

For more images and a report, see here.

Starts at 1pm from Hyde Park Corner – Park Lane (Nearest Stations: Hyde Park Corner / Marble Arch) Ends at Temple – Embankment

We feel very strongly about the on-going Tamil protest, now entering its 11th week of occupation at Parliament Square.

It is the most extraordinary campaign we have ever witnessed, and the protesters have behaved in a truly exemplary manner. Against all the odds, they have become a powerful movement. Of all the groups to enter the square and challenge the Government directly, these people would have been very easy to dismiss as too quiet, too nice and therefore ineffective. How wrong that would have been! All who have been involved in their campaign can only marvel at these truly amazing people.

They originally came last summer as a small unnoticeable group, who wanted to highlight the impending genocide. They wanted support from our Government and to raise awareness. They got very little if no attention.

Just before the Genocide they exploded into this huge movement of 200,000 plus! On the 11th of April 2009, they marched through central London in a peaceful manner with no arrests. There was very little mainstream media coverage. They flew their national flag without incident.

On the 6th April they filled up the whole of Parliament Square to bursting point, over-spilled, and blocked the road overnight, sealing off Westminster Bridge. This was the start of their remarkable 24hr on-going occupation of Parliament Square that was to break the mould in modern day protesting.

They chanted
“We want ceasefire!
We want ceasefire!
When do we want it…NOW!”
The volume was deafening to the ear, they were so passionate and distressed.

The weather was very cold! Parliament was away on Easter Holiday. No Ministers were available to hear their pleas. Civil servants did hear, but could do nothing.

They had to wait patiently for two weeks for Parliament to return. Emails were sent out to all concerned so that urgent meetings could be set up.

Two Tamil Students were on ‘Hunger Strike Till Death’. A political crisis was building up, but no Ministers came.
On Monday April 20th the Government returned. By now events in Sri Lanka were unfolding into a humanitarian crisis. The Tamils in desperation, over-spilled the square and blocked the road outside Parliament, and then closed Westminster Bridge from 08.45 till midnight!

The grass area of the square was then fenced off in a desperate bid to get rid of the Tamils, however it backfired because of the sheer volume of protesters who had no where to go. We contacted the Genocide All Party Group in the Houses of Parliament in order to get help and setup an urgent meeting…we were told on the phone that they “weren’t interested”
The war has now come to an end and the Sri Lankan Government has declared victory over the Tamil Tigers Of Tamil Eelam. Surprisingly, the Sri Lankan Government only officially classified the Tamil Tigers as ‘Terrorists’ last June 2008, just before their planned genocide.

The Tamil Protesters were now expected to leave the Square and return to their normal lives, this is what was hoped….. However, they are refusing to leave the square until the Government, the United Nations and the International Relief Agencies give firm reassurances that food and medicine is going into war torn Sri Lanka to help the Tamil victims of genocide.

Nearly all the Tamil protesters have lost family in the conflict. Many have lost over 20 relatives and more.

The number of Tamils slaughtered in the Genocide could eventually be near 100,000. The problem now is that the Genocide continues……up to 300,000 civilians, young and old, are languishing right now in what’s been described as Nazi-style ‘Concentration Camps’. They have become prisoners and are not seen as victims of war. At least 30,000 have lost limbs. There are no painkillers or anaesthetics to easy the pain of the dying and wounded. No bandages, medical equipment or medicines are available. Children, girls and boys are raped and disappeared every night. There are deliberately no administrative records kept on the people in the camps.

It has been reported that there is a daily 3 hour queue for water, and a 5 hour queue for very poor food. One camp has 1 toilet for 800 people with sanitation overflowing. No water to bathe, filthy clothes to live in. Extreme heat is fast spreading disease such as chicken pox and hepatitis. Life on the camps is a living hell.

Against international law, soldiers are free to roam unhindered inside the camps with the civilians. The ‘prisoners’ are guarded every 10 yards by a soldier with a machine gun. There are military bunkers ‘inside’ the camps. Truly shocking.
The International Community is ‘unable to help’.

A ‘mercy mission’ emergency medical supply ship, which was due to dock in a Sri Lanka harbour, has been turned away. The United Nations Security Council seems unable to act in its ‘responsibility to protect’ – this is due to political pressure and the ability by permanent members to block votes by using their ‘veto’. Hence we have a repeat of Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur.

Political intervention by political will only works if they want it to.

Due to relocation of our textile industries to Asia and the Far East, we now have the same old story of power and money being, yet again, more important than people.

Sadly, the victims on these camps are waiting everyday for help to arrive…waiting, hoping, praying, crying. Little do they know that help is not on the way. Potentially, all the people on the camps are at risk of death unless help is sent soon as a matter of urgency. What is going on is simply unacceptable to any ordinary right-minded human being.
Genocide is Genocide, no matter to whom, where or when.

We therefore urge you to come together as concerned people to support the Tamils in their on-going struggle at Parliament Square. It is essential that they maintain their presence. They are effective, which the peace movement must be if it is to make a difference. There were missed opportunities over Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza, because people were not encouraged to keep the pressure up and instead were encouraged to ‘go home’.

We will never prevent genocide from happening unless we join together. If we work as separate groups and deal with genocides as separate issues then we will always have the same age old re-occurring problems……
Let’s not waste our time and energy…….
We say we don’t want to make history, we want to CHANGE history

What else can you do to be heard?

Write to your MP. Keep a record or copy of your letter to follow up with later on, on further issues.

