Rally in London draws dozens

London, ON

February 12, 2009

The freezing weather in London did not prevent the Halt Genocide Tour from occurring. Our activists braved the weather and arrived in London in the morning. We were received by activists from University of Western Ontario around noon. Canadian HART worked together with several organizations to bring about attention on the campus about the Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Our activists were invited to join the rally organized several organizations that stood in solidarity with the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Dozens of students braved the cold to attend the rally. They chanted slogans such as: "Stop the Genocide" and "We want justice."

The highlight of the day, is when the rally reached the campus. The campus came to a standstill when the students protested at the injustice that is being committed against innocent Tamil civilians in the country. We were able to engage with non-Tamils who demanded that social justice and equality should be a right for the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Canadian HART members spoke out and demanded immediate intervention. This stand was appreciated by Amnesty International operating within the campus, who called for an immediate ceasefire agreement so save innocent people's lives in Sri Lanka.

Canadian HART was able to set-up an activist network in London. Interestingly, a non-Tamil student at the university volunteered to lead and mobilize. We were able to build our networks and relationships on the campus. We were also able to meet the student bodied newspaper and the students council at the university. We received enormous support from everyone at the university who were thrilled with our work, dedication and commitment.

Over 1,000 petitions were signed and many people were encouraged to see Canadian HART activists on the campus. At 3:00 pm, we visited the local member of parliament for London Centre, Glen Pearson. Glen Pearson, is a foreign affairs critic from the New Democratic Party (NDP). Although, Mr. Pearson, was in Ottawa, we handed over an information package to his representative. The representative, promised that he would brief the MP about our visit and the Halt Genocide Tour.

We left London satisfied that we had achieved our goals and expanded our network. It appears are people are starting to see the killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka as a Genocide.

Let us all work together to save the Tamils in Sri Lanka.