In a protest, organised by the human rights advocacy group, Tamil Solidarity,on Wednesday the 9th of October, British Tamils demanded that representatives of the government boycott the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM).
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Coinciding with the Canadian prime minister’s announcement of his decision to boycott CHOGM, the British demonstrators demanded that David Cameron followed suit.
The demonstration, which was held outside downing street, individuals and speakers from the Tamil Solidarity organisation addressed the crowd.
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The national secretary, Keerthikan, outlined why Tamil Solidarity had organised a protest against British involvement at CHOGM.
Another member of the group, Mayilon, spoke of the need to link with help other rights movements, stating,
“We, in Tamil Solidarity are trying to gather people together and help fight against all our problems. Until we raise our voices to help others, we will not get any help from others as well. If we are not giving support to others and expecting support from them it is not fair. So, come let’s join together and fight for each and everyone’s problems.”
The Tamil Solidarity national chair, Sarah Sachs-Eldridge, read a statement of a young women that had recently visited the Sri Lanka, outlining instances of “increased domestic violence and sexual abuse” and concluding that “it is very important for us to raise our voice on behalf of all those that have their voice stolen.”
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Ben Robinson and Neil Cafferky of the Socialist Party, expressed their solidarity with the Tamil fight for the right to self-determination, pledging that if an appeal is made, the trade unions would respond with support.
Meena Kandasamy, spoke of the hunger strike that was taking place in Tamil Nadu, and incited people to learn about the history of the struggle, recommending the new book written by Tamil Solidarity, ‘History of Resistance”.
The protest ended with the demonstrators pledging to contact student groups, rights organisations, trade unions and individuals for the next protest which will coincide with the CHOGM opening ceremony on the 15th of November.
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