Boycott one of the retail giants ‘Marks and Spencer’ who shamefully operate in Sri Lanka to exploit cheap material and slave labour, for vast profit.

Join the march this Saturday June 20th in London, Hyde Park, nearest Marble Arch 1pm.

Sincerely.
members of:
Peace Strike (www.peacestrike.org)
Make Wars History (www.makewarshistory.org.uk)
International Committee Against Disappearances (www.icad-committee.com)

http://tamilvoice.co.uk/results-of-the-meeting/#respond

http://tamilvoice.co.uk/concerns-grow-for-mercy-mission/

www.srilankacrisiscamps.org/petition
www.victimsofsrilankanwar.com
www.srilankacrisiscamps.org/FAQs

Police have been arresting Tamils waving their national flag in Parliament Square. Maria from Peacestrike has been testing the legality of this by standing outside New Scotland Yard and arguing it out on film when confronted by officers. Maria has now been arrested twice for holding the flag. See more on this unfolding story

Wednesday 29th April from early… all day

“On Strike Against Genocide”
Westminster,  London SW1

To support the Tamil community in Britain whose relatives are under seige in Sri Lanka. So many of the people who have been protesting in Parliament Square over the last 4 weeks have relatives and friends among the many thousands of civilians who have been killed.

Doctors have warned that the Tamil student, Prarameswaren Subramaniam, who has been on hunger strike in Parliament Square for 21 days in protest at the Sri Lankan governments military assualt, may have only a week to live.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/26/tamil-protest-hunger-strike-sri-lanka

Enough is enough…….

Afganistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, Sri Lanka……when will the voice of the people be heard! We are opposed to the senseless, endless killing that Governments around the World seem to promote. We have no arguments with civilians we have never met, from any nation. We are tired of all these labels that are associated with the latest “enemy”.

The political world needs an “enemy” and seems to promote war. Centuries of conflict show that it is the ordinary person that becomes the victim of war, regardless of which side they are on. We also makes the biggest sacrifice with life and limb. We allow ourselves to become “killing machines” supplying armies with soldiers that kill people because they are “ordered to”. We lose our humanity and often our sanity.

The business of war is madness. The Arms Trade is the trade of evil. Let’s not be part of the whole nasty business. We want our Government to administer with responsibility and care. We want a Government to plan for the greater good, all equal and free.

Let us all support the – “Strike Against Genocide”.

No matter to whom, “Genocide is Genocide”.

We have never been given a vote to go to war as they know good people would say “NO!”

Let’s vote with our feet and say “NO TO GENOCIDE” loud and clear to our Government.

Walk around and see the sights…Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Bridge, Whitehall, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square.

Dress ordinary. This is not a march or protest. We are individuals “On Strike” and are free people to visit where we like.

Be prepared for long day and bring food and drink and warm clothes for later during the day.

Check weather forecast for rain, you may need umbrella or waterproofs!

The message of our strike is to say “Listen To The People”.

Genocide is an emergency and the Governments, United Nations and International Community fail in their duty of care, to act in time to save life.

Take this opportunity to make a stand and redress the issue. The time is right, the time is NOW!

Sri Lanka genocide….Gaza genocide ……war with Iran?………

ON STRIKE FOR PEACE

SOCPA, the Tamils, and the grass
In a move reminiscent of the farcical GLA fences prior to Nelson Mandela’s visit, and at the time of the Burmese protests in summer 2007, the Tamil protest in Parliament Square is being marginalised by the GLA and police while thousands die in Sri Lanka. Read more from Indymedia…

For coverage of the demonstrations:
https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/04/427063.html

Please join the march tomorrow and show your support:
Saturday 11th April, a march to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
http://www.gumtree.com/london/09/37280409.html

For background to the Tamil situation:
http://campacc.org.uk/tamilprotests.htm

Lets show our solidarity

IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
Friday 10 April 2009

TAMILS AND MP PETITION TO BE PRESENTED TO DOWNING STREET:
PETITIONER ARRESTED YESTERDAY

3.30pm, FRIDAY 10 APRIL 2009
A delegation of Tamils will deliver a petition to 10 Downing Street with the Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes in an attempt to get the UK government to intervene in the crisis in Sri Lanka.

Yesterday, a British women who escorted a delegation of Tamil women to Downing Street was arrested under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 which prohibits demonstrations without police authorisation.

Maria Gallastegui was arrested about 7pm last night after she would not leave Downing Street until the delegation had seen a representative of the Government. She was told that no-one was available to see them as there are all on holiday. Ms Gallastegui was held by police overnight and released, without charge, at 12 noon today. She said:

“We went to Downing Street because the situation is an emergency. There are two young men on hunger strike in Parliament Square who are in a critical condition.

“All these people have been outside Parliament for days yet the British Government are on holiday and can not be contacted. There is an emergency below decks that needs to be dealt with but it appears that no-one is even steering the ship.

“We went to our neighbours, the government, to appeal for help for the hundreds of thousands of people in Sri Lanka who are in grave risk, but they are all on holiday. There is clearly no political will to address this issue.”

NOTES
There will be a major demonstration on Saturday 11th April calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Sri Lanka. http://www.gumtree.com/london/09/37280409.html

For background to the Tamil situation:
http://campacc.org.uk/tamilprotests.htm

The vigil is supported by the Peace Strike. Please come and join the vigil whenever you can. See http://www.vigilforgaza.net here for more details.