Tamils protesting against Sri Lanka's 76th Independence Day outside Sri Lanka's High Commission in Australia were photographed by staff in an attempt to intimidate the protesters.
As Sri Lanka celebrated it's independence from Britain, Tamils in the North-East and across the diaspora protested the day as Tamils continue to be oppressed by the Sinhala Buddhist state.
While Tamils demonstrated outside the High Commission in Canberra, Sri Lankan military personnel laughed at the crowd as they left the building.
Speaking to Tamil Guardian, Renuga Inpakumar, Tamil Refugee Council's (TRC) spokesperson said:
"Eelam Tamils brought a makeshift casket to the protest as a poignant reminder. If we were to gather all the caskets, there wouldn't be enough space to contain the collective tragedy of close to half a million who lost their loves from 1948 to the present due to the Sri Lankan state's genocide against the Eelam Tamils."
"Eelam Tamils will continue resisting and February 4th will never be a peaceful ceremony for the Sri Lankan state as the Eelam Tamils in the diaspora and within Tamil Eelam will continue resisting and will ensure that we achieve self-determination," Inpakumar added.
In a press release, TRC, who organised the protest, said:
"Each Sri Lankan government since independence has treated Tamils like second-class citizens, denying them political rights, discriminating against their language and stealing their land. And for more than a decade, the government has carried out an intensive military occupation of Tamil lands in the north and east removing traditional lands from Eelam Tamils."
