Protests were held in Paris, which called on the international community to refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the war crimes and genocide the state had perpetrated against Tamil people during the peak of the armed struggle in 2009.
Protesters were carrying the Tamil Eelam flags and placards that read, “We resist, we will win” and “To be silent is to be complicit!”.
Mayor of Sevran Blanchet Stéphane also attended the demonstrations in solidarity of the Tamil people. He later tweeted saying, “Reconciliation must go through the recognition of the Tamil genocide”.
Aujourd'hui, sur la pelouse des invalides pour soutenir le peuple Tamoul.
La Réconciliation doit passer par la reconnaissance du génocide Tamoul. pic.twitter.com/5AUb03ORia— Blanchet Stéphane (@Blanchet_Sevran) March 1, 2021
Kurdish people also joined the demonstrations to call for international justice for the alleged genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government against the Kurdish population. In its tweet, the Kurdish Democratic Council in France stated that both minorities continue the “same fight against the war crimes of oppressive regimes!”.
Kurdes-Tamouls, même combat contre les crimes de guerre des régimes oppresseurs ! Rassemblement des Tamouls et de Kurdes aujourd'hui, sur la place des Invalides, pour dénoncer les crimes de guerre et les génocides perpétrés par le Sri-Lanka et la Turquie pic.twitter.com/BujMFwnsWs
— Conseil Démocratique Kurde en France (@Le_CDKF) March 1, 2021
Similar protests also took place in Switzerland and in the North-East of Sri Lanka.
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