By KUNA,
LONDON : Hundreds of Tamil protesters have rallied through the night outside the Houses of Parliament, CENTRAL London, demanding the British Government acts to end war in Sri Lanka, the organizers said.
The protest is creating traffic problems, with 900 people still at the rally, numbers peaked at about 3,000, police said.
No-one has been arrested, they added.
The UN has said 150,000 people are trapped in Sri Lanka’s northern war zone and Tamils claim they are victims of human rights abuses.
Sri Lanka’s government has rejected calls for a ceasefire with the Tamil Tiger rebel group, which wants independence.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said the illegal protest, which has been going on since yesterday afternoon. was peaceful.
“Police are continuing to attempt to negotiate with the organisers of the demonstration to facilitate their protest and to minimise disruption to all of London’s communities,” she added.
The police have closed Westminster Bridge and some surrounding roads and some services at Westminster underground station have also been affected.
Participants failed to give notice of the demonstration and have been waving flags showing the emblem of the Tamil Tigers, which is banned in the UK as a terrorist organisation.
Suren Surendiran, of the British Tamils Forum, said the protest had been led by students, but that people of all ages from across the UK had joined in.
“As British citizens, they want the UK Government to act. Rather than just calling for a ceasefire, they should go to the UN security council to demand one’, he told reporters.
The UN has said more than 2,800 civilians may have been killed and 7,000 others injured in the fighting in the north-east in the last two months.
The Sri Lankan government disputes these figures. (end) he.bz.
KUNA 071242 Apr 09NNNN