By IANS,
London : Between 50,000 and 100,000 Tamils, accompanied by two influential British MPs, marched through central London in a Tamil rally Saturday demanding an immediate ceasefire and end to the killing of innocent civilians in Sri Lanka.
“More than 50,000 were at the demonstration,” a spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police said.
But Keith Vaz, Britain’s senior Asian MP, and several television news channels put the number at 100,000 – a third of the Tamil population in Britain and a massive figure for a London demonstration.
Another 50,000 Tamils marched through Toronto, Canada, Friday, as international concern grows about the fate of 250,000 innocent civilians trapped in the fighting, and a looming humanitarian crisis in the island nation.
Banging drums and waving flags and banners, the protesters delivered a petition to Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s office at Downing Street, urging British action to ensure an immediate ceasefire that would be monitored by international community.
The petition said a ceasefire should be followed by immediate humanitarian relief and peace talks.