Sri Lankan Tamils lead anti-LTTE protest in Geneva

Bandula Jayasekara

GENEVA: Sri Lankan Tamils along with Muslim and Sinhalese groups led a protest campaign against LTTE atrocities in front of the UN office in Geneva last evening.

They carried placards written in Tamil, English, Sinhalese and French and shouted slogans in Tamil, English and Sinhalese.

The group was led by the Universal Campaign for the Protection of Democracy and Human Rights. Women and children were among the hundreds of Sri Lankans who gathered in front of the United Nations office.

The protesters carried placards and shouted slogans such as 'LTTE bullets aimed at Sri Lankan Foreign Minister', 'Sri Lanka is traditional homeland of its people', 'Deport LTTE terrorists', 'Adopt a resolution against LTTE leaders', 'Stop killing Tamil civilians', 'LTTE terrorists pioneered suicide bombings', 'Anton Balasingham is their theoretician', 'Try LTTE leaders in the Hague' and 'Stop recruiting child soldiers'.
The protesters pressed the issue of child soldiers and brought it to the attention of the diplomatic community in Geneva. One of the protesters, V. Ramraj of the Tamil Broadcasting Corporation told the Daily News "We need democracy - Tamils need democracy. We cannot suffer anymore at the hands of the LTTE".

He also pointed out that more and more Tamils were coming out openly against the LTTE.
