31 arrested in Tamil protest at British parliament (Second Lead)
May 12th, 2009 - 12:41 am ICT by IANSLondon, May 11 (IANS) Police arrested 31 people after hundreds of Tamil protesters waving LTTE flags brought traffic to a standstill outside the British parliament in the middle of Monday-morning rush hour.
Police made the arrests after some 500 protesters calling for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka broke through police lines at around 10.30 a.m and squatted in the middle of the road in front of the British parliament in central London.
Sri Lankan Tamils have been protesting outside the parliament for weeks, but have so far confined their demonstrations to Parliament Square - a grassy patch across the road from the parliament buildings.
But Monday’s action was precipitate by the reported massacre of some 430 Tamil civilians in northern Sri Lanka Sunday.
London Police, which diverted traffic and close all vehicular approaches to the parliament, objected to protesters waving flags of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist organisation that is banned in Britain, Sky News reported.
Last month, two Tamil protesters jumped into the Thames river and several arrests were made during a march attended by thousands.
Tamils have also targeted the Indian High Commission and the Chinese Embassy in London for often-violent protests, leading to five arrests outside the Indian mission April 27.
- Tamils wave LTTE flags in British parliament protest (Lead) - May 11, 2009
- Tamil protesters stage sit-in outside British parliament - May 11, 2009
- Tamil protesters in London call for Sri Lanka ceasefire - Apr 07, 2009
- 15 Tamil protesters arrested in Toronto - Apr 30, 2009
- 10 arrests, injuries after Tamils clash with British police - May 19, 2009
- Opposition shutdown hits transport in Andhra Pradesh - Apr 27, 2010
- Telangana protests hit road transport, hundreds detained - Jan 17, 2011
- Sri Lankan Tamils protest Sonia Gandhi's London visit - Mar 18, 2011
- Tamils in London now attack Chinese embassy - May 07, 2009
- Tamil midnight march shut Canada's busiest highway - May 12, 2009
- Telangana protesters lay siege to ministers, MPs' houses - Jan 08, 2011
- Sri Lankan protesters besiege UN building to end human rights violation probe - Jul 07, 2010
- Human rights body protests atrocities on Lankan Tamils - Apr 05, 2012
- UK Defence Secretary cancels Lanka trip over Colombo's war crimes complicity - Dec 17, 2010
- Vaiko immerses slain LTTE chief Prabhakaran's mother's ashes in Chennai - Mar 23, 2011
Tags: british parliament, chinese embassy in london, embassy in london, grassy patch, indian high commission, liberation tigers of tamil eelam, liberation tigers of tamil eelam ltte, london police, morning rush hour, northern sri lanka, parliament buildings, parliament square, police lines, sky news, sri lankan tamils, tamil civilians, terrorist organisation, thames river, violent protests, waving flags
