[Marxism] SMH 1000 march for Tamils in Sydney

[Stuart Munckton <stuartmunckton@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sydney support for Sri Lanka hunger strike
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-support-for-sri-lanka-hunger-strike/2009/01/31/1232818740819.html

  Peter Hawkins
January 31, 2009 - 12:36AM

 About 1000 people gathered at Martin Place in the city last night to show
their support for the hunger strike aimed at raising awareness for the
ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka.

Men, women and children of Sri Lankan background from across Sydney stood
around the nine hunger strike participants for the final hours of their
two-and-a-half day protest.

One of five fasting men, Arunn Warren, said the purpose of the protest was
to raise awareness of the fighting between the Sri Lankan Government and the
Tamils.

"We (want) the Australian Government to call for an immediate cease fire,"
said the 19-year-old from Greenacre in Sydney south west.

"We've exhausted all other avenues and lobbied politicians. What happened
two days ago when the safety zone was bombed was unacceptable. 300 people
died on the spot and 1000 were injured. I have no idea whether my family and
friends are alive."

The United Nations evacuated hundreds of severely wounded civilians from
behind rebel lines in Sri Lanka on Thursday as government troops fought to
secure final victory over the Tamil Tigers, AFP reported on Friday.

Human rights bodies have called for immediate steps by both the Colombo
government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to save up to 250,000
civilians trapped in the combat zone in the northeast of the island.

UN human rights chief Nai Pillay expressed her alarm.

"It seems there may have been very grave breaches of human rights by both
sides in the conflict, and it is imperative that we find out more about what
exactly has been going on," she told AFP, referring to reports that people
had been prevented from fleeing or detained in special centres.

In Sydney on Friday night, Mr Warren said he had been living off water for
the previous 58 hours.

The hunger strike began at midday on Wednesday and finished at midnight last
night.

"Our bodies are really weak right now, I can't describe how I'm feeling."

Another one of the Tamil protesters was 25-year-old Sriharan Manogharan from
Strathfied.

"I'm tired, but I'm pumped after seeing so much support from the Tamil
community," Mr Manogharan said.

One of the many Tamils in Martin Place was Breamini Maniraj, 25 from Seven
Hills, who had come after work to see the demonstration for a second time.

"We've got to get Australia to do something about what's happening," she
said.

-- 
"The free market is perfectly natural... do you think I am some kind of
dummy?" - Jarvis Cocker

"Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious" - Oscar Wilde
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