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Tamils in Malaysia held a protest on Thursday against the former Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to the country for the Asian Political Parties summit during September 1 - 4.
Burning an effigy of the former president, protesters decried him as a war criminal who had massacred Tamils in Sri Lanka.
The deputy chief minister of Penang, P Ramasamy also criticised the Malaysian government's invitation to Rajapaksa stating the invitation was insensitive to the feelings of Tamils given his role during the end of the armed conflict.
“Rajapaksa is infamous for unleashing terror on innocent Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka during the civil war. Hundreds and thousands were killed, thousands went missing and thousands of women and children were raped and sexually abused," Dr Ramasamy said.
"By inviting Rajapaksa, the organizers have shown that they have no regard to concerns of local Malaysian Tamils and their feelings towards their own kind in Sri Lanka," he added.
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