Ottawa, April 11, 2009. Photo Credit: Ninaivukal.
OVER 30,000 TAMILS PROTEST AT PARLIAMENT HILL
On April 21st, 2009 over 30,000 Tamil Canadians from Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa gathered at Parliament Hill to protest the ongoing genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka and to call upon the Canadian government and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take immediate action and intervene. One of many in Ottawa, the protests spanned across multiple days and hours, waving flags, chanting and marching in hopes for their voice to be heard and for Canadian politicians to call for a ceasefire. NDP Leader Jack Layton commented “Canada’s the largest expatriate community [of Tamils] in the world. We should be taking the lead in calling for a ceasefire. We should be much stronger in the action that we’re taking.” (CBC, 2009).