The third day of protest - Tamil demonstrated

About 200 Tamils demonstrated in front of parliament on Wednesday, the third day of protests calling for Britain's help in securing a cease-fire between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil Tiger separatists. Seven people have been arrested, mainly for public disorder offences, police said. Two were arrested under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of carrying articles supporting proscribed literature. The demonstration in Parliament Square was peaceful and numbers appeared to be dwindling by Wednesday morning, the Scotland Yard police spokesman said.

The day before scuffles had broken out when officers moved protesters off a major bridge into the square. The demonstration began on Monday, when 3,000 people began to occupy Westminster Bridge and the road leading to it alongside parliament's clock tower, popularly known as Big Ben. The British Tamils Forum said the protest had been organised by Tamil students who fear thousands of civilians could be killed if the Sri Lankan military continues its offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in a no-fire zone in a northeastern coastal area. The United Nations says tens of thousands of people are being held as human shields by the LTTE, and has urged the Sri Lankan military to protect them during a final offensive. Palitha Kohona, permanent secretary at the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told BBC radio on Tuesday the government could not stop the offensive until LTTE agreed to lay down arms. "The government wants to preserve the civilians, we want the civilians out, but the only decent thing that the LTTE can do now ... is to let the civilians go," he said.

Source :uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKTRE5360D520090